Michelle’s Exciting Adventure

Michelle will say this isn’t the best picture, but it was the best one I got the night she and Andy got engaged! Their faces say it all.

They were so excited and so were we! Lots of fun to come!

Michelle & Andy took a little trip to Phoenix for spring break so Andy’s good friend could take some engagement pictures for them. 

This is one of my favorites!

Michelle working on her announcements. They turned out beautifully!

Danielle was so sweet and hosted a family bridal shower for Michelle. This is the Munro side, for some reason I didn’t get a picture of the Kartchner side. Thanks Jayme, Margaret, Kathy and Heather for coming!

Also, my good friends Suzanne Ohsiek and Dianne Tanner hosted a shower for Michelle here in Boise, unfortunately…..no pictures.

THE BIG DAY!!!

After 6 months of waiting, the big day finally arrived!

We are so excited for them to start their lives together!

Matthew

A lot happened with Matt in a short amount of time.

First of all, he graduated from Seminary

Matt & his buddies

Then, he graduated from High School!

It was great having so many there to support him!

Emma is proud of her Uncle Matt.

I don’t have pictures of the other big events in his life but, he had  his 18th birthday, registered for college (Utah State), and was ordained an Elder.

We are so proud of you Matt you have become such an amazing “adult”! We are looking forward to what the future holds for you!

Philippines 2012

I have been here for 10 days, but did not post anything because I couldn't figure out how to sign on. Things are going well. We are averaging about 3 surgeries per day. On the weekend we went to the beach.

Remodel Completed!!!

It took a little longer than planned, but it was well worth the wait~

Tape and texture…done

Hardwood added to match

Walls & ceiling painted…cabinets delivered

Cabinet installation started

Floor sanded and refinished…almost a perfect match

The completed room!!! Oh how I love all of the storage and no more computer wires, it is all in the cabinets!

Thanks to “my guy” and his “guys”!

REMODEL

So we are not happy unless something is torn apart…right?

For quiet awhile I have wanted to change our office. It had a desk built into a closet with some shelves that Kevin had installed. It was okay, but I knew it could be better. If you notice in the picture the walls on each side of the desk…dead space. Almost 5 feet of dead, wasted space!

So I have “a guy” that is pretty amazing. I tell him kind of what I want, and he draws up a plan and its is exactly what I want!

On Monday he came to start “the plan”. First order of business…taking down those useless wall.

YEA!!! No more wasted space!

Tuesday…take down the rest of the sheet rock. “My guy” also knows “a guy”…an electrician…He was my friend on Tuesday. When the sheetrock came down, there was some crazy electrical stuff behind there! He took care of that, moved electrical boxes added more boxes and put in lights in my ceiling!

Crazy wiring!

“My guy” and his “guy”! Oh another thing we found in the wasted space was some funky plumbing (on the right side) any way, “my guys” guy is also pretty good at plumbing. He took care of that for me also!

Wednesday…today. The electrician came again today to finish up all he needed to do until the painting is done and the cabinets are in. One crazy thing (it seems “crazy” is the theme for this project"), when the electrician/plumber was looking for my main water valve to shut off so  he could fix my plumbing he couldn’t find it. It wasn’t for lack of looking, we both looked in every closet, room, storage space even the garage…no luck! In fact I called my friend who has my exact same floor plan to ask where her valve was, she knew exactly where it was, so I looked in the same area…not there! I have to find it. If we ever had an issue and we needed to shut off the water, we would be in sorry shape! Anyway….back to today, “my guy” also has another “guy”…the “tape & texture” guy! After “my guy” hung the sheetrock today, his “other guy” came to tape. The office is starting to look amazing!!!

Milestones

So I have decided not to to a “major” update! It would take too long. So here are some milestones that have occurred since the last “big” post in Jan 2011.

I guess the first milestone is that we bought a small vacation home in Donnelly, Idaho. That will be its own post since right now “before & after” pictures are on my laptop that has been non-functioning since about March.

The next milestone is the addition of our newest grand daughter, Hannah Kay. She arrived happy and healthy on August 20.

     

She is perfect and we are all so happy she is here!

The final milestone is that we are gaining another son-in-law!

Andy & Michelle were engaged on Saturday Jan 14th! They will be getting married this summer! We are so excited for them!!!

Update?

 

This is how my life feels….

 

This is how I would like it to be!

Update coming soon!

More from the Philippines

I have added a picture of Kirk Nichols. He is a nurse anesthetist from Utah who worked with us during the 1st week. This is the hotel we are staying at. It is quite nice and the wi-fi is helpful. The little girl with the smile gets my vote for our happiest patient. Always waving and blowing kisses.

Philippines - End of week one

Here are a few more pictures. The girl who seems to be unhappy to be with Geoff is little Reza. We did her cleft lip and palate on previous missions. She was so malnourished that Geoff provided nutrition for a year before doing her palate surgery. Now she is doing well. The picture of the pig roasting over open coals is a reminder that the there is a festive atmosphere here in Kabankalan and a lot of people milling about because it is the time of the annual Sinalog festival.

More from the Philippines

This cute little girl had surgery cancelled on two previous missions because she was sick. When she arrived this time she had a fever so it looked like it might happen again. She looked like it might happen again. The next morning she seemed OK so we went ahead. The photo up above is me getting IV fluids after two days with the flu or food poisoning.

More from the Philippines

I have added some more pictures of the patients and their parents. It is always fun and touching to take the children out to their parents after surgery. They are waiting so anxiously to see what the change will look like. All of the preop patients and their families as well as the post surgery patients are in one room. They seem to bond with one another and help one another. We worked until after midnight last night and today looks about the same. Geoff was concerned that we might not have enough patients. Turns out it is the most we have ever had. The OB business continues to be booming here. I will add some pictures of the benches where they wait to go and deliver as well as the delivery table inside.

Philippines 2011

We have gotten off to a good start on our humanatarian mission to repair cleft lips and cleft palates here in Kabankalan, Occidental Negroes, Philippines. After leaving Boise on Friday and traveling to Portland, Tokyo, Manila, Bacolad and a two hour car ride, I arrived at my destination on Sunday evening. On Monday we evaluated about 45 patients and then did one operation on Monday night. This is my 5th trip to the Philippines and my third to this specific hospital, so I feel a lot more comfortable and my anxiety level is not so high. Still it is off the beaten path and there are always challenges to overcome. On Tuesday we did three operations and got back to the hotel by 9:30 PM. That is a bit unusual. I have become accustomed to much later nights. Because of my familiarity with the environment and the process, there are things I can do to improve efficiency throughout the day. I am writing this on Wednesday and we are just about to complete our fourth case today. No major problems with any of the cases so far. I am sharing the work with Kirk Nichols this week. He is a nurse anesthetist from Utah. His journey to the Philippines turned into a saga after he had boarded his connection in Los Angeles. It seems that the luggage people bumped against the plane with their vehicle and knocked a hole in it. I do enjoy the Philippines with its 80 degree temperatures in January and lush green vegetation. The people are wonderful. I even like the little geckos on the lunch room walls. Several people have asked “where is Miss Sandra” and I have to explain that she couldn’t make it this year. Sandra would be amazed that there are even more babies being delivered at this little hospital this year than last and as always the women barely make a sound as they go through labor without an epidural. Sandra would appreciate that Kirk and I rode a “trike” back to the hotel last night. That is a motorcycle with a side car that serves as a taxi. The locals will often get 10 or 12 people on it at one time.