Sorry it's been awhile since anything of worth was added to this blog. I have been in pain, in a bad mood, and not very good for anything. There have been some very good spots and some not so good spots in the past few weeks. We have attended the baptisms of two of my nephews - Rick and Kim's son, Gavin, and Kenn and Jolene's son, Jake, were baptized on the same day in Rick and Kim's ward. It was a blessing that we were able to attend. I needed the example of these two boys and I really needed the influence of the Spirit I felt there.

We also went to Rick and Kim's house on the Fourth of July to swim, barbeque, visit, have fun, and watch people blow things up. I ate all the wrong foods, too much of them, got too much heat, and we all stayed up way too late. Not one of us woke up the next morning until almost 8:00 am. Most of us are usually up by about 6:15am on a normal day.

The day after (the 5th of July) I spent mostly outside. I pulled more than 1,000 weeds (I counted), dug up one dead tree (Mike dug up the other one), and planted two trees. Even though it's a lot of work, I'm glad we have the opportunity to have a home. Not everyone gets that chance. I'm glad to be able to work and get exercise, and accomplish things that need to be done. It makes me feel good emotionally and physically, and believe me, that's exactly what I need right now.

I have been sick for a few weeks. I started feeling bad on Sunday,June 8. I had an appointment with my doctor on June 10 and asked her about how I was feeling. She said it was a temporary thing and the discomfort wouldn't last long. I foolishly believed her. I kept ignoring it, because you know, if you ignore a problem long enough it will eventually go away. Zoom forward to Sunday, July 6 (four long weeks later). We went to church, came home, and I fed Andrew. It was very painful (it has been for a long time) and I ached all over when we were done. I went and laid down for awhile. I fell asleep and woke up around 5pm. I had a fever of 99.2. An hour later it was 100.2. Mike called my friend who is a nurse and she said I needed a doctor. When Mike called the doctor, my temperature was 101. She called in a prescription for antibiotics for me. By this time it was 9:30 pm and my kids (who were supposed to be in bed asleep) were crying and worried that I was going to die. We got them settled down and Mike went and got the meds. I have a pretty good case of mastitis. (If you don't know what that is I guess you can google it.) I was hoping that by now I would be feeling better, but I guess I waited too long so it is going to take awhile. At least I don't have a fever anymore. There are still moments where the pain is so intense that it brings tears to my eyes. I hope I feel better soon. This experience has reminded me of how grateful I am for good health. I make a horrible sick person.

Thought for the day:

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

-William Arthur Ward