Welcome Elynor Kate!

Leaving Vegas behind, after accomplishing the work I needed to do, I flew into Salt Lake City to spend some time with Jill and kids while Bobby was out of town for a few days. It was so much fun to be a kid with my grand kids!  We played dress-up and games, visited the pet store and play places, and just had fun together.

But the main purpose of my visit was to help welcome our 5th grand baby, and 4th grand daughter into the world. Elynor Kate Goodman was born on Tuesday, February 19th, 2013!  Big sister, Linley, and her brother Max, are thrilled to have her here! Jill was induced early that morning and "Elly" was born mid-afternoon. Chelsea made it to the hospital just in time to be part of that exciting event, along with Jill's step-mom, Sandy. I stayed with the kids and went over later that evening with Thomas to meet Elynor. The following day, Sandy and I took Linley and Max to meet their 7 lb. 1 oz. baby sister and present her with flowers and a big balloon.  Elynor reminds me a lot of her beautiful sister Linley, only a littler bigger.  She is adorable and I can't wait to see her own little personality shine as the sleep wears off.  Although Jill may hope for more sleepy time over personality at this stage of the game!

It was nice to spend an evening with some of my brothers and their wives on Valentine's Day.  We went to dinner at the Little America Hotel and visited until they kicked us out.  It was great to have some sibling time!  I was so preoccupied with the grand kids that I didn't get around to make many visits.  Two weeks was hardly enough to be with the kids, but the month was nearing its end and I really needed to get back to Bob and my responsibilities in Korea. I had been away for the better part of three months!

Contemplating my many blessings, I should also probably mention that upon returning from the states in January, I completely lost my voice. While in Vegas a second doctor visit revealed that I had a paralyzed right vocal chord. Thankfully, CT scans revealed no tumors or other potential causes of the paralysis. The doctor concluded that it was a result of a sinus infection I had in December. The long term prognosis was unknown, and I must say it was a challenge to deal with the loss of voice for the two months that I was there. It was an answer to prayers and the result of a Priesthood blessing that my voice finally returned in March, the week after I returned to Seoul! I have a much greater appreciation for the ability to speak and to sing, even with my lack of talent at both!  Now here I am again in the land of silence - not because of vocal chord issues, but due to my inability to speak Korean!  (Yes, we had been taking language lessons, but that was put on hold for quite a while.)