This and That

I am putting in a few pictures I missed from last week. 

From the party Saturday:

It's hard to pick out individuals in this picture (but not impossible).  Our family is in the middle on the right.  Vernon and Ila Cook have a pretty impressive posterity.

From last Sunday night:

Ila helped me pick vegetables last Sunday night.  I had just finished picking when the Green's got there, and after dinner all Ila wanted to do was to pick vegetables from grandma's garden.  I started by allowing her to pick a small cucumber that wasn't really ready, but then we started finding all the stuff I had missed.  She had a large bowlful in just a few minutes. 

 

From sometime this past week:

Also from last Sunday night, Gunnar with Yuli.

Cute Camden.  Poor Nick and Sara, all their kids have been really sick 

at some point throughout this last week, with croup and fevers, etc.  Effie has completely lost her voice.  Camden looks pretty happy, even though he's been sick.  We are praying for their quick recovery.

News of the week:

Roy had to have a test on his heart this past week.  Some time ago the doctor found a murmur.  It is caused by his high blood pressure.  He is pretty healthy and normally has a lot of energy, but his energy has been waning a little bit lately.  He rides his bike without problems, but hiking up steep hills is really difficult.  The heart test was called a transesophageal echo cardiogram.  The doctor goes through the esophogus to view the heart.  We were blessed to have good news, the heart looked good with no significant leakage, although it is thickening a little (also due to the HBP).  The doctor tweaked his meds to try to lower his blood pressure a little more, and will also schedule an appointment to check for any blockages.  Apparently, even though Roy has abnormally low cholesteral,it is still possible that there could be a blockage.  We were also blessed to have our bishop and another ward member give him a blessing the night before.  The bishop told him he'd be as good as new after he went through any required procedures.  He told us that he felt a sure prompting to promise him that.  I felt calm and at peace following the blessing, and I'm sure Roy did, too.  

Caitlyn and Dallin FINALLY had their vaccinations.  Caitlyn got pretty sick the next day.  I'm glad they got their shots, as I have been  hearing of many people getting very sick because they don't believe in getting the vacination.  (It wasn't that Caitlyn didn't believe in it, she and Dallin just procrastinated).

Roy and I took Ollie and Gunnar to see the play, "Sister Act" on Saturday.  It was one I'd never seen before.  I thought it was hilarious, and the cast was very talented, especially the lead actress.  I think the boys enjoyed it, too, although it may have been a little above their head--especially concerning the jokes about nuns and the convent, etc.  

We attended Ben Christensen's farewell on Sunday.  Jennie, Jordan, Caitlyn, Dallin, and Roy and I were there to represent the Rasbands.  Ben did a great job.  In the beginning of his talk he talked about grandpa and his influence.  He said that whenever he thought about a mission, he knew that his grandpa Cook would want him to go--that he would say, "Forget about yourself and go serve others."  He said that Grandpa Cook was the most Christlike person that he's known in his life.  He also told a story from his backpacking trip in Iceland (he, Steve, and Eliza hiked 50 miles before we got there).  He mentioned how he liked to hike ahead on his own (I think I mentioned in the last letter that he did it quite often when he was with us).  He got a little too far ahead one morning and the weather wasn't great.  He ended up in front of a glacier without crampons.  His choice was to wait for Steve and Eliza and freeze for over an hour, or continue up the mountain.  He chose to continue, but found it was difficult, and the weather made it even more scary, so he began to pray vocally.  Almost immediately the weather calmed.  He said it was still scary, but a lot less so, and he felt his prayers had been answered.  

Christine had a nice lunch for us after the meeting.  Roy and I brought the watermelon, and it was a really good one!  We were also able to visit with Phil and Char, Dave and Becky and Kim. Charlotte has already put a book together with a lot of their pictures from Iceland.  It was really fun to look through it.

I didn't take any other pictures this week, but I should have.  The boys could have had their pictures with the "convicts." from the play, but we were all hungry, so we left. I could have also taken one of Roy in the hospital bed, but I don't think he's too unhappy that I didn't think of it.  I'll have a little more to write next week because Roy and I leave for Cedar City in the morning for the Shakespeare Festival.  We will be seeing two plays a day.  We love the plays and hate to miss any, so hopefully we didn't overbook ourselves too much.