Hilton Head

Shawn and I left Thee Ohio for 9 days on a vacation to Hilton Head Island; this was our first vacation since our honeymoon that we spent alone. It was so nice just to be together.

We spent 2 days driving down, 5 days on the island and 2 more days returning. On the way down we went through the Smokey Mountains (beautiful) and drove through Gatlinburg before staying the night in Ashville, North Carolina. Gatlinburg was crazy to say the least. It is part Las Vegas, part Ohio State Fair, part Coney Island, part Sturgis (as in South Dakota - lots of Harleys), part tractor pull; all of these on steroids.

After driving bumper to bumper through the town and the same way back out, we were amazed by the thousands of people on the street. Ripley's Believe It Or Not is there, but they should put a display on Gatlinburg in there because we just couldn't believe the attraction of this place.

Ashville, North Carolina was also quite a destination, however for very different reasons. We went there so we could tour the Biltmore House. The grounds around the mansion were absolutely beautiful (125,000 acres when it was built and now a mere 8,000 acres) and the mansion itself was amazing.

View of Front Yard and House

The Conservatory and Greenhouses

It is 175,000 square feet and has 250 total rooms and 64 fireplaces, with 74 bedrooms and 43 bathrooms (built at a time when most didn't have a single bathroom indoors).

These were among many of the beautiful flowers, gardens and innumerable varities of plants

Main Dining Room

Library

Mr. Vanderbilt's Bedroom

Mrs. Vanderbilts Bedroom

The little town of Ashville was quite a happening place. It is one of the most popular retirement locations in the United States. It must also be home to a number of colleges because the downtown area was a bustle of activity with liberal arts people everywhere. The restaurants were all busy and the street musicians were out in force. We had a great meal on the pation of a little French restaurant.

We left Ashville and drove another 5 hours to Hilton Head Island. We traded a week of our time share for a condo near Sea Pines Plantation.

The Famous Lighthouse

The island was great; the beach was great; the food was great; the veg time was great; the alone time with Shawn was great; the weather was great, the water was warm, etc. etc. etc. We took our bikes and i'm glad we did, because the entire island is connected with bike paths. Part of the beach sand (when wet) is actually so fine and firm that you can ride your bike on it. That was pretty cool. It was a great, relaxing 5 days.

While there we took a half-day excursion to visit Savannah, Georgia. It reminded me a little of New Orleans, without all the drunks and adult entertainment. We took a trolley tour around the city for a couple of hours and enjoyed the scenery and the restored architecture.

The downtown area is built around 27 parks, each with a different memorial, feature, purpose

One of the parks

Typical Restored Home (Spanish Moss-Normal)

We left Hilton Head on Saturday morning and spent that day and most of Sunday traveling home to Columbus, with stops in Charleston, South Carolina, which was a marvelous city by the sea with block after block of beautifully restored homes. I could easily live there........9 months out of the year (skip the really hot/humid June, July and August). We stayed the night in Beckley, West Virginia and enjoyed two meals at Tamarac thanks to the chefs from The Greenbrier.

What a great trip this was. We loved hilton Head Island and plan to return as often as our travels permit.

Welcome Home Elder Dehner

Scott returned from Chile on Friday, August 28, 2009. He arrived, looking and acting the same as when he left over 2 years ago. Granted, he is spiritually deeper and definately changed from his service to the Lord and the people of Chile. He is struggling with the English language and is listening to a lot of Chilean music. In Sacrament meeting (Sunday, August 30th) Scott gave an excellent talk and evidenced to everyone that his experiences of preaching the gospel had made him a powerful and converted servant. We know that he will miss the work, the people, the language and the culture. But we are glad to have him home. Enjoy some of the pictures below of his homecoming.

Elder Dehner's Welcoming Committee (Mom, Beth, Doug, Elder Dehner, Dad, Kate, Chad, Mike, Amber, Baby Will, Dillon, Miles, Morgan, Tyler, Kelsey)

The Nieces & Nephews (Miles, Will, Tyler, Dillon, Morgan, Kelsey) along with Kate & Chad for crowd control

Doesn't he look great??!!!!!!

Loves from Everyone

The Siblings

Elder Dehner with The Parental Units

Mom Taking off Scott's Missionary Badge

President Martin Providing Elder Dehner his Honorable Release

Generations

We just finished a regional family reunion for the Garlock Family (Shawn's people). It was a lot of work - - mostly for Shawn, but it was worth it; pictures will follow at a later date. We had a great time getting everyone together. We made new acquaintences and rekindled old ones; and we once again learned the value of family. I loved seeing our children along with our nieces (Leigh & Annie) and our nephew (Marc). It was good to spend time with Kenna, Matt and Brandon (Go), and get to know them better; what high quality people. Your children were so much fun to be around. You all are doing such a good job loving, caring, and rearing your own families. I am sure your parents and our HF is proud of each of you.

Without trying to be too meloncholy, I think I caught a little clearer glimpse into the eternal worlds, where each generation is linked to another and where love abounds. Thank you all for sharing your time and your children with us. It was a meaningful experience for me.......and I'm not even a REAL member of the Garlock family........just a spouse.

Ronald Reagan on Government

“Governments view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases:
· If it moves tax it.
· If it keeps moving, regulate it.
· If it stops moving, subsidize it.”

(Ronald Reagan)

And the architect of this governmental view is..............

................................SuperObama

Migraines

Kate has been plagued by migraine headaches ever since she was sent home from her mission in Peru. We don't know what causes them and she hasn't found anything that prevents them, lessens the pain, or knocks them out once they come. For the past few months she has suffered virtually 24/7 with them and her normal activities have been greatly curtailed. Her neurologist has tried different medications to no avail. She has recently spent a lot of time in her bed, in the dark.

Yesterday she checked into OSU Medical Center for a barrage of tests and for a number of medicinal cocktails to try and snap the pain. Never having been in a hospital except to have her tonsils out as a child, I'm sure she is a little nervous about her stay.

Shawn and I visited her last night and saw her endure a nice, but ineffective male nurse assistant try to start an IV in her left hand, forearm and arm. He was nice, but awful if you know what I mean. In the process, she was in a lot of pain and was close to passing out a couple of times. Fortunately, he quit trying. After a while the head nurse on duty came in and without any difficulty got the IV in her arm.

Having recouped from nurse square-needle, Kate is enjoying her OSU mug. You can see the different bandages on her left hand/arm.

These pictures were specifically taken for the benefit of Beth, because of her blog entry about the OSU mugs. (http://seymourfamohio.blogspot.com/2009/06/another-reason-why-i-love-nurses.html) Kate looks like she is having a blast, right??? Good show for your sister. We love you kate.

Steve vs. The Moles

This is Steve, the female yard warrior

This is a Mole - Pesky Little Varmin


This is Steve Pouncing - go Steve go !!

Moles are the epitome of a Midwest pest. They are creepy little things that love to burrow all through your yard searching for worms and grubs. They can ruin a nice yard in nothing flat. To get rid of them, you can try noise, sonar, chemicals, traps, etc., but annually, they only seem to leave once summer is upon us and the lack of moisture forces their food source to go deeper in the soil. Until then, we have our platoon of yard warriors, with Stevie, now being the lead. They sit quietly for long periods of time and gradually get closer to the opening to a burrow. Then they stand at the ready until they calculate their pounce will yield a positive result. They rarely, if ever, are successful. Actually, I think they have only ever captured and killed one, but they are forever trying.

Personally, I am thankful for our little platoon of yard warriors. They are watching out for us, and that is a noble trait. Thank you Stevie. Tell your kids thanks from the only one who cares.

Bunionectomy - Get the Good Word Out

I have been so pleased about the great results from my foot sorgery for a bunion. As you may know, I discovered this doctor in Westerville, Ohio, Dave Buchan, who performed surgery on the foot of a friend for a bunion. As a result of her recommendation, I also had him perform surgery on my left foot. He is one of only 5-6 surgeons in the United States who perform this relatively new (1989) procedure for correcting bunions and the congenital drifting of the toes. Dr. Buchan learned the procedure from a doctor at the University of Chicago while serving under him for some advanced surgical studies. I wish I could somehow get the word to anyone out there who is suffering with this same problem. He is very good at it. He performs hundreds of these surgeries a year. There was no post-operative pain. Mechanically my foot is now able to move and function as it is supposed to. To think that I was going to have an orthopedic surgeon break and fuse my foot; what a mistake that would have been. Dr. Buchan can be reached at (614) 890-7224.

College Decision Time

Scott would rather not be bothered with anything, but what he is supposed to be doing on his mission. That said, he must make a choice as to which college he will attend in the fall after he returns from Chile in August. For his first choice he will have to return a couple of weeks early. Here are his top two choices in the order of preference (right now at least):

Utah Valley University will require him to come home early a couple of weeks, but it would allow him to room with his best friend, Jake Pettigrew, who is on his mission in Germany and will be attending BYU - Provo. If he and his mission president decide not to come home earlier than his release date of August 25th, then he will attend BYU-Hawaii for a year or so, before coming back to Columbus to attend THE Ohio State University.

Scott is okay going somewhere else for a while, but as a born and bred Buckeye, he has NO intention of graduating anywhere else, EXCEPT Ohio State. So, while we await to hear from Scott on his decision, we offer him our prayers for his growth and success as one of the Lord's missionaries.

Elder Dehner Update

For more detailed information on Elder Scott Dehner, go to www.scottdehner.blogspot.com

Our son, Scott, has now been transferred to Teno, Chile on his mission. His new companion, Elder Arellano is from Ecuador and also comes from a family of four children (2 boys and 2 girls) just like Scott. Scott is enjoying being his companion, but says that he is pretty green......like a "little birdie" who has just left the nest. They are in an area that has just reopened after being closed for 5 years due to apostasy problems among the members. Elder Dehner and Elder Arellano are doing most all their work among the members. The Teno Branch has a President assigned from Curico which is about 30 minutes to the south. They have had one baptism of an older boy (Claudio) of a member family since being there.

Claudio and his family

Here are some additional pictures of Teno.........

Teno Chapel

Teno Aerial - 6,700 people

Smart Horse - cool shade & grass to eat

Eating Humitas

It's A Donut

Mike and Amber went to Amber's doctor appointment for an ultrasound and hopefully a determination of whether they are going to have another baby girl or baby boy. They mad an afternoon of it and promised Morgan and Myles that if it was a girl, they would go for ice cream; if it was a boy, they would go for donuts. Donuts it was. Congratulations Dehner's!!!!!!

January Has Flown By

The snow is falling, the fire is crackling and warm, and I am wondering where January has gone. As I was writing my weekly letter to Scott, this beautiful Acrdinal (State Bird) landed on a branch just outside my window. He was so pretty. I thought you would love to see his intense red coloring against the white snow.

As I continue my working at the computer, I can feel my foot beginning its afternoon swell. I continue to make progress and as of a week ago Friday, I am in a tennis shoe and walking without the aid of crutches or a cane.

As you can see, my foot looks better (sure, maybe they're not such a pretty site, but they are the only 2 I have) and is similar in shape (somewhat straight) to my right foot. You can see there is still swelling and some redness and if you look closely, you can see some of the leftover markings so they wouldn't miss which foot was supposed to be operated on.

Thanks, Dr. Buchan, for a job well done. Three more weeks and I should be in my regular shoes and generally back to my normal activities.

Christmas 2008

Shawn and I had a great Christmas this year. Recuperating from foot surgery, I sat around in my over-stuffed chair and ottoman; she did everything else, including bringing me whatever I needed or wanted (usually food). This pattern, though enjoyable and good for the health of my surgerized left foot, has left me about 80 pounds and 12 inches bigger. Thanks Shawn!!!!

Shawn worked hard to decorate the house and make it a warm and inviting place for family and friends. Kate helped me put up the outside lights and wreaths. New this year was a collection of various nativity scenes which are from the countries where our family members served their missions.

Christmas Decorations (click to enlarge)

Everyone came over for Christmas Eve dinner, which was provided by Mike and Amber. Consistent with our past Christmas Eve's, the grandchildren adorned their robes and acted out that most famous and important birth recorded long ago. They were so sweet and at the same time so funny. They all did a great job and my highlight was having Mary (Morgan Dehner) deliver the baby Jesus onto our hearth room floor (with a solid thud). I also enjoyed the versatility of those who played both wise men and angels - very gifted role players. The entertainment ended with Morgan singing a beautiful solo of Silent Night

Cast Members (click to enlarge)

After the Nativity play, the grandchildren decorated sugar cookes provided by Beth; this gave Santa something good to eat as he made his rounds to each house; ya gotta love Christmas. Maybe my fovorite part of the night was having all the adults sit on the floor by the fire just talking adult talk while the little one's played downstairs.

Morgan, Kelsey, Dillon, Myles Decorating Cookies

On Christmas day, Shawn and I spent a casual morning and afternoon together in our empty nest. Kate and Chad were in Arizona with Chad's family. We missed them, but we are glad they had a safe and fun time out west. That evening around 5:00 pm the grandchildren brought their parents over for dinner and our gift exchange. We had a really good leg of lamb dinner and then opened up our gifts and watched the grandchildren open up their gifts from Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma was particularly excited to have Dillon, Kelsey, Morgan and Myles open up the quilts she had made for each of them. She especially loved making the Olivia quilts for the girls.

Dillon, Myles, Morgan, Morgan with Olivia quilt

Sad for us was not being able to connect with our son, Scott, for our phone call to Chile. The phone lines were too busy and so President Chavez gave permission to Scott and others to talk to their parents on the day after Christmas. It was great to hear his voice and talk of his recent mission experiences.