I'm Glad

I am glad the testing went well. I loved the humor. I don't know if I could have watched Howard's testing. He would be afraid that I would try to blame all of his bad food choices on the polyps that he had to have removed. I don't think I could have watched the removal of them, either.

I am glad that you were able to sleep. It is sad that sometimes the only sleep that we as mothers get, is the sleep that comes from anesthesia. I know that you have been tired, and I don't think that the extra few hours hurt you any, in fact they probably did more help than harm. Remember that I have a very hard time coming out of the anesthesia? I think we know that it comes from somewhere in your line. I have heard that male hormone has a key to helping people come out of anesthesia better, but Ben is like you and I, so I don't know if I would give to much credence to that logic.


The dog was tested for Addison's disease yesterday, but miraculously he doesn't have it. Addison's disease is the same in humans as it is in animals. It is a malfunction of the adrenal glands. It does have to do with the thyroid, in some cases, but mainly the pituitary gland is the one that malfunctions. They would have put him on a corticoid steroid for the rest of his life. It was very expensive. I did a lot of praying that he wouldn't be ill like that. I have to keep him in the kitchen where it is warm and where I can watch him. So far, it has been okay. He didn't howl all night long, like he has done in the past. He just has been like a big baby. He seems to take to me, I don't know why, but he is like my shadow.

I will talk with you later. I hope that your week goes better than last week.

Love, Melanie

Dog Problems

Mon, 10 Feb 2003 13:57:08 -0700
Mom, 
       How did your test go today? It was a breeze--right? I hope that 
everything was normal and that you didn't have to suffer too much.  
       The dog isn't suffering from the Grub-Ex poison, as we thought. He has 
a disease called Addison's disease. Canines can have the same disease as 
humans. It is a problem with his adrenal glands. Several days worth of tests 
and maybe a life time of medicine will help so that he doesn't go into shut 
down again. The reason he looked so awful last night was because he was 
seizing. I didn't know that a seizure could last so long. He was in full 
seizure mode when I got him to the hospital. I don't know what else to do. I 
guess it is all in the Lord's and the vet's hands. I can't believe that this 
could be so traumatic. I have cried and cried. Amazing for someone who is so 
apathetic. I grumble and complain like an old woman living with a crotchety 
old man, but when the truth comes down to it, I kind of like the old man. 
Anyway, I will let you know more tomorrow (Tuesday) after the vet calls me. 
What a life!  At least it is the dog this time, and not the children. 
       Siovhan made it into the Driver's Ed. class during our winter break. 
She will be going to Driving School from 9 AM until 3 PM for five days. She 
can't wait. After that, she just has to take her manual Driver's Test. I am 
glad, but nervous at the same time.
       Thanks for your words of encouragement. I am glad that you could cheer 
me up.

Love, Mel

CBS Morning Show

I was greatly moved by a young soldier's courage this morning. I was watching the CBS Morning news program, something I don't usually do, when they were interviewing two young soldiers in Kuwait. The soldiers were able to talk to family members and see them via the satellite connection. One young soldier was talking to his wife and two small children, the other was able to talk to his two brothers, two sisters, Mom and Dad, and his brother-in-law. The larger family was being broadcast from Tucson, AZ. The young man with the larger family, was asked a few questions, by his Mom and Dad about the food and his training. He then was asked how he felt about the situation. He remarked to his brother that he knew what he was fighting for, and asked his brother if he remembered the story of one of the greatest Captains in history. I immediately thought of Captain Moroni, and thought with a bit of sadness that most of the world does not know about him. This young, brave soldier then surprised me, and I think he surprised Harry Smith, the anchor man, by explaining that the Captain he was talking about was Captain Moroni. And that this young man was fighting for what was important. He said, paraphrasing, ' We are fighting for our freedom, our peace, our wives, our families and our children.' Some of the soldiers seemed to be mocking him, but he continued to teach a little more about Moroni, and then it was time to let the soldiers say good-bye. I was so moved by his diligence, by his love for his family and for his missionary work.



Melanie

Dress

Grandma,
       This is my prom dress, the one that my Mom talked to you about. We need some help tring to figur out how to add sleeves or large straps. Thanks for your help.

Siovhan


Myrna: Could you, please send the dress as a jpeg? My computer keeps telling me that the file is a movie file and it cannot open it?

Email History

I opened up the email this morning and there was the family history. I have copied it over to Word Perfect so that I can clean up the copy. It copied with two and threes as the quotation marks and a few other computer codes attached. It makes for interesting reading, however. I am fascinated that the name has been attached to so many different areas of the world. It would be interesting to see if where the name originally started.

I love you.

Melanie

Snack Sets

Mom, before you give anything to DI, Amy said she would happily take the the remaining glass snack sets.  She doesn't want to stand in the way of others who might want them.  So, she is keeping quiet.  Family and possessions is always a tricky subject.  But, as soon as you say the acronym "DI" all bets are off.

Todd Trauntvein
Sr. Associate

Todd,
I have one more matching snack set for Amy. In other words, it is just like the other two you already have. Also, I have a box of ten plates and cups: two of one kind, three of another, and five of another. Two plates had one small chip each which I repaired and have used that way. If you would like those to go with the other set of four, I would be happy to give them to you. BUT if you do not want them, you do not need to feel that you HAVE to take them to make me happy. I was just going to give them to DI and I still can.

They are yours! Love, Mom


(Everybody in the family got two sets. Some just weren't too excited about it. Julie, for example, thought she would probably never use them. But Jim said to take two. When I got down to counting the number of sets I actually had, there were 18. Kirsten and your Amy wanted three. Then in addition to the 18, there were the 10 cups and plates that were not all  matched. So I will make certain you get them. There is still the one perfect set that will match the others that you have in addition to the others. You will have plates and cups out the ying-yang.)

Love, Mom

Todd wrote: Thank you.  By the way, what's a ying-yang?  :)

Mom: It really is yin-yang. I spelled it wrong. That is the erroneous spelling of yin yang or yin-yang, which is an ancient Chinese concept and symbol referring to complementary opposites, such as light/dark. It can mean from one  end to the other.

If

I will get this other cup to you.  Amy likes the dishes and the punch bowl. She is thinking of times we can use them already.

Todd Trauntvein

Sr. Associate

801.567.7137 (w)

801.205.8882 (c)

8662224560@archwireless.net

                                                                                                                   

                    Myrna                                                                                          

                    Trauntvein           To:     "Todd N. Trauntvein" <toddtrauntvein@discoverfinancial.com>       

                   

                    a.com>               Subject:     If                                                           

                                                                                                                   

                    01/27/2003                                                                                     

                    05:50 PM                                                                                       

                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                   

If it wasn't a cup from that puch bowl set that broke, then it was from another. One of the punch bowls has a cup missing because Norma told me one got broken in the kitchen at Julie's reception. By-the-way, I found two

cups that will match that punch bowl if you want them. I don't know where you would keep them, but they would go with the set.

Love, Mom

I' moving to the Dr's office

The ultrasound was good today.  My fluid is "low normal" at 10 (Cathrina said she was at 4 when they induced her, and 5 when they put her on bed rest--so I am good) and she weights about 3.5 pounds, right on for my  due date (or maybe even a few ounces under), which I will never see (March 26th due date)  because Dr. Joseph is going to treat me as "regular" diabetic and do the amnio at 37 weeks, which is March 5th. Keturah may have this baby for her birthday, after all.  He says that with diabetic babies they don't mature as fast as they do in regular pregnancies and that's one of the reasons they start monitoring so close at 37 weeks. He said in the 50's before insulin the moms/babies just died. And after insulin the babies were doing great, then dying at full term for some reason, and then they started taking the babies early and some still died, and now after lots of practice they have the system down.  

Next week I start the non stress test and ultrasound each week. He  doesn't want me to go more than 4 or 5 days without coming into to  office, which he admitted is "overkill" but he says they also won't miss  anything. So my appt next week is on Wednesday for the NST, Ultrasound  and Doctor.  I think I've decided to stay there, I feel comfortable with how serious they monitor me, and I will probably switch and have Tracey (another midwife) do the delivery with Dr. Joseph as the backup. Grandma Nonie really liked him (Dr. Joseph) and thinks I should let him do the delivery.  I will still see him over the next month and he will be the one to the amnio.    

I also, still have to see LeAnne for the diabetic monitoring, and now she is at McKay Dee hospital,  so I am living at the doctors office for the next 6 weeks. 

Love, Kimberly 

Photos

Mom,

I have been extremely touched by the photos that you have sent. It is an amazing thing when one feels connected to a deceased family member via a picture. I do remember small things about my Great-grandmother, but not enough. I am glad that you taught me what kind of woman she was. It is amazing to look at a photo and feel time and distance shrink.  I never saw Aunt Renee so young looking. She was a stunner. I don't know why she never thought that she was attractive. She was beautiful! I just remember her in all her tom-boyishness, and she was just Aunt Renee.  I thought of her as a surrogate Grandma. I remember her chastising me when I told her that I wanted to call her Grandma. She did it so lovingly, but still, she seemed like a real Grandma. Thank you for helping to bring her into my thoughts.

Mommy, I love you. I miss you. I hope that you are well.  Mel

Remember

I sent AnnMarie food from Kirsten. I asked Kirsten to call her and talk to her tomorrow and then give me the feedback. Let me know what else she needs. Would she like some reading material--or does Matthew take up too much of her time, so that she doesn't get to read?

If you are off on Friday and Saturday, are you going to be in Provo? Hope that you get some rest. You need to take care of yourself as well. You need to be able to help AnnMarie, and so you need to take care of yourself so that you won't be too tired to travel or to watch the children. I am sorry--I know you have a Dad, but I know that you need your oldest daughter to step in and remind you that you tend to do too much, so that you can keep your mind on other things (you've always been like that). Just be careful and don't wear yourself out, we want you to be healthy.  I know you're thinking, "Me? Healthy?" You know what I mean.

I love you.
Mel