Happy Birthday!!!

Yesterday my mom turned 59 years old. I don't think she will get mad at me for posting that in a public place, just don't ask how old her twin sister is (sorry Roberta!) 

I called in the morning to wish her a happy birthday. She was still getting ready for the day, but my dad made the comment that there had been a lot oh honks so he was wondering if someone had put something in front of the house. When he went and checked, sure enough he found this at the side of the road. 

They live in a busy street that is a pretty main thourough fare that I would imagine almost everyone in their neighborhood drives down on a daily basis. They spent the day listening to the honks and being reminded of what great friends they have and what an amazing community they live in. We have no idea who put it out there, but thanks!

She also received many visitors, flowers, and cards. My dad talked like she had a great day. 

My mom has always done a lot to make our birthdays a special day. We would always wake up to a special breakfast complete with chocolate milk. (A treat we pretty much only got on birthdays and some holidays.) Then she would make a dinner of our choice and a yummy cake.  All our meals were served on a plate that says "you are special today."

This year Emily decided to carry on the traditional breakfast as best she could when my mom is limited to what she can eat through the feeding tube.

This is what she came up with. The container on the plate is her formula that my dad inserts through the tube with the syringe on the left. Then he flushes it out with the water in the cup on the right. Emily said my mom came out and saw it and laughed so hard she cried. (Her previous post is the perfect lead-in to  this. She's good at finding humor in things that could be sad.)

They had the rest of my family who lives close over to celebrate later in the evening. They said it was a fun day. Thanks to all who made it that way!

Happy birthday Mom! We love you!

Laughing Places

       Last Wednesday we went to the ALS Clinic. When we go there, we stay in one room and different specialists come in and talk to us. We see a doctor, a physical therapist, a speech therapist, a dietitian, a pharmacist, a respiratory therapist, and representatives from the ALS Association and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. (It takes most of the day.)
       Alan, Roberta, and I all went. They are very helpful and professional, but sitting in one place and answering a whole bunch of questions can get a little monotonous, unless you make your own fun. Someone came in and asked if I ever laugh inappropriately. (Apparently ALS can make you laugh and cry when you shouldn't.) I took one look at Roberta and started to giggle. I probably didn't need to even answer after that, but I said with my computer, "Yes, but I always have."
       Roberta has been incredibly supportive to me, and this time she backed me up with a story. We bought a car to share after we graduated from college. We wanted to save money, and we found that a car with a clutch was cheaper than a car with an automatic transmission. I didn't know how to drive a stick shift, but Roberta did and she said she would teach me.
        When it came time for my first lesson, we went to a little country road where we didn't think there would be any traffic. Everything went smoothly until we switched seats and I started driving. Then it was time to go up a hill with a stop sign. I couldn't figure out how to get the car to go again after I stopped! Suddenly, a car was behind me! That really added unwanted pressure! I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but we ended up in a ditch! That's when I started laughing. Actually, I think crying or swearing would have been worse. The people behind us were very nice. They helped push us out of the ditch! For some reason, Roberta decided that she didn't want to teach me how to drive a stick shift after all!:) Roberta drove home. Aunt June was there, and she offered to go driving with me. I thought that was very kind, but by that time I felt like I'd do better if I wasn't worried about scaring someone else. I went back out and taught myself how to drive a stick shift.
       When I was asked if I ever laugh inappropriately, my mind went to an entirely different experience. I thought of a time when we were in a junior high school German class. Neither Roberta nor I liked the teacher. We thought he was partial to the boys in the class. He seemed to give grades based upon whether or not he liked you. He called everyone by their last names, which we thought was rude. He would look at me, ask a question, and say, " Willis." I would look back at him, and wait for him to say a first name. More often than not, he would say, " Roberta," and then she would answer his question. That seemed to frustrate him a little. We thought he deserved it for not learning our first names. We had him for three years,  and he never did figure them out! We never have looked alike.
       Anyway, Dena Kopp was a lifelong friend of ours who was also in that class. I don't remember who had the idea, but we decided to see how many people we could get to yawn during German. All three of us yawned as much as we could. Then we waited and watched. It wasn't long before we had quite a few people yawning! Every time anyone would yawn, the three of us would burst into laughter! Mr. Asmus knew we were up to something, but he couldn't figure out what!
       If our mother were alive, she would call these stories "laughing places. " We think that she got that phrase from the Disneyland attraction America Sings. She used to say that everyone should have laughing places. As I have become more and more limited on what I can do, I find myself enjoying and relying on those laughing places more and more.
       This weekend was wonderful because Bryan, my brother, and Nathan, his son, visited. We enjoyed them so much! We listened  to Elder Uchtdorf's Priesthood Session talk again. In it Elder Uchtdorf quoted President Abraham Lincoln as saying that "most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."
       I think that has been the biggest surprise to me about having ALS. When I control the things I think about and keep my thoughts happy, I handle life better. Even though my body is shutting down, I have so many blessings! Because of Jesus Christ, I have so much hope! The assurance of continuing to live after I die is an incredible comfort to me!
       I certainly don't want to give the idea that I don't ever have down times, because I do. But I have learned that praying like crazy, and then controlling what I allow myself to focus on determine how I ‘endure’ the days I am blessed with!

Cherish Is the Word

"Cherish All Your Blessings"
       Jacob Alan Binder, our grandson, was given a name and blessing on February 14, 2016. The phrase that really stuck out to me was when his father, Jeff told him to " cherish all your blessings. " That has given me a lot to contemplate!
       I love the word cherish ! Years ago, the Lettermen came out with a song called "Cherish."  The tune and the harmony were so perfect that I loved it even though the storyline was sad. It starts out saying how much a boy cherishes a girl. Then it says that he knows that she will never love him back. That does not change the fact that he still loves and cherishes her. That song gave me the hope and dream of finding someone who would feel that way about me, only I was going to be smart enough to cherish him right back!
       What does cherish mean? To me, it means that you love and adore, that something is so important to you that it makes your life beautiful and worthwhile. It makes your life feel complete and whole!
This morning I woke up before Alan did. I laid in bed, and thought about the blessings that I cherish the most in my life. I have thought about them many times since February 14th, but today I want to do more than think.  I want to write about them!
       * I cherish Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  I love knowing that They love and care about someone as ordinary and average as me.  I am so thankful for the life that Jesus lived, the sacrifice He made, the Atonement He performed, and the miraculous Resurrection that followed.  I truly appreciate the hope, peace, and purpose that I enjoy in my own life because of Him.
       * I cherish Alan. I grew up having such dreams about falling in love and getting married. Alan has made those dreams come true. I have been amazed as my dreams have become his dreams. He has helped me in everything I have tried to do. He has made my family his family, the important family traditions that I grew up celebrating have remained part of our lives, and he has always treated me like I matter. I love and treasure Alan.
       * I cherish the children that have been sent to our family. I remember feeling so tired and sick when I was pregnant the first time. I called my mother and asked her how she went through being pregnant eleven times. (I am the ninth of twelve children, but I was a bonus because I am a twin.:) ) My mother's answer was so sweet. She said, " You hold that baby in your arms one time, and you will never ask that question again." She was right! Our children have taught me so much. They have brought incredible joy into my life!
       * I cherish the family that I was born into. My mother is one of my favorite success stories! She knew how to do so many things right. I also love and appreciate my siblings. They have been some of my dearest friends.
       * I cherish prayers and the precious people who have offered prayers in my behalf! Those prayers have literally carried me through this ALS trial! If you are reading this, and you are one of the angels who have prayed for my family and me, please know that we appreciate you with every inch of our hearts! We cannot thank you enough.