Fun Visits......

Jessica and Elessia missed Hall "Chili and Scones" so I promised that I would make it up to them so they headed up one night for Scones and Eggs (we had eaten too much leftover chili to have chili again).  These three spent a few hours singing away.  They had great fun.

Jena, Elessia, Jessica

We had a couple of visits from this sweet girl.  This was a picture we sent to Chantel one day when she was working and Scarlett got to spend time at Grandma's (and Grandpa's) house.

Face time between Aunt Jena and Scarlett

Unfortunately, our visits with sweet Niki and his mom and dad actually were through Face time.  How grateful I am to be able to see him and hear him goo and babble.  They just moved apartments and don't have internet so I am missing my weekly visits with them.  So glad that both Tosha and Austen sent me texts with updates and pictures.  Here is one recent one.

I got both of these pictures of my grandchildren with hats on the same day.
They are the "cutest".
I have a version of these pictures as the wall paper on my phone--how cheesy is that?

Leaves hanging on....

Sometime in the first part of November Gary and I headed over to his mom's to do some stuff with our RV.  We happened to notice her trees to the east.  They had lost all of their leaves except for on the very tops.  I had never noticed that before.  I instantly related with those leaves--I felt like I was hanging on too.  So I took a picture.  Sometimes hanging on is all we need to do.

There was about six to seven in a row like that.  (I know---I am weird--but I do try to hang on.)

The balance of blessings.....

One of the most memorable talks I have heard in Stake Conference was a talk about trials and blessings by Pres. White, our first Stake President in Syracuse.  Reading parts from his journal from May and June of 1978, he interwove a trial (their toddler daughter had an illness that eventually led to her being brain damaged) and the story of a friend whom he had baptized who was African-American.  If you are a history nut, you will realize that June 1978 was when the Blacks received the priesthood.  Pres. White was able to give him the priesthood after the prophecy was announced.  Then he talked about how during trials, blessings are being pour down upon us to strengthen us and give us hope.  We need to look for them.  The more difficult the challenge, the more the blessings are there.  The trick is to look.

I believe that to be true.  I have seen it so many times in my life.  I know that our Heavenly Father provides us sufficient "succor" for each and every day and some of that succor are direct blessings in other areas of our lives.

Sunday, November 8 was a perfect example and it was in fact literally a blessing--the blessing of sweet Scarlett by her dad, Scott.  Scott and Chantel had wanted to have Scarlett's blessing at home with just family.  A few days before they called to say that Sunday at 6:30 was the day and time.  It was a very sweet moment to see my son bless his beautiful daughter.  In the circle with her dad were both her grandpas and her Great-Grandpa Giberson, her Uncle Austen, and all three members of their Bishopric.  Scarlett did great as well as her dad.

Pictures:  (You probably have seen them on Facebook but this is my personal record which will be a hard copy.)

Chantel with Scarlett

The Hall side of the family
Jena, Judy, Gary, Great-Grandpa Giberson and Karla/Nana, Chantel, Scarlett, Scott, and Great-Grandma Hall

Dad Scott with Scarlett

How cute is this picture.  I love it!

It was a sweet end of a difficult day.  How great is that! Perfect.

The fight continues....

(Sunday, Nov. 9) Ben has been trying to manage his illness without anti-psychotics since mid-June.  He has lost weight, felt more motivation and desire for the future, he got interested in gardening and spent hours in our backyard during the summer tending parts of the garden, he even read parts of books from time to time.  That is the list of plusses.  Unfortunately, his illness continue to worsen over the five months.   It had become critical over the week prior as he had a couple of nights where he didn't sleep at all. Saturday night of Sadie's he again didn't sleep at all.  That next morning Gary and I made the decision to admit him to day treatment at Davis Behavioral.  We felt we needed the break from him and that perhaps being away from the house for half the day would help him sleep at night.  Ben agreed, so Gary came and took Jena to Church and I headed off with Ben.

Sunday night he was able to sleep for about five hours although not until 3 or so in the morning.  However Monday night he again could not settle down to sleep..  He paced and was filled with symptoms.  I tried to stay up with him to help him manage himself but by 4 in the morning he was so distressed that he asked to be taken into the CRU--which is the inpatient unit of DBH.  It is not a complete locked down unit.  It is considered a level 2 unit.

There are lots of details which aren't needed for historical preservation but we later that night spent some time at the ER and he was admitted to a hospital in West Valley City where they said was the closest bed.  We didn't have a great experience there and spent 8 days waiting to get him transferred to UNI which is the only hospital he has had experience with.

He had now been there about 8 days and is still really struggling.  He just wants to be home with us.  He is now, of course, on medications but it has been a very slow process to calm his symptoms.  It is so sad.

I think I have mentioned before:  I hate schizophrenia. 

I can't begin to imagine how Ben survives day to day, but he is a fighter and my hero.  He wants so badly to have the things of normal life--a job, a wife, and family.  Luckily the one thing I know for sure is that we are here for one reason and one reason only--to become the sons and daughters of God that He intended when he sent us off from heaven.  He has provided perfectly all we need to do that and in the end if we are successful and use the tools (the Atonement) He has given us all that He has will be ours and mortal life will just be a pleasant memory like a vacation or going to college.  In that end, Ben will have all and more that he might miss on earth.  1% of the people in the world have schizophrenia.  Poor Heavenly Father--He loves each one of them even more than I love and hurt for Ben.