The natives were restless today..

The little ones at church were restless today. We had several escapees who made it up the aisles to the podium. One little sweetheart danced during the piano solo. Several harried parents carried screamers out to the hallway. There was lots of coloring going on across the aisle from us, mixed with cheerios being tossed here and there. I'm glad those things are now the domain of the young moms and dads and I can just sit back and smile at how cute the kids are.

A new wheelchair for the shower..

Nathan is getting a new shower wheelchair today. Shower wheelchairs fall apart from rust after several years of use. This will be his fifth chair, I think. When he was covered under private insurance, they considered such a wheelchair a "medical frill." Nathan is 6'5" and weighs about 250 pounds. I'm not exactly sure how we would shower him without one. I suggested that perhaps someone from the insurance company who thinks a shower wheelchair is a frill should come over and try to shower him without one. Nobody took me up on that offer. Lucky for Nathan, Medicaid does not consider such a chair a frill.

Something I would never do again..

This is a continuation of the "emission light" saga. When we bought our van, we bought it from a local dealer who specializes in van conversion. We assumed that the van would be purchased locally and converted locally. It was not until after we signed the papers that we were told the van was not going to come from the local KIA dealership and that the original conversion was being done in Arizona. BIG MISTAKE!!! If I had it to do over, I would only buy a van from a local dealer (making sure that it was a van that could be converted, not all can be) and I would have it converted locally so there would be no long distance haggling over repairs. The emission light issue is not yet resolved.

The emission control light

Since we bought our KIA Sedona conversion van, we have had a continuing problem with the emission control light coming on. It first came on when we only had 40 miles on the odometer. Because the van has been converted, the KIA dealership has not wanted to work on it. Even though the conversion was approved by them through the company that did the conversion. They have done several repairs to fix the emission problem, but it never stays fixed. Then we started dealing directly with the company that sold us the conversion van. They have made several attempts at a permanent fix also. Now the van is no longer under the "conversion warranty" and the emission control light is on again. This van still has less than 10,000 miles on it, so I am requesting that they(the conversion place) fix the problem without charging me. Am I going to have to call Jesse Jones on KING 5? Stay tuned!

Father's Day

A good father is kind and loving to his wife and children. A good father is fun and plays with his family. A good father is a provider. A good father sets an example for his family. A good father possesses spiritual qualities and shares them with his family. A good father reads to his children. A good father is a comforter to a small child. A good father does not speak harshly to his family. A good father praises successes. A good father is attentive. I had the privilege of knowing such a father. He was the father of my best friend, Pam. He passed away this year. I wish my dad could have been like him.

It's June-uary...

While much of our great country basks in record breaking temperatures, we are having record setting cold weather. Last night and this morning it was snowing in the Cascade mountains with 6" of snow accumulating. It is the second coldest June since 1917. I would just like to see the sun for an hour or two. It is 2:30 p.m. now and is dark enough for the outside lights to come on. What's with this global warming anyhow?

Rain, rain, go away...

I am getting tired of the rainy weather. This morning on our walk we had to use umbrellas and wear our hoodies. It seems like this has been going on for days. I need to see some sunshine! My giant pumpkin seeds are sending up shoots, but if we don't have some warm weather, they will never grow pumpkins that weigh 500 lbs., maybe not even 5 lbs. It's hard for me to even imagine that in other parts of the country people are wearing summer clothes and going to the beach. We would freeze at the ocean if we went there today. I'm considering putting on a sweatshirt when I get done blogging and maybe having a cup of hot chocolate too. Maybe mom had the right idea when she moved to Arizona for her retirement.