I'm writing this on my phone - hope I'm not too mistake laden!

On the 13th of this month we received a phone call from Desi which seemed to indicate that her water had broken or was at least leaking. It was late that night but Rich and I were fairly certain that my flight to Denver would need to be changed.

The next morning Desi and Mike went into their ob and they were then sent on over to the hospital. Rich made new flight arrangements for me for the next day out of Atlanta and then I proceeded to make preparations to leave. Later that evening we attended the funeral of a woman in our ward who had lost a courageous battle with cancer - but as we sat waiting for the funeral to begin we received the news that Ruby Marie had been born and weighed 6# 10oz. Mom and baby were doing fine.

The next day I flew out as planned - got in to Denver at nearly midnight and was relieved that Rich made it home safely too - at about the same time minus the time change. Desi was home with two little munchkins nestled in their beds but sitting up with a very fussy Ruby. However, after a little bit of chatting we made our way to bed and the baby seemed to do better that night than any of us would have expected. Gratefully, she has continued to sleep pretty well and seems pretty mild in temperament. Emily is in love with her but Mordecai seems to be oblivious to her, except when she is crying and he can't hear his tv program. Lol

That first week here was full of birthdays - Mary, Dan, and Emily! This week was my Dad's. How blessed we are to have so many wonderful people to celebrate!

Every time I have the opportunity to visit one of our children as they welcome a new little one into their homes I am in total awe of the plan of our Father in Heaven. The fact that He even trusts us to care for his precious sons and daughters is a real act of faith on His part, I'm sure! Lol it is always amazing to me to see how unique these tiny ones are - their personalities just need to be discovered by us! I watched little Ruby's face one evening as she struggled to stretch and then get rid of the dreaded hiccups...it was so clear that this sweet little one was experiencing in a very small measure the effects of mortality - trying to gain some kind of control over her tiny little body. Little does she realize yet that will be a life-long endeavor! In a few short months she will have moved from the realm of complete helplessness to a bundle of energy at full gait! How miraculous is that? In the meantime those tender little smiles that come unbidden from her communion with an unseen realm are just an exquisite opportunity for us to touch eternity. It doesn't get much better than that!

On a sad note - Carlie's Grandfather Fairbanks passed away on the 14th (I think. It couldn't have been much more difficult as Joey is still TDY and was unable to come home. This left Carlie with having to make arrangements for the children to be left in the care of friends and neighbors so that she could take Reah and go home for the funeral. On the bright side, Carlie had a little niece born the same day that her Grandpa passed. Again, a tender glimpse into eternity.

Well - we had a chance to meet Rich's new cardiologist and I, for one, am thrilled.  They have already run a 24 hr. EKG and will do an echocardiogram and blood panel next week.  Rich's blood pressure was good and his heart is in sinus rhythm at the moment, all very good and so he doesn't need to resume the digoxin or the diltiazam!  Yeah!!!  We had a chance to ask some very pointed questions and I feel confident that they are taking our concerns seriously.  I asked if there was any possibility of getting off some of the meds in the future - obviously it is something that he'll have to work hard to do and may not be able to - and they told us that some may be able to be reduced or eliminated - but right now they need to get a baseline of where he is at now. 

Part of my concern about the meds is because of having watched my Mom...it seemed like they gave her one med to fix this problem, then gave her another med to fix the problem that med created, and so on, until she finally passed away.  In my heart I know that isn't really fair but I really resent the dispensing of meds without investigating other alternatives first.  I think many physicians become "pill rollers" because they don't believe that their patient will make the necessary life-style changes...and perhaps that is true.  But it seems to me that Joseph Smith was correct when he cited the strength and success of the LDS people as a result of "teach them correct principles and let them govern themselves."  I think the same thing applies to medications and health.  If a patient has been truly taught all they need to know about their situation and then will not make the necessary changes - then roll the pills!  But too often I think we put our faith in pharmacology rather than the Lord - meaning that He is the creator of our bodies and knows them and how they work and how they will respond...hence, The Word of Wisdom and other counsels.  And, because I have battled weight for many years I understand how difficult it is to overcome self...but I also know how many times I wanted to believe that I had no control because that would mean that I am not responsible for my choices.  However, no matter what fairy tale I wanted to believe, the truth is still the truth, and I am still responsible for me and my choices.  I realize that I am speaking in general terms because there are health issues that are the afflictions and trials of the human condition and no one has control over, except the Lord.  But most of the health issues that I personally face are of my own making at this time.  I am grateful for modern medicine and the support I get...but I still think it is better to tell me or someone I love that they have diabetes or are pre-diabetic but there is something you can do about it...that you may not be able to be completely free but that there is a good chance you can be if you will just do what you need to do.  And the same thing can be said for so many of the modern health issues that are part of our lives...not all...but many. 

And then I really have a problem with the "science" of health too.  I am old enough to remember when everyone ate butter but then a "health scientist" postulated that the reason that people had heart problems was because of butter, red meat, etc. or saturated fats and it wasn't long before the government was extolling us on the virtues of margarine and urging us to use it instead of butter.  Twenty and thirty years go by and new research is showing that the trans fats in margarine are really unhealthy and what do you know - butter is really okay!  Or how about eggs?  Everyone ate eggs - but then came the big cholesterol scare and all of a sudden we have to eat egg whites only and throw out the perfectly good and HEALTHY yolk or use some concoction that is supposed to resemble eggs.  Now new research is showing that people who eat 6 and more eggs a week actually have lower cholesterol levels than people who only eat one or none - go figure!  And that the yolk has important nutrients such as lutein that are readily absorbable in our bodies which support good eyesight.  Or how about coconut oil - bad for you because it is a "saturated" fat - but not so fast - new research shows it is an important component in a healthy diet, increases satiety, lowers inflammation, and is one of the few fats available to provide medium chain fatty acids.  Then there is the government's food pyramid - and the whole movement to get us to lower fat - all the while we are becoming fatter and fatter as the days go by.  I know - I'm on my soapbox.  But even medical procedures are an area where I am suspicious - 30 years ago if someone developed breast cancer they would automatically do a double mastectomy...but now they are saying that under most circumstances a lumpectomy is just as successful.  Cholesterol medication and the numbers are another area that I just don't trust - it doesn't help that the 2004 study that was responsible for the government's current guidelines was conducted by 9 "scientists and doctors" - 8 of whom were receiving payments from the drug companies that all of these cholesterol lowering drugs make and there was no real, hard data to prove that lowering your cholesterol to these numbers was even effective - but you would certainly need the drugs to get those numbers!

I know that there are lots and lots of good people who are in the medical community and they are trying the best they can to treat their patients to the best of their ability with the knowledge that they have.  But I also believe that Lord knows best how we should care for our bodies and He also knew that "in consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring me in the last days" that we would need to have a way to optimize our health without falling prey to the snake oil salesmen of our day.  Ironically there is much interest now in nutrition and herbs - but for many years our doctors went through their entire medical training without ever taking a basic nutrition course.  And even now the majority of the AMA are resistant to a holistic approach to medicine.  And if anyone dares to question - well - they just have to be heretics!  There is so much we don't know - but too often we are expected to just follow blindly when much of what is being suggested just doesn't make sense and is counter to the Lord's directions.   I think I have just decided on a major!