Happy Mother's Day!

Just wanted to wish all you mother's a happy day! This morning when I was writing in my journal, I commented on the fact that I wish that I could wish my mother a happy mother's day and that I miss not being able to. I then remembered that the best thing that I could do to celebrate my mother's legacy is to be a good husband and father as she would have wanted. In doing so, I was in fact, bringing to pass a wish that my mother would have wanted to have. All of these reminders are what keep us moving forward and in the right direction. Maureen is a great mother to each of our children and grandchildren. She remembers them for every occasion. Me on the other hand, I'm lucky if I can remember what holiday is coming around. She has had a go of it for the last several months and she has had to pull me through it all when it would have been easy for me to be a slackard. I have learned to become more rounded as a husband in tending to needs when they are needed.
We are very fortunate and blessed to be able to have a few of our children around us and wish that we could see the others more often. But we realize that they have their lives that they have to live and not necessarily living for us. We are off to see Nathan graduate from Case Western Dental School, these last 4 years have gone by pretty fast. We are excited for him and Bridgette in their new adventure down in Houston for the next year. At least they are or will be very close to the continental divide. We will miss going out to Cleveland as we like that area and especially the climate, when we've visited. Obviously, during the best times of the year.
The best news though this year is that we will have Marchelle, Rahul and family along with Megan, Charlie and family out to Bear Lake this year! They haven't been for awhile and along with, hopefully, Shaun and Jamie, Kai, don't know about Derek and Rebecca, Elizabeth this year, we could have a crowd! Sorry I'm kinda all over the place right now. So I'll quit.

Grateful

Grateful!! That word expresses how I feel after the life changing event that took place on Mar. 8 (our precious daughter Megan's birthday) when i suffered a minor stroke. Needless to say, it has been a life changing event for me and I think for a few others also. I feel so blessed to have another chance to enjoy life and the little things that we take for granted every day. I feel blessed to see, hear, speak, use my hand (although a little slower), type on the computer, play the piano, button my shirts, comb my hair, many other things, but most of all to hug my husband, my children, and hold our precious little grandchildren. When you are faced with your own mortality things become very precious and also a little scary. I try very hard to keep fear gone and faith in the forefront, but it is very hard not to think about it every time anything happens or as you try to go through a day. Right now my blood pressure is high again and I am very worried. I see the doctor on Tuesday and I am putting my faith in him that he can help me. In the meantime I had a blessing where I was told to rest, have peace, and know that all will be well. I am so thankful for the Priesthood and faithful men who can speak Heavenly Fathers words to us. I was also told to trust the Doctors. I thank all of you for your continual prayers on my behalf because I still need them. I pray many times every day that I will have more years here on this earth and I guess if nothing else this experience has shown me how many people really care about me and how much I need to rely on the Lord. Basically our lives are in his hands and even though we are told this all the time, it sometimes takes something drastic to remind us that it is true.

Catch-up time!

Okay, so here's the deal. We've had a lot to catch up on since Thanksgiving. First of all, I have at the reluctant behest and just to catch up with the rest of society types, become a nonenthusiastic member of FACEBOOK. Little by little I have been adding, 'Friends'. although I really don't get the fascination of adding all these, 'Friends' as if I'm compiling a list of people into a bank from which I can draw from at some future point in time. It may seem compelling to keep adding 'Friends' and I guess that you may connect with somebody from your 4th grade class whom you may have beaten up and kicked around at the playground. You could hear from some raving individual whom you might have slighted in junior high school who now owns a large corporation or just maybe you can pear into the life of some high school schlupp that you'd prefer not to ever hear from again. But on the rare occasion that somebody from waayyy back that you really wondered about whether you could have been able to share the gospel with but was to totally lacking in the true love of Christ drops you a line, then maybe, just maybe, it would be worth all of the trepidation and angst I am experiencing now. Because I am a lot more adventurous than Maureen, I took the plunge and we'll see what happens over the next little bit. Maybe after a while, Maureen will eventually succumb to the wave of pressure from some of the Ward members who remind her that this is where you can find out what's happening with members especially her sisters.
Speaking of Maureen, she is coming along really well from her hip operation. Thanks for all the prayers, support and love offered in her behalf. She told me that I am, at this stage of our lives, experiencing what young mothers go through, not getting any quality rest as she was up and down, up and down during the first few nights home.
I have really gotten pretty good at making the bed, I have a system in which I do it. I make mental notes of how I do certain things around the house. I am multitasking getting the wash done, vacuuming while the clothes are being washed and doing the dishes at the end of the day making sure that the dog is fed and everything is in its' proper place. I make mental notes of where I left off in the house and then systematically start from one end and move to the other end. I've washed her hair, shaved her legs, put on her compression socks, changed her bandages and folded her clothes. The only thing that I draw the line on is doing the ironing. Thank goodness that Mom was down for a few days and that she did the ironing. We'll have to wait for a few weeks until Maureen is up on her feet and she can do the ironing. Until then, the only thing that I really need ironing is my white shirts and I can always wear a coat over them on Sunday.
So here are a few pics from the hospital. Shhh I'm not supposed to put these pics on. Ha! got ya!
I was able to snap a couple of pics at the hospital.
The medical team that operated on attended to and nursed Maureen during her hospital stay were really professional. The doctor was fantastic and the hospital stay was above normal. However, Maureen was glad to get out of that place and back home. This afternoon, she graduates to using a cane for walking around. I will post pics of that event later!

Oops Megan--Dad really does know that you spell Kalie's name this way not Kaile.

Tis the Season!

It's been some time since we've been able to write anything of note but the last few weeks has been an overload of memories and joy. This Thanksgiving we were blessed to have Marchelle and the kids for a week before Rahul was able to join them just before Thanksgiving day and we were doubly blessed to have Mom and Dad Richins join us as well. Indianapolis is very cold this time of year so we took advantage of being able to go to the park with the kids. As you can see, they thoroughly enjoyed being able to hang out and show us some of their 'skills'. Anika was perfectly willing to be calm as a winters' morn. The others were just glad to be with each other and play. Kaile was really excited to be able to have an older 'girl' cousin that she could hang out with.
Ethan and Maya were laying on the floor side by side so we talked Orland to come lay by them with his paws out in front like the kids were with their hands and he willingly complied and looked up at the camera with a look that said, "is this how you wanted me to look?" The dinner hadn't even been served up and, as you can see, people are already getting a little dozy eyed before that turkey chemical has even had a chance to work it mighty miracle! Hey!!........how did that picture make into this section??????
Will be back for session #2

Went for a drive

The other day, I decided to go for a drive. I headed the car north to see where I would end up. Guess what? Okay, so it was pretty much decided ahead of time.
This is what I wanted to do for quite a while but schedules didn't quite work out until now.
Just didn't have Maureen with me. She doesn't really like the noise. Whereas, the louder the better!! The best part of the whole deal was that I just walked in...it didn't cost me a single Obama cent!(or is that scent!!) I was too late for the funny cars and top fuel and so the rest of the qualifiers were on. Still pretty awesome and pretty fun. Next time, if any of the fam' wants to go we'll have to plan it in the future. Until then, we'll see where the car takes me next time.

A Choice to Remain Silent

Unfortunate events bring people to one of two choices, 1. Do I choose to follow what my heart and what the Savior would do or, 2. Do I choose to satisfy my troubled heart with more hurt and pain? The balance is fine and the line can sometimes be blurred affecting our judgment and our ability to see things for what they are. What is printed and what is payed out is all that is heard and seen and so, hastily, we assume that an injustice has occurred. But on the other side of the coin, those who have chosen to remain silent because of the genuine pain and sleepless nights relive the events over and over again. For all of the 7 times 70 good deeds that have been done 1 unfortunate event negates all before and after. So the swim against the current is overwhelming no matter which direction one is heading. For this very moment, I have seen the other side of the coin that I never knew could be so dividing. No one, who has not had such an experience, can know. And so, without all the facts, which only those involved in the unfortunate event can really and truly know, one cannot come to any honest conclusion. Everything else is at the very best, a calculated best guess. What ever is passed down is a feeble attempt to find justice.
One cannot discount the pain, the hurt and the sorrow which has been exacted upon family members. One cannot expect that it would ever fade as time goes on. One cannot know the loss one feels when a family member is taken in an unfortunate event, an accident. One cannot call for a redo on these occasions. But on this occasion, for this unfortunate event, one can look at the other side of the coin and appreciate the genuine sorrow and humility of those who choose to remain silent because anything said would result in further hurt and anguish. This much we want everybody to know, we pray for you, we love you and we support you. May our Heavenly Father's abiding love ever be with you, Paul and Lisa.