Our Mission to Montevideo, Uruguay

Jerry and I are serving in Montevideo, Uruguay as senior missionaries in the Welfare Program for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We are working in the office of the Employment Resource Center here (Centro de Recursos de Empleo.)  They are open from Monday - Friday, from 9:30-5:00 and we are there every day.  It is rewarding to see people gain confidence and get a job.  We update our missionary blog every couple of weeks.  You are welcome to visit anytime.  If you want to post a comment, you must sign in with an account.  There are several options.  Here is the link:  http://elderandsisterheath.blogspot.com    

Thank you for checking out this blog. 

We are Leaving for Uruguay

Jerry and I are in the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. We are learning how to present the gospel of Jesus Christ simply and with conviction. We are also working on Spanish and learning how the Welfare System in the church works. It is so rewarding and interesting. It is also exhausting to try to absorb so much information in such little time. My Spanish is improving. There are a lot of people learning Spanish here, so it's easy to start up a conversation in the cafeteria, etc.

We started a new blog for our mission, and the link is in my list of blogs. I hope you get a chance to check it out. I will probably not write here too many more times.

One interesting thing that links both blogs is that the date I leave for Uruguay is the year anniversary of my last chemo treatment! Isn't that ironic? I was really surprised when I figured that out! What a great way to celebrate!! Wish us luck!

My Hair is Growing

Here is the picture I promised months ago. Better late than never. My hair is curly. I've always had straight hair unless it was permed.

I still wear the wig a lot because it's still winter and cold. It's actually a hat and it looks good, so it works for me. I will go natural when the weather changes. In the meantime, I'm saving time and money on hair care and products.











We are planning on moving by May, maybe before. We are buying a condo in Idaho Falls, about 30 miles north of Blackfoot. Here are some pictures of our new pad. A 96-year-old man lived there and when he died, his family put his condo up for sale for a good price. The bedroom sets go with the condo!! We are excited!!






















We are selling our home in Moreland. If you know anyone who wants a 4 bedroom, 3 bath home on an acre lot with a 30' x 36' shop in the back, send them over. We are putting it up for $149,000. We will try selling it ourselves first and see if it will sell. Wish us luck. I have pics of our present home. If you are interested, send me an email, and I'll forward the pics to you.

My Hair is Salt and Pepper

My hair is growing in a salt and pepper color. It's white around the edges and dark gray with white in the middle. I'm so excited! I've always wanted salt and pepper hair! I was trying to figure out how to stop coloring it. It was hard to let it grow out because it looked so bad. I also wasn't sure about what color was really under the dye. This is a great way to do it. Shave it all off, and watch it grow in naturally. There are certainly advantages to losing my hair. I'll post a picture soon.

I am officially the Homebound Teacher for Snake River School District. I tutor students who have health problems and need to stay home. So far, I have four students--a kindergartner and 3 high school students. It's fun to get to know them and think of the best way to help them. The hours are flexible, which is important to me. I also feel I'm doing a service. It's a great fit.

So, things are going well. The main thing is that my energy level is back to normal. I get tired and think that it's because of the chemo. Then I think a little harder and remember that I felt tired sometimes before I went through chemo. So I just have to blame it on age. Ugh. No more convenient excuse.

Full Speed Ahead

Just to let you know, I am doing very well. I have lots of energy and am nearly back to my normal fast pace. It really feels good. I have a few minor annoyances like my scar pulling more now than it did earlier. But the annoyances are not anything I'm worrying about. So all's well that ends well.

Almost Three Weeks Now

On Wednesday, it will be three weeks since my last chemo. I am still going a lot slower than I want. Today I went to church, played the organ and stayed for the rest of the meetings. I also subbed for the Relief Society pianist. I didn't have the feeling that I needed to get home right away or I might be ill. And I didn't look longingly at the pew thinking of lying down on it. So, I have made some progress.

I was tired afterward, but dinner was in the crock pot and I needed to get it on the table. After dinner, Jemayla (Byron's wife) helped with the dishes (uh, she did them all) and I went out on the patio and sat in a recliner until I recuperated. I got a second wind and spent the rest of the evening on the computer. So, it was a restful day. I am making progress, but it is slower than after any of my other chemo treatments. I repeat, "Patience is a virtue" everyday. It should help more than it does.

I started a prescription called Femara which is an estrogen inhibitor. That means, any estrogen my body makes (which is precious little these days) the Femara hunts down and annihilates. Watch out, Jerry. My hair is growing a little, but it's all white on the top and gray in the back. I can see little tiny whiskers of brown hair, but they are not growing. I can't tell if my hair is straight or curly because it is usually mashed down by a wig or hat. I'll have to wait on that. Also, I had to shave my legs occasionally the last couple of weeks. I even plucked my right eyebrow. The left one was fine. They thinned out just right and I would love them to stay that way. I guess I can't have it both ways--no leg hair growing back, but the hair on my head growing profusely. Too bad, so sad. I have counted my blessings all summer, though. If you ever have chemo, have it during the summer so you don't have to shave your legs!!

OK, enough of sad sack chemo story. Here are two grandma brag weblinks to check out. One is Chad's family pictures in June, 2009, and the other is of Dusty's girls. There is probably a really cool way to put this on the blog somewhere, but I'll just put them here and see if they work. I want to go to bed.


meganblethenphotography.com/chad-heath-family

meganblethenphotography.com/lainey-libby-heath

Hey, it worked. I promise there will be more coming. You can stop checking in if this is over the top for you, but being a full-fledged grandma, I don't think I can help myself... I'm sure I can't.

Feeling Better Everyday

Today I am feeling better than I have all week. I'm not at my regular energy level yet, but I don't have to talk myself into getting up and doing something. I just do it. That's a big improvement. This week I have put down mulch film and a drip irrigation system at my mom's front flowerbed. I have run errands in town almost every day, and I went visiting teaching yesterday. So I've been busy during the day, except for my nap, of course.

In the evenings, Jerry and I have watched a movie or looked at houses in Las Vegas on the internet. We are getting serious about wintering in Vegas when Jerry retires next year. The thought of driving in the snow and ice doesn't appeal to us after we are retired. We have one more year of it, and then we will kiss it goodbye.

I am having fun being home alone. I have sorted through some pictures, but mostly just done things that were priorities. This afternoon, Pat and Don are coming from California. She is Jerry's aunt's good friend and we will have a memorial service for Diane (his aunt) while they are visiting. I talked them into staying an extra day!

Thanks for checking on me. I appreciate your concern and kindness. I don't know how much longer to keep this as an update blog, but at some point, I will want to change it to a Grandma Brag Book format. Watch out!!