One down and more to go.

Dad/Gramps had a colonoscopy this a.m. They found another polyp. They removed it surgically and we will have the biopsy report and see the doctor again on Monday afternoon. I guess he is just going to keep growing these things in his colon so he will be having the test every other year instead of one every ten years like the rest of folk do. Poor guy. Once every ten years is often enough to suffer. It is not the test; it is getting ready for the test.

We met with the eye surgeon yesterday. They are going to do his eyes one at a time. First they will take the cataract off the right eye. Then they will do a laser repair of the left eye. When he was 14 he scratched his eye with a knife when one that he was putting away popped up out of the drawer. He has had a scar since then. So that will be repaired and then, a few weeks later, they will remove the cataract from his left eye. Then he will be able to see again like a young man for the rest of his life. That is good news.

I am losing it. He will be healthy and I will be nuts or, at least, have no memory. I sent Erin a birthday card so it would be there on her birthday. I sent Kyle and Benjamin's birthday cards shortly thereafter. I sent Laurel's and Michael's cards the same time. The problem was that I didn't put the birthday money in Kyle's card. I haven't heard from Ben, since they can only communicate once a week, what I may have done to his. I also haven't heard from Erin or anyone else what I might or might not have done. I am not sending another card to anyone unless Dad/Gramps is here to watch me so that I will know what I have done. Two witnesses should be good. At least, I hope. I would say it was because I was getting old but I have always been this way. I have done this before, as you all know. But I think the cure is to have someone check up on me. Hopefully, I didn't put money in Laurel's card. That would be a shock for her. We just exchange cards, not money.

Melanie wrote: Any consolation...Howard usually has multiple polyps and has to have the procedure every three years. His mother died of colon/ liver cancer.

Myrna wrote: The doctor told us that as long as they get them small, they usually haven't developed into cancer yet. Is that what they tell Howard? Of course, he says, sometimes they do, so early detection is the name of the game.

Transfer 6-3 (Michael)

Mike's letter-of-the-week.  Enjoy, and have a great week yourselves.  :)  Amy

From: Michael Trauntvein [mailto:michael.trauntvein@myldsmail.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 6:11 PM
To: Amy Trauntvein; Cody Pickett; Camden Argyle; Eli Philpott; Ryan Johnson; nkleshinski@inbox.com; Todd Trauntvein; ryandalesmith@myldsmail.net
Subject: Transfer 6-3

Hi Everybody!

I have to apologize, I couldn't email you all yesterday because our P-day got switched to Tuesday this week so we could attend the temple today as well.  So here is what I have learned this week:

Today, we got the opportunity to attend the temple. It was a really great experience, and I'm so thankful for the opportunity. The temple is such a wonderful place, and I always feel so refreshed after going there. The L.A. temple is marvelous, as well. Something that really stuck out to me while I was there is listening to the Spirit. The temple is such a great place, partly because it's one of the few places in the world where you can go and disconnect yourself from all the worries of the world and all the "white noise" of life and just focus in on the Spirit and what He is trying to tell you if you will just listen. I think if we would all just sit back and listen to the Spirit once in a while, especially us as missionaries, we would find that God is so much more involved in our life than we think, that He really does care, and that He wants to talk to us just as He wants us to talk to Him; so that's something I'm going to do better from now on is listen to the Spirit.

I've also learned something very important about our Savior Jesus Christ.  We've all had bad days in this life, but no matter what, I'm sure that He officially had the worst day in history.  For Him, it started out fine, eating dinner with all His friends on a holiday, and then ended with Him suffering in body and in spirit (not for Himself because He was perfectly innocent, but for each of us because we have all sinned), bleeding from every pore, being betrayed by one of His closest friends into the hands of murderers and sinners for the price of a slave, being beaten, spat upon, mocked, and falsely accused under spurious charges, then led to Golgotha and crucified, where he yet suffered and was forsaken by His very own Father in His final moments so the finality of the Atonement could be carried out, after which, He willingly gave up the ghost.  Yet He forgave all of them.  That is the amazing part.  I don't know if I could ever do that: that is what makes the Christ so divine and an example for all.

I know these things are true.  I know them with all my heart.  Christ exists and He loves each and every one of us.  We can become like Him; all it takes is one feeble step after another down the same path that He trod.  I testify in His Holy Name, Amen.

Love,

Elder Michael Trauntvein

Work in Progress--add to it please.

• I have been thinking that this was a good idea but I am having trouble with dates. Please add anything that you think might help with this. The very preliminary beginning of a rough draft history is below.

My Grandmother Smith was a graduate of Brigham Young University, first with a normal certificate, which certified her to teach school. Later, she returned to the Y and received her B.S. degree. Some of the stories she told about those days when she was at the Y should be preserved. I am likely the only person still alive who remembers some of those great stories. Although a do have a couple of cousins, Toni Jackson and David Childs, who might remember some of it. 

Her family lived next door to the Woman’s Gym, still standing in Provo. Now it is a boutique. Back then it was the scene of many of my grandmother’s favorite days. She was active in women’s basketball, gymnasium and dance. In fact, she was one of the first women to receive a Block Y for her athletic skills.

The two-story frame house, where the family lived, was not demolished until the 1990s when it was replaced with an apartment complex. Oddly, though Grandmother visited me in Provo when we were students at BYU (my husband graduated in 1966) and though she herself attended the university as a mature student in the 1950s, none of us ever stopped to take a photo. An then, as with many good things, it was gone.

Accodring to “Wikipedia,” the free encyclopedia, concerning the history of BYU, “In 1903, Brigham Young Academy was dissolved, and was replaced by two institutions: Brigham Young High School, and Brigham Young University. (The BY High School class of 1907 was ultimately responsible for the famous giant "Y" that is to this day embedded on a mountain near campus. The Board elected George H. Brimhall as the new President of BYU. He had not received a high school education until he was forty. Nevertheless, he was an excellent orator and organizer. Under his tenure in 1904 the new Brigham Young University bought 17 acres of land from Provo called ‘Temple Hill.’ After some controversy among locals over BYU's purchase of this property, construction began in 1909 on the first building on the current campus, the Karl G. Maeser Memorial. . .”

This history, of course, pre-dated Grandmother’s attendance at the school. When she went there, it was a university and she was educated well. She became a teacher and was employed as such. Her earnings also helped her sister receive an education. Jessie became a secretary. Grandmother said, years later, that she wondered at the wisdom of the family decision to train one as a teacher and not the other. “I think that Jessie had the personality to be an excellent teacher.”

Jessie, however, was a person who liked to have a bit of fun. In fact, one story concerning the Woman’s Gym had to do more with her father and younger sister, Jessie, than with her. Jessie liked to dance. In those days it was forbidden for those attending dances at the gymnasium to do the fox trot. It was considered a bit risque at the time. However, Jessie liked to tease and she and her dance partner would got to the far corner of the gym. There they would do a few fox trot steps and then move back into the more sedate waltz. However, little did Jessie know that her father, John Pritchett, gazing from the upper window of his home next door observed her shenanigans. When she got home that evening, she was in deep trouble with her father.

My great-grandmother, Mina Ericksen Pritchett, provided food for boarding students at the Y. I have no idea what the cost for a good hearty supper may have been but it must have been very reasonable because she fed quite a few boarders. Those were happy days for the family. Mina was a good cook and had been trained in fixing big meals at good prices by her mother-in-law when the family lived in Mount Pleasant. After Levi Franklin Pritchett, John’s father, died at a young age, his wife, Sarah Ellen Bean, took in borders to pay for her living expenses. Even after she remarried, she kept up the work. Mina, when she married into the family, helped with the cooking and cleaning. Mina did that until she and her husband, John, decided to move to Provo. John had worked for Mina’s relatives, the Ericksens, who ran a pharmacy in Mount Pleasant. It was decided that they would move to Provo, Vivian, my grandmother, and Jessie, her sister, would attend the Y. John would train as a pharmacist with another relative, who owned Mabin Drug. There were also two boys in the family but they were younger.

Toren

Toren receives Life Award on his way to receiving his Eagle.

Thanks Hi--From Eva

It worked. It was good to hear that Richard is feeling better enough to celebrate.

If you send me Chase's address, I will add him to the list with my two missionaries. 

Benjamin's birthday is this week. Actually, it is today. He was born on April 25. Michael's birthday is June 4.

Leonard had a colonscopy this morning at 8 p.m. They took out another polip and he is feeling fine. He is just is a bit sleepy still. The poor guy gets to have a colonscopy ever other year because he grows polips in his colon. 

I think that the problem in not being able to send emails is that of your mail server. Have one of your family talk to comcast and find out if one of the settings has been changed on your end. 

We love you! 

Date: Sat, 27 Apr 2013 06:05:43 +0000
From: evamariedixon@comcast.net

Thanks Hi,

Hi,Myrna,  T
  Thanks for the birth dates.  That makes two of my missionary list whose dates I missed.  Oh, well, i guess a late wishes better than none at all.  

Sorry Tim is having so many problems;  I thought he had a cataract removed recently. I can't imagine who I mixed that up with.  Between my memory and my arthritis, I have a bad time typing; my fingers do not want to reach the right keys t turns into g and c to d invariably.  Thank goodness for spell check otherwise my letters would need translating.  

Chase is only allowed to receive emails from his immediate family, fortunately grandparents are indluded. 

I will try your suggestion to get my Microsoft  to work   I t would not do me any good to dall them because I have no ideas about settings or anything else.   

Must go to bed; it is pretty  late for me.  
Love to  you both.  Eva.  

PS: I guess you noted that I cannot spell. It is polyp. Oh, well.

PROBLEM WITH COMPUTER--EVA

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:38:25 +0000
From: evamariedixon@comcast.net

Hi, Myrna,

I got my computer back aftert two weeks and $300 but it will not let me send new emails so I am trying it as a reply to an old one of yours.  Hope it works.  

How is Tim?   Better I hope.  

Would you please tell me when Ben and Michael's birthdays are?   I want to send a card to keep in touch. I love to read Ben's emsails;  i do not get emails from Michael anymore.   I am sure they are both dong well.  

Chase has been serving in Wales  around Collwyn Bay and loves it.  It is so beautiful.   They are having good success.   

Hope all is well with all of you and  yours. 

Richard was  able to spend four days in New York. Some friends went with him to celebrate his 52nd birthday Monday.   Weird when your baby is 52.  Lynda and Michael will be 65 in June and August.  

Well my home teachers are coming g. Guess I will see if I can send  thhis.  Love to you both.   Eva 

Old Folks

Boston has always been a place of history. From the days of the Colonists through the American Revolution, there were brave people who lived and died there. Now we have seen a new kind of bravery with the bombings that took place during marathon. There were so many heroic people who rushed to the aid of the injured and who ran, not away from, but toward those in need of help. The tragedy played out but the heros among us rose to the occasion, as they always do. I am thankful that there are still selfless good people in the world.

It is actually a good thing that Jim did not want Gramps/Dad to come back down to Needles because he is not getting better very quickly even though the doctor warned him that it might be five to seven days before he felt really well again. I thought that he would bounce back as normal.  (Although, after all of the sinus infections I have had over the years, you would think I might not really expect that.) I always know when he is really sick because he lets me wait on him. Better than that, he actually wanted to go to the doctor. Today he seems quite a bit better but did not go to church. He did read from his scriptures and read the last letters from the missionary grandsons. He had a quiet day which is most unusual for him.

I have a new goal: go to bed before midnight. I seem so antsy to myself that I decided I maybe needed to stop burning the candle at both ends. So I will be brief and then get to bed. My other goal, to enjoy each day as it unfolds has been good for me. I spend too much time worrying about things that I cannot change and not enough worrying about the things I can. So, I reason, I will enjoy each day with gratitude for being alive. I have enjoyed just being with Dad/Gramps and just being thankful that we can still know who we are. Some of the folks I work with at the care center on Sundays are not that lucky. Some of them, for example, have trouble finding the pages of the hymn though they still can sing the words. It worries some of the residents that they do not have the right page  but they have all the words tucked away somewhere at any rate and do not need the page at all. But, I go around and find pages for them so they will be happy. Most of them are only 10 years older than I am.  Really. They are 82 or so and I am 72. I hope that my mind holds out longer than theirs have. Of course, some of the folks I work with at the temple are fine and are in their late 80s. I wonder what really makes the difference?

When President Monson spoke to the young women at their special meeting he said: “Seek heavenly guidance one day at a time. Life by the yard is hard; by the inch it’s a cinch. Each of us can be true for just one day—and then one more, and then one more after that, until we’ve lived a lifetime guided by the Spirit, a lifetime close to the Lord, a lifetime of good deeds and righteousness. The Savior promised: ‘Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life’ (3 Nephi 15:9)."

I enjoyed this comment from our lesson in Relief Society today. In my opinion, Lorenzo Snow was a prophet to pay attention to. "Do not expect to become perfect at once. If you do, you will be disappointed. Be better today than you were yesterday, and be better tomorrow than you are today. The temptations that perphaps partially overcome us today, let them not overcome us so far tomorrow. Thus continue to be a little better day by day; and do not let your life wear away without accomplishing good to others as well as to ourselves."

As you get old, you realize how some of the things you have put off will likely never get done. We can wear out lives away, as President Snow said, and not accomplish the good we planned. Soon our opportunity is gone and the plans we made when we were young are not accomplished. Now is the time to do what needs doing.

Lots of love,
Grammy and Gramps

Old comes quickly.

Gordon wrote: This is a message for us all.  We are all young at heart.  Some of us are old.  However, you young ones remember this.  Old comes quickly before we are
ready for it.  Therefore, it is time  right now to follow the advice in this video.

Enjoy it!  

You will love this message. Passed along from Gordon Smith. We should watch this everyday!!

Get it  onto full screen, sit back, relax and enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popupfeature=player_embedded&v=FgBF3sIPm4c

From Grammy

Boston has always been a place of history. From the days of the Colonists through the American Revolution, there were brave people who lived and died there. Now we have seen a new kind of bravery with the bombings that took place during marathon. There were so many heroic people who rushed to the aid of the injured and who ran, not away from, but toward those in need of help. The tragedy played out but the heros among us rose to the occasion, as they always do. I am thankful that there are still selfless good people in the world. 

Last week, on Wednesday, Grandpa went to Needles, CA, to help Uncle Jim with the bees. Gramps got sick and drove home on Friday. He has a really bad sinus infection and, perhaps, the beginning of pneumonia. He is on a powerful antibitotic and is sleeping most of the time. He seems quite a bit better today but still not well enough to go to church. He did read his scriptures some today and was able to read your last letter to us. So that helped him spend a better Sabbath than he would have been able to do otherwise.

One of the reasons that he drove home was that he was afraid that he would make someone there, Jim, Jim's aunt, uncle or cousin, ill. The doctor said that none of what he has is contagious. I don't know if he could have stayed and worked anyway but he thinks he might have been able to. At any rate, Julie drove down Saturday morning with the kids. She cannot work with the bees but will be there to help if anything bad happens. 

Gramps was planning on going back on Monday but Jim said that his dad is coming so that will take care of Jim's problem. Phil, Jim's dad, can only stay until Wednesday so, I pray, they are all done. We go back to the temple this coming Friday if all goes well. The doctor said that it usually takes three to five days to get better. It is actually a good thing that Jim did not want Gramps to come down because he is not getting better very quickly. I always know when he is really sick because he lets me wait on him. Better than that, he actually wanted to go to the doctor.

So my whining about not liking being alone in my old age was in vain. Now I would sooner be alone than have Gramps sick and Jim's work load increased. I won't ever complain about that again. Alone is OK if everybody you love is OK. Besides, in the few days I was here by myself, I got the office cleaned up and got rid of quite a bit of junk in the storage room. That will still take a month or more of diligence but it is getting better.

When President Monson spoke to the young women at their special meeting he said: “Seek heavenly guidance one day at a time. Life by the yard is hard; by the inch it’s a cinch. Each of us can be true for just one day—and then one more, and then one more after that, until we’ve lived a lifetime guided by the Spirit, a lifetime close to the Lord, a lifetime of good deeds and righteousness. The Savior promised: ‘Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life’ (3 Nephi 15:9)."

I enjoyed this comment from our lesson in Relief Society today. In my opinion, Lorenzo Snow was a prophet to pay attention to. "Do not expect to become perfect at once. If you do, you will be disappointed. Be better today than you were yesterday, and be better tomorrow than you are today. The temptations that perphaps partially overcome us today, let them not overcome us so far tomorrow. Thus continue to be a little better day by day; and do not let your life wear away without accomplishing good to others as well as to ourselves."

As you get old, you realize how some of the things you have put off will likely never get done. We can wear out lives away, as President Snow said, and not accomplish the good we planned. Soon our opportunity is gone and the plans we made when we were young are not accomplished. Now is the time to do what needs doing. 

We are thankful that you are able to bless the lives of others by serving them as a missionary. We pray that you will find those who are seeking the truth. Remember to let the Spirit convert you to the truth as well as those you are teaching.

Lots of love, 

Grammy and Gramps

We Hope You Are OK, Gordon.

Myrna wrote: We saw you in the elevator when we were taking Julie's son to the pediatrician. Are you OK?

 

Gordon Smith wrote: That was our son Kelly.  He has had back problems for several years.  He has had two surgeries in the past, but problems have persisted.  He was going to a pain center.  They had the pain at the lowest it has been for years.  Then he had two accidents on the freeway while coming home from work in Midvale.  They were both during the time of all the freeway construction.  The first one was not so bad, but the second one was pretty serious.  He was stopped for traffic which had been required to stop in front of him.  He looked in his rear view mirror and could see the man coming behind him was looking down at something. That man, who was going at a good rate of speed, did not look up until just before hitting Kelly.  Since that accident Kelly was starting to lose the use of his left leg.  Doctor Gaufin performed surgery on him last Friday.  He fused lumbar vertebra three, four, five, and his sacrum.  He has two rods and eight screws two inches long in his back  now.   He has been in much pain.  However, the pain is getting to be less.  He is also walking better.  We are confident he is going to heal completely.

 

Thanks for caring.

 

Lots of love,

Gordon 

Myrna wrote: How awful for him to be in such a bone-jaring accident when he was already suffering. I only hope that the surgery is successful in releaving all of the pain and in repairing all the damage so that he can live to the fullest. It is terrible to be so young and to have to suffer every step.

I don't know if you remember or not, but when I was a teen I fell down a flight of stairs and mangled my spine and hip. I was grateful to walk again. I have had bouts with pain off and on through the years. I am fine now, knock on wood, but I can offer a great deal of sympathy for him.

Tell him that we are hopeful that all will be well for the future. Tell him that we send our love and concern.

We love you all.