On the Road Again....

I just got back from Moscow, Idaho with my parents. Now, I will be going again for something very special. My sister, Kari and her husband, Kurt, will be sealed in the Spokane Temple on Friday. So, off I go again. Oh, my aching derriere!!! I am excited to spend time with Jeff, however. I wish other members of my family could go, but they will be keeping an eye on the old home front.

Jeff and I didn't get our winter trip this year so this will be nice to get off alone with him for a few days. The more I think about it, the more excited I get--just me and him alone. Jeff is so fun when I can get him to relax.

Oh, wait a minute, we did go to Disneyland this winter. (But we did not get off alone by ourselves--it was a family vacation.) We had a great time but I love my alone time. I've already said that haven't I? Well, you get the picture I'm sure...I love Jeff.

The Resort in West Yellowstone

My, we thought our resort in Hamilton, Montana was nice but our condo in West Yellowstone is awesome. Of course, anyone that has been to a WorldMark Resort knows how the condos are. I can't wait to come again in May with Jeff, Shaun and Brooke. There is a lot of snow today and it is only 22 degrees. Mom and Dad were glad to get in our room at noon instead of the usual 4:00 check-in time. They are napping and watching old-time movies while I check out the accomodations. There is an indoor pool, game room, owner's lounge, hot tubs, etc.,etc.

Our ride to here was beautiful. We saw great herds elk all along the way and some Bison. Tomorrow we will go through Yellowstone to Afton unless the snow stops us. There is an 80% chance.

Well, not much more to tell. I have enjoyed being with my parents. The traveling is really hard on them and they just keep saying that this is the last time they are going to go. I almost believe them unless they do something to improve their health.

On the road again...

I surely did have a wonderful day with my parents yesterday. We made it all the way to Hamilton, Montana. The roads were quiet and the scenery was invigorating. Every valley and vista testified that Spring is trying to dominate. Hurray!!! Today we will follow the Salmon River over to Kari's and Mom and Dad are excited to see it again. They claim the scenery will be better than yesterday's. I will be driving again. I think my Dad figures this is the last time he'll travel this way again and he wants to see everything that he can. I am happy that I can help make their trip a little more pleasureable. The wildlife we have seen so far are: turkey, mountain sheep or goats, elk, deer, geese, ducks, and moles. I hope to see a moose and bear since dad wants to go through Yellowstone on our way home. Yippee, skippy!!!! Well, I don't need to bore you with any more details, but I must say that time goes too quickly and my parents are aging quickly and I am thankful for this chance to be with them. Not everyone gets opportunies such as I, but if you dear readers can, spend as much time with your loved ones as possible for you never know when they may be called home.

What a Difference a Day Makes...or a Night?

April 17, 2009--I want to thank everyone for your prayers in Joe's behalf. They were most certainly heard and answered because he got to come home from the hospital this afternoon. I still can't believe it since he was throwing up all through the night and had a nose bleed that scared the nurse and me. In less than 10 seconds after she had walked out of the room this morning, he and his bed were covered with blood. We were both amazed. These 2 problems alone would have kept him in the hospital but Michelle came and told the Dr. that she could handle the throwing up if that was all that was keeping him in the hospital. She has the doctors' trust and they know she is skilled at handling Joe's needs so I guess they decided he could go home.

Also, part of the miracle is how he improved from 5 a.m. until noon. I think part of it came as a result of his spirit being perked up by his love for music. Jeff got me an i pod for an early Mother's Day present because I had expressed over and over that I wanted a way to have music with me whenever I was with Joe. He loves to listen to and dance with music. I had an attachment for my i pod that is an external speaker for the i pod. I turned the music on to my Disney songs (156 of them) and laid it by Joe's pillow. Joe has wonderful hearing and rhythm and he began listening intently to every song. He first began smiling a lot. Then he started clapping to the music. Between each song he would calm, listen intently, and then...when the next song began he would laugh right out loud, clap his hands together and wiggle his legs up and down while his feet dragged across the bed. After several songs he started swinging his arms up and down and moving his legs in bicycle motions along the mattress. It was the same with every song. If there was a funny part in the song he would laugh right on cue. It was the funnest, most joyful thing to see this dear little boy being made happy by something so wonderful as music. I wish we were all so simple in our needs and in our enjoyment. I wish everyone could see what I have seen today. I know I am in such a hurry all of the time. I want to be efficient and get the most out of my day and I fail to see that simple is better--no, the very best and I love Joe for he has helped me to begin to see this.

Again, thank you for your prayers. Joe and his family are really doing pretty good and I am thankful for your love. Have a wonderful weekend. I think I am going to go and listen to my i pod and review my experience with Joe in my mind. I don't want to ever forget!!!

The phone really did ring early...

I awoke to the phone ringing and thinking it was morning. The phone had it's familiar ring of "When Irish Eyes are Smiling." I knew it was Michelle. I was not alarmed because I thought it was probably 6:00 a.m. and it was Joe's birthday.(Instead it was 11:53 p.m.-not quite Joe's birthday.) Michelle said, "Guess where Joe is?" I didn't know. She told me he was in the emergency room. "No! Not for his birthday." Joe really scarred us this time. He was hypothermic with a temp of 95 degrees. Michelle had a feeling to check him because he had thrown up earlier. She found him non-responsive and his hands blue. Joey called 911 and Joe had his first ambulance ride. Yeah! Of course, the American Fork hospital would not keep him because of their inexperience with his many conditions, so a team was sent from Primary Children's Hospital and he was taken there. He was stable when they took him there but I guess he now has a temperature so he'll be there for a few days. So far, no tests reveal anything.

I went to Michelle's so that she could go to Joe before he left for Primary's and to get Joey so that he could go to the hospital. The roads at 12:30 a.m. were terrible. The snow was blowing northerly and horizontally so it was almost like a white-out. There were cars that had slid off. Fortunately police were assisting or I might have felt the need to stop. About 1 1/2 hours after I got to Michelle's she went to the A.F. Hospital (after they had decided what they were going to do with Joe). Michelle returned about 4:30 a.m. and got a few hours of sleep before the baby woke for a feeding. Earlier in the morning I had to feed him his second bottle feeding of his life. Wow! Can Gus guzzle. He drank 2 (2 oz) bottles in less than a minute (I swear and no exaggeration). At least after that he slept until about 6:30 a.m.--so about 4 hours. Now, Michelle has Gus and up at the hospital and we have Sophie here. Tonight I will stay with Joe so that Joey and Michelle can get a good night's rest. I can hardly wait to see little Joe. We have some singing and dancing to do together--our favorite activity for sure. Instead of birthday party today, we'll have to have a "Coming Home Party" like Michelle suggested.

Imagine yourself in a Dark Room, Unable to See...

I have a dear friend whose mother died when she was just tiny. Now she is a mother and has expressed her wish that her mother were near by to talk to when she has discipline questions. I shared the following with her and thought that perhaps others would benefit too. So here is what I told her:

Picture yourself in the middle of dark, windowless, doorless room. You are sitting on a chair--confused and alone and you're wondering what the room is like. You crawl on the floor very slowly, feeling with your hands--hoping there are no sudden drops or hard things that you might bump into. Afterall you do not want to be hurt. You crawl until you reach the wall. Then you stand and feel around the walls and you go around the square of the walls. You become confident that you are safe with the boundary of the walls--there are no drops or bumps, but because it is dark, you are never sure you have covered all of the area between the walls and your chair. So, you keep testing to make sure the boundaries are safe. This applies to a young child's life. They will crawl and feel their way until they know their boundaries (the walls). Then they will will keep testing to make sure the boundaries haven't changed. As long as the boundaries do not change, they feel very secure and will behave better. If consistency changes, however, they will test to see if their boundaries have broadened. Once the child is older and can be reasoned with, of course the boundaries are made larger--but only after the child has proven to himself and you that they can handle the smaller boundaries. I hope this makes sense to you. It really helped me to make sure I stayed consistent at all costs. My child's future well-being depended upon it.

Feathers in the Wind

I am not sorry for my April Fools story yesterday. But I am sad that Rachael has felt so badly that there were so many that became alarmed when she said I had been taken by the CIA. She has been ill ever since. I just returned from a bridal shower and Sisters from my Relief Society expressed they were glad to see me because they had not gotten the rest of the story or only parts of some of the story and so there was much confusion. It is amazing how words, like feathers scattered in the wind, really are hard to re-gather. I hope if someone comes up to me and asks me how things went with the CIA, that I will remember the story and be able to clear things up. Rachael doesn't think it's a story we will forget any time soon, but I fear with my memory of late, that I will forget the details. I guess that's the blessing of getting a wee bit older; forgetfulness helps ease the worries and anxieties that were forever on the forefront of my mind when I was younger. One thing's for sure, I am still not too old to learn or be reminded of some of life's lessons.

Gottcha!!

I guess between my blog and Rachael's follow-up we are getting international calls. My blog is partially true (I did go onto the CIA site and my mother taught me to be honest)but I was not called at 6 a.m. and I am still home, enjoying the cold weather while I sit snuggly in my home. HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY. I think Rachael and I had more fun and laughs and we are sorry if we gottcha too good. Have a wonderful day and know that we are still fond of all of you that fell for my little story that grew when Rachael read it.

A Phone Call at 6:00 a.m.

I couldn't believe it when I received a phone call at 6:00 this morning. Caller ID said Washington, D.C. Who could be calling me from DC I wondered? The man on the other end asked me if I was the Lori Bennett that had been on the CIA website the day before yesterday. I was about to say, "no" even though I really had been. I asked myself, "Why would he want to know?" Thankfully my mother's teachings held true that honesty is the best policy so I didn't have to think too long about my answer, "Yes????" Now, here I must explain that I had found the site in one of those composition books on the front inside cover. I had searched "satellite," "United States," and "Uruguay" on the CIA site. I guess that was what got me in trouble. It was just a coincidence that I checked these 3 words ("satellite" was an example on the search list). I checked Uruguay because my brother went on a mission there and its name came to me. But apparently there is a major controversy going on between the U.S and Uruguay and Satellite useage. Uruguay (we think) is this quiet little country that just has conflict within its borders, but if I understand correctly, there is more going on. At any rate, the man asked me for all of this really pertinent information and I refused to give it to him because you never give information over the phone. He said quite crossly, "Lori, we will be in touch." Can I just say, my stomach barrometer is really stepped up a notch!!! Stay tuned for details. I must say, I feel really sick!!!