Thoughts from the Lazyboy

outlook

2011-09-10T16:00:00.005-06:00

Well, we're still looking into other adoption situations, and building our resources. We just had a yard sale today, not many turned out, but it was a good start for us - it showed us it's reachable. If someone still wants to donate for us, remember we're NOT a charity, you can still donate here.

missed opportunity

2011-09-04T12:36:00.006-06:00

Sorry. Looks like we missed that opportunity. Apparently the ONLY reason we did was because our adoption funds weren't enough. So we are starting to do various activities to try and build it up. Friends and family, please help us out and support our adoption fund. We are asking for $20 from friends and family, but ANYTHING will help and will be appreciated.

Missing that opportunity really hurt, but more so when we found out why we missed it.

Adoption update

2011-08-31T01:50:00.004-06:00

Well, we have been approached about adopting a little boy, he's a month old now, with a minimal of problems (all minor). The only problem we are running into is the funds for it. On Facebook, we asked for our friends to donate something toward the adoption, then realized not everyone has a Paypal account. We upgraded our account and now can take donations if you don't have an account.

The child we were approached about last week, was in Oklahoma and after discussing the particulars with our doctor, we feel confident that this child has a very good chance of providing us with the joy that we feel we've been missing. Will you help us?

What to say....

2011-07-26T19:04:00.002-06:00

It's been a while since we have updated the blog. Nothing too exciting has really been going on at the moment. But I have recently learned a very important lesson. That lesson you ask? The lesson is do not procrastinate getting your degree. For just three short years ago I was accepted into the Education Program with just five semesters at the most. Now thanks to my wonderful skill of putting off, has me needing to re-do most of the classes to get back on track. I might as well just pick a different field and go with that. So lesson learned..next.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-27T13:11:00.003-07:00

Well, This Thanksgiving was not unlike the previous. We went to Les mom's house and cooked dinner there. We also helped them with some projects around the house. Les is doing good at his new job (HE didn't have to work and got paid for the day, Sue was lucky to get it off but no pay). We are now getting ready to put up decorations for Christmas, and address cards. Want one? make sure we have your address. Also, we will be sending out Pass Along cards again this year, but these will be more professionally done. Please pass them along to anyone and everyone you know. Here's a good story about the power of these little things:

http://therhouse.blogspot.com/2010/11/guest-blogger-on-pass-along-cards_23.html

http://therhouse.blogspot.com/2010/11/guest-blogger-on-pass-along-cards.html

This is a blog that is owned by someone I have gotten to know over the last year, Lindsey Redfern. In addition to being a strong adoption promoter, she also was just put in as the mommycast community manager.(See http://therhouse.blogspot.com/2010/11/i-am-mommycasts-community-manager.html )

We also found out some interesting things:

Kaepernick was adopted at birth by Rick and Teresa Kaepernick. His birth mother was 19 when he was born and wanted to give him a better life, according to his family. His birth father left the picture as soon as he found out a baby was on the way, the family said. (espn article from ESPN.

Les also participated in this years Adoption Walk.Here's one of the organizer's interview on FOX13 just before the walk. One of our concerns with adoption has been how it affects the birth mother. Les and Sue have met many birth moms that share this similar type story.

good news bad news

2010-10-27T14:33:00.002-06:00

Well, I did the unimaginable. Les decided to quit Unisys effective Halloween day. He is working at IRS full time nights for over a year and a half, but just got a pay grade increase and new position at IRS. Sue is still at Winegars and loving her new hearing ability.

blog update

2010-08-01T17:52:00.003-06:00

Well, I Didn't have to take down this blog. Well, it's birthday time in the Aycock home. Sue's officially 13 now! Here's her cake to prove it. You will have to have her tell you what type it was, since I left the bakery an open ticket on how to decorate it and make it. .

For her birthday we went and saw Les' newborn nephew. . Ruth's fourth baby. He's quite the cutie!

2010-07-08T18:46:00.004-06:00

Today, as I sat around enjoying my day off from work, I thought how this last week I have really been possessed about our wanting to adopt. I know it's been over 3 years now, and we really have gone through a lot as a couple, but for some reason it has really been on my mind. We have been trying to get someone to review our profile and make suggestions, but no one would give us any constructive criticism, for fear of hurting our feelings. Our new case worker took our profile to the adoption committee last week and asked their opinions. I told her to be as brutal as possible, since it's been 3 years, and zip. They came up with several suggestions, basically a rewrite of the entire profile. We made the changes and floored the case worker. Anyhow, during this 3 year excursion, I have met many great people, who have been a great help for us during this time. One of these people, even though she probably doesn't realize it, has a blog at The R House (she also has a jewelry shop on etsy (www.therhouse.etsy.com) -> had to put that plug in.

Over the next few days that I have before I go back to my night job on monday, I am working on putting a family site together for our adoption profile - as a place to update our family activities - or inactivities. We may end up trashing and redoing this page - have to see next week!

BAHA Time!

2010-06-16T23:15:00.002-06:00

Well, it's official! Sue has had the BAHA implant done and is recovering! We are currently recovering from the surgical implant and goes for her first post op appointment this week. IF all goes well, she'll have the receiver box attached to the abuntment in 3 months.

BAHA Update

2010-06-06T21:44:00.001-06:00

I know, I know it's been a long time since we have updated our blog so here we go. Just thought I'd let everyone know that I am finally getting the implant done one week from tomorrow. It seems like we have been waiting a long time for this.

hearing update

2010-04-03T23:06:00.003-06:00

Well, Sue has an appointment to get her hearing checked by another doctor in Idaho end of this month. This doctor's clinic is also known as a BaHA clinic. Meaning they do the devices that Sue is wanting. They will do the hearing tests and determine if she needs it or if it will really work for her.

Les is back to work at both jobs, and getting no sleep. He likes both jobs, and wants to drop one eventually.

Haiti adoptions

2010-01-29T13:25:00.002-07:00

We have gotten many wonderful people asking if we have looked into Haiti adoptions. I can now answer yes we have. The only agency here in Ogden area that does them is Wasatch International Adoption Agency. They said all the children in their service currently are in various phases of adoption and they are the ones bringing the children from Haiti to Utah. They also do adoptions from China, Taiwan and a couple of other countries, but say Haiti will not permit any new adoptions until after the Gov't is restored and they can verify that all the children that are leaving are actually orphaned, and not just seperated from parents.

BAHA update

2010-01-15T20:35:00.002-07:00

Well, I don't know if my old/new insurance will cover it, but everything is looking up. I found a surgeon at the Univ or Utah that does these all the time. I called his office, and they immediately said they not only knew what it was, but they do them fairly regularly. The clinic that he works in doesn't take my insurance, but the insurance says they are a provider, so I called Sue's old doc and asked to have them refer her to this guy. Her specialist (ENT) is not on the new insurance. We'll see what happens.

2010-01-07T14:03:00.004-07:00

Well, our anniversary came and went. Hard to believe 9 years already come and gone. Les surprised Susan by taking her to the same room they stayed at for their honeymoon, then drove around some familiar sites they haven't visited for almost a year.

Those that don't know, we spent our honeymoon at a place called The Anniversary Inn in Logan, UT, in a room they call The Artic Journey.

Anyhow, I had told Sue that we were just going to go to a hotel room. She was soo convinced we were staying at the Super 8 that she got worried as we drove right past it.

If you would like to see the room we were in, here's a link. These rooms are unique.

New Year

2010-01-01T11:10:00.003-07:00

Well, this is a New Year and hopefully a slight bit better than last year! We stayed up til midnight here and watched the EVE 2010 in Salt Lake City from 1145 to midnight. Before that, watched Scooby Doo movie of when the gang go together. Before that we watched other movies at home, ate dinner and chips.

What did you all do for the new year? Any goals or hopes?

UPDATED:

As promised, Here are our pics!

photos and updates

2009-12-01T16:18:00.002-07:00

Well, the photos are on our facebook account and Les is working on putting them on a webpage we can link here. Les had an Angiogram with catheterization but the doctor didn't find anything more than small plaque buildup in an artery. Sue is giving herself shots now, and we just put up our Christmas tree and decor. Life seems to be going good so far.

CALL TO ARMS

2009-11-04T11:48:00.003-07:00

Private and independent domestic adoptions can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $40,000, and expenses for intercountry adoptions generally total between $7,000 and $40,000. Domestic adoptions out of foster care are typically much less expensive, usually costing the adoptive parent $2,500 or less.

Congress introduced the Adoption Promotion and Stability Act in 1996 to “help families defray adoption costs.”
Unfortunately, while the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA) made the adoption tax credit permanent, the provisions which raised the amount that adoptive families can claim and increased the income eligibility phase-out range will sunset on December 31, 2010. Thus, beginning in 2011, the amount adoptive parents will be able to claim under the adoption tax credit will revert to the pre-EGTRRA levels of $6,000 per special needs child and $5,000 per non-special needs child. Additionally, adoptive families reporting $75,000-$115,000 in annual adjusted gross income will again be restricted in the amount they can claim, and those reporting more than $115,000 in annual adjusted gross income will again be prohibited from claiming the tax credit at all. Several bills have been introduced in Congress to repeal the sunset and make the EGTRRA reforms of the adoption tax credit permanent.
international adoptions accounted for 34 percent of all adoptions supported by the tax credit despite making up only 15 percent of all adoptions in the United States, while domestic adoptions out of foster care made up 18 percent of adoptions supported by the tax credit despite making up nearly 40 percent of all adoptions in the United States.
“The Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee Act of 2009, H.R. 213.” Written to repeal the sunset of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 with respect to the expansion of the adoption credit and adoption assistance programs. This legislation will make the tax credit permanent. Unless legislation is passed, the Federal adoption tax credit that allows many adopting families to take a credit of up to $12,150 (2009) is scheduled to expire in December 2010.

Help us by writing your congressmen to support this bill.

Update

2009-09-17T03:00:00.005-06:00

I know we haven't updated this in a while, but we've been kind'a busy with Facebook, vacation, and Les in and out of the hospital. Les has had issues with chest pains. Not sure what better to put up here now. Pics from vacation coming soon.

Baha update

2009-07-16T01:19:00.003-06:00

Well, we are now at a new impass. We finally got the hospital and insurances talking to each other, but the hospital wants us to come up with almost $12,000 upfront! They told me this, like it was pocket change. They broke it down to $3000 for out of pocket max, and 8-9 thousand for the device itself. They reminded me that they don't believe the insurance when they say they will pay, and that I might be stuck with almost 30 thousand. I was also told if the insurance pays more than they estimate, or adjusts more, that I will be reimbursed the difference (maybe a buck or two?)?

Now I face the question... Any suggestions how to get this? Working 2 jobs already and barely making it with the economy today.

Les

OH HAPPY DAY!

2009-05-09T13:16:00.006-06:00

I stole that title from a song in Sister Act 2, ok? Well, Sue is beside herself this year! She is going to get that BAHA, since my insurance from IRS will cover part of it, and she is, finally, in an infertility study at the U that she's been trying to get into for the last 2+ years!

Curious about the BAHA? Click here.

Hard Headed or determined?

2009-04-20T00:41:00.003-06:00

Well, I guess we never learn. Tuesday Sue has an annual hearing check, and we are going to try again for that BAHA. My insurance from the IRS, Federal Blue Cross, claims they will cover it (it's in the plan summary). Hopefully it will be different this time!

We're also planning our vacation now, and are debating between visiting an Uncle in Everett, Washington, and a cousin in North Carolina. Any suggestions?

Sam again

2009-04-04T10:46:00.001-06:00

Well, we saw Sam off last week for Washington. From there, it's some training and back to Iraq.

On some fun trivia, our now sister in law, Sam's wife Pam, is expecting. She's about 2 months along now.

Snow!!!

2009-03-26T06:25:00.003-06:00

It has snowed here. It was nice all week last week and now is snowing. I thought it was supposed to be Spring. I think it can be done snowing now or at least snow in the mountains. Other than that there is nothing exciting at the moment. Les is working two jobs and I am babysitting a 21 month old.

Honest Scraps

2009-02-17T08:48:00.002-07:00

I won an award from my cousin. It's basically a tag, but it sounded pretty fun, although it is hard to come up with honest things to tell...Here's the scoop...

1.Choose a minimum of 7 blogs and show the 7 winners' names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with "Honest Scrap", the nifty icon they can display proudly on their blog.

2. List at least 10 honest things about yourself. (Um, sorry, some of you who read this already know most of this stuff).

Ok...here's my scrap

1. For some odd reason when I was young, I oddly enough thought that my cousin's house needed to grow some more I guess and her and I commenced to take a water hose into her house with running water.

2. I find myself correcting things in my head. For example, one speaker at church said something like the 'most wisest man'.

3. I often feel like saying 'wow, that good of a day huh?' to customers who remain in stoney silence the whole time they are being helped or don't respond to 'how are you doing?'

4. In 3rd grade when I first became an aunt, I tried telling my 3rd grade teacher that my nephew was my grandson.

5. In 10th grade Biology class. There was this boy that sat next to me in class and would often look over my shoulder if I were writing a note. I was writing a letter to my cousin, during a boring movie while the teacher slept. The boy kept looking over so I began to write his name and a few nonsense words then the word likes, more nonsense, and then a different cousins name. Needless to say the boy never read my stuff again.

6. I was the one who first asked Les out with the help of his sister.

7. When younger I felt the need to walk on a broken metal slide with one of my friends in summer and burnt my feet.

8. Find it hard to come up with things about myself or to describe myself.

9. Have asked several people at work if they would I.D. me if I had the sudden urge to buy tobacco or alcohol. Not that I would.

10. I like watching NCIS. I put this because I don't know what else to put down. If anyone knows of anything else about me feel free to share.

I now tag: Cynthia, John(if he has a blog and Cynthia would pass this on), Melissa, Eliza B, Amanda C., Matt, and Ashley.

WHOA!!!!

2009-01-22T17:30:00.002-07:00

We took our new cat into the vet to get it spayed and the front claws declawed. We come home from dropping her off awaiting the phone call saying that she made it through surgery and that she was resting. About two hours after dropping her off at the vet we receive a phone call and this is how it went:
Les: Hello.
Nurse: Mr. (name with held) we were prepping your cat, Cozy, for surgery and discovered that she is not a female, she is a male...
Les: OOOOOOOOkay. Shouldn't the doctor have noticed last week when we brought the cat in for shots that it was not a female cat?
Nurse: We asked the other doctor and all he could say was that he had thought something was off about it.

We had thought that it was a female, since the previous owner had said it was a female. It is also a long hair cat. So we are wondering if the age is correct, 8 months old. Needless to say, the cat was neutered instead of spayed and is at this moment comfortably resting at the moment in the vets office.

Wedding

2009-01-11T21:21:00.005-07:00

Well, we got to see Les' brother Sam married to the girl he's been dating for 2 years now. Pamela Layton is now Pamela Aycock. They will be living in her house in Ogden (in the avenues). This is a good thing for them, since he's got orders already to be re-deployed to Northern Iraq in May. He starts training with his new unit (out of Washington State) in February. The plus side is they are going to be very happy. Especially with her 2 children. The down side? WE'RE LONELY!! He used to live in our basement, so now it's just the 2 of us again. By the way, we also got a new kitten (8 mo old). Her previous owner couldn't afford to keep her anymore.

New YEAR again

2009-01-06T11:22:00.002-07:00

Well, I was reading some other blogs and thought I would chime in on some other traditions. By the way, BEEE, Sweden isn't alone. In Paraguay,and a friend of mine in Argentina was telling me, they have the Three Kings day. It's similar to a US Christmas, except the three wise men come to your house and leave presents. Children leave out like grass and water or some other token like that, for their camels to eat on their journey to the stable. They do the American Christmas in most families, but not all of them (ie: Influential families or those that have lived out of the country for long period or have dealings with americans).

We have decided that this year we hope to be the year we get our family started. We sent out those little pieces of paper (sorry not on cardstock - cheep) with our Christmas cards. Those are referrals to our profile with the LDS Family Services. We are also looking in other areas too.

Well, it's anniversary time, so we're going to go now. Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!

Christmas party

2008-12-13T21:54:00.005-07:00

Well, we just got back from our Ward's Christmas party! They had a dance group made up of children with disabilities do some numbers for us, and the one member of our ward did a special number. Sue visit teaches the mother of the girl and she commented that she has been practicing this number for a couple of months now. It was really good. She danced to "R E S P E C T" by Aretha Franklin. She really was cute on the stage and she looked like she really had fun. They did 2 or 3 Christmas songs as a group, then she did her special thing. There was one other member that wanted to do a special number too. Then we had a sing in. They had Santa pictures going on in a seperate room for whoever wanted them. Yes,Sue and Les had fun at the party.

***SUE HEARING UPDATE***
I just sent an appeal to my employer to get the implant approved. One of the major insurance carriers that does support this implant is carried by Unisys, just not available to all employees. Keeping fingers crossed.

SCHOOL HERE WE COME!

2008-11-25T18:15:00.003-07:00

Yes, the rumors are true. Sue passed her last CAAP test and is now officially accepted into the Teaching program at Weber State University. Now comes the fun part.. Will she SURVIVE????? Tune in for more updates on that.

For fun

2008-11-23T10:14:00.005-07:00

So I found this on Eliza B's blog and thought it might be fun. And like her, I'm not tagging anyone.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Ubot Taurus(Elizabeth will need to check spelling on the fishes name)
2. YOUR GANGSTA STAR NAME (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Cherry Chocolate Chip Nike
3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal):
Blue Bear
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you where born): Janae Ogden
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (first three letters of your last name, first two letters of your first name):Aycsu
6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Green Hot Chocolate
7. NASCAR NAME (the names of your grandfathers): Clarance Earl
8. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your 5th grade teacher's last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Hershi Honolulu
9. SPY NAME (your favorite season/holiday, favorite flower): Summer Rose
10. CARTOON NAME (favorite fruit, article of clothing you are wearing right now): Apple Pajamas
11. HIPPIE NAME (what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Peaches Ash

Now about that implant for Sue. We got a letter back from the insurance on our appeal for Susan's implant. The verdict... They still denied it. They say that it's not one of the 5 things listed in THEIR copy of our policy that they cover. Never ending battle wages on!

Hearing update

2008-10-31T14:06:00.008-06:00

Ok. Those that are interested, we did not fair so well with the doctor's luncheon with the Cochlear Rep. They referred the doctor, and thusly us, to their OMSSupport group. This is a group that they have set aside from their accounts receivable group to handle issues with insurance and customers or potential customers. Thanks to them, we have sent an appeal to the insurance company (United Healthcare). I sent this appeal off in the mail today at 2pm, delivery receipt required (it went to a PO Box so the signature would have been overkill). It's only a 1 day trip from here to Salt Lake City for the mail so they will have it by Monday, Tuesday at latest. Granted it'll be a while before they get around to reviewing it etc, but we would like to ask everyone something..

This Sunday is Fast Sunday (for those that are LDS). Regardless, what I am asking is that we all remember Sue and this implant in our fast this Sunday. I have sent the insurance a detailed letter, FDA documentation on the implant and Medicare information on the implant. I would like to also include a fast for this to happen, and that we will be selected to adopt at some time.

Anyhow, Sue is also studying for her test next month (she has to retake the reading section of the CAAP Test). She also dressed up for Halloween when she went to work today (she's got grey hair wig, red cape and robe, and red nail polish - Pictures coming soon!). Since I had to see the Doc today at 3, I stayed home also, and dressed up as the Grim Reaper (black robe with a hood that covers the face - it looks like it's empty from the outside, but I can see fine inside). I will be manning the honored position at the door, while everyone goes out. My sister is staying at my mom's for now, with my 2 nieces and baby nephew. I think one of my brothers will be conn'd into taking my nieces out tonight. We'll see.

News!!!

2008-10-25T17:50:00.002-06:00

I just thought that I would let everyone know that today I received a letter in the mail today from Weber State University. I am provisionally accepted into the teacher program as long as I pass the reading section of the CAAP test. Which I had taken the whole thing before and the reading I missed by two points. So I go and take the test on the 8th of November.

Interview

2008-10-01T19:55:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow Susan will have her interview for the Teaching program at Weber State. We are keeping our fingers crossed that she does well. This is the part that she failed at USU (by a couple of points). She has really worked hard on her paper and we are praying that she gets accepted.

Also, I just found out that her ENT has not forgotten her either. Those that don't know, that Baha hearing aid was denied by the insurance. Turns out that the manufacturer rep is coming into town on the 21st to meet with her ENT and his intentions are to specifically discuss her situation with them. The nurse told me that it appears that the manufacturer (Cochlear) may try to intervene for her. We are keeping our fingers crossed and praying that this works out. If you want to know about that BAHA, here's the link to the manufacturer's info on it: http://www.cochlearamericas.com/Products/2013.asp. Sorry no new music this time. Maybe next time, when we finish her interview.

Les

UPDATE:
She had her interview with the 3 person panel for the Education program here at Weber State! She also has been registered with the Office of Students with Disabilities, so she can get help with her classes if she needs. (I posted some new music too!)

Job

2008-09-22T15:14:00.002-06:00

I forgot to mention to those that care or want to know. I am no longer in the bakery department, but have asked to move back up front to checking. So I now, for the past week, go in at a decent hour of the morning. Okay so its between 6 and 9 a. m. that I go in, but that's more decent of an hour than 1 or 2 a. m. Reason: Just thought I needed to get away back to where I could interact with people more than I was. So just thought I would share

Now....

2008-09-19T17:32:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, I met with my advisor and discovered that I am now ready enter the program in Weber. The deadline, Sep. 19. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! She pointed out that I didn't have my AS so should talk to the English Dept. to which we pointed out that I did. Having been on the phone with records this little mishap was supposedly fixed. It has now been fixed, they had transfered to a new computer system and had forgot to transfer over the older records. She also said I needed the CAAP test which is on the 20th. Luckily I found my results of the test which I had taken back in 1999. I asked the advisor if those would work and she said that they looked pretty good.
So last night I quickly put everything together needed and submitted the correct online form. Then today I took the forms I needed up to the school, so got my transcripts and grad eval(which now correctly reflects my loverly AS degree, which I worked hard to get. Well as hard as one can down Snow).
I now need to write a two page double spaced paper explaining Why I want to be a teacher(I don't think the response, because I want to would be an appropriate response) and what experiences I have had working with children(don't know of any of those, right?) I have to present myself and three copies of this paper in front of three people, who will decide if I have what it takes to teach, on the 2 of October at 12:50. I saw the page of interview times with all the names and there were like tons of names, ahhhhhhhh, next question can I do it? What do I wear, probably want to look nice. And if anyone would like to write this paper or has any ideas of what to write and how, it would be helpful.

Boring

2008-09-01T20:44:00.002-06:00

Not too much exciting has been going on here. I will be going back to Weber starting in January. Yes for those of you who did not know, I am going to attempt getting my BS in Early childhood. I finally woke up one day and discovered that I don't really belong in a bakery I belong in school. So call me crazy if you must, but there you go. Maybe I will at some point share the exciting story of my awakening, but lets save that for another blog.
We just got back from visiting Les' sister. Her daughter's 2nd b-day was Friday. We went to the park and had cake. We also met a red squirrel that lives in the park. A bunch of seeds had spilled so he nicely cleaned them up. He got close enough to touch, he also begged me to take him home, but I don't think that the cat or dogs would have appreciated that. Anyway, we had fun visiting with his sisters and her daughters.

Fun....

2008-07-17T13:34:00.001-06:00

I found this on my cousin's blog and thought it would be interesting...

Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together (It can be a memory with either Les, Sue, or both). It doesn't matter if you knew me/us a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.This is quite fun. I hope everyone I KNOW will participate!! So start thinking hard! Also, when you leave a comment.. you are tagging yourself..so re-post on your own blog so I know whose to go and comment on! :)

To hear, or not to hear......

2008-07-17T13:10:00.002-06:00

I went to the audiologist today to get a recent hearing test. And surprise surprise, I am still deaf in the left ear but they said that the right ear is looking good. The doctor then told us about a hearing device called a BAHA implant. You can go to this website and read about it or do a search on baha hearing. http://www.umm.edu/otolaryngology/baha.htm you basically get some titanium surgically placed into your skull. It sounds interesting but I don't know kind of scary to think about too. It's placed on the side of the deaf ear, and the sound is transmitted through the bone to the good ear. Causing the person to feel like they are actually hearing in the deaf ear. They had a testing device which they placed behind my ear and it seemed to help.

Turtle soup

2008-07-04T15:36:00.002-06:00

This morning my dog Buddy had gone outside to take care of things dogs do and he began barking. I thought normal thing, then Dolly ran out and came back in. Buddy didn't follow, but continued to bark. I looked and found him barking at something that looked like a rock, but it started to move. I went to investigate and found that it was a turtle and it was trying to escape through the fence. Les called around to try to find out what we could do about it, but everywhere was closed or else kept referring us to one place, when we contacted them they said that they didn't handle exotic animals. We finally found somewhere that would take it if we couldn't find an owner.
Les visited some of the neighbors and finally found one that was across the street behind us. He asked the man if it was his and he said that it was his but that he had thrown it out and didn't want it anymore. So we took it down to the place that said they would take it.

Car

2008-06-21T10:16:00.002-06:00

I just thought that I would share that we have finally gone out and got a new car, well new to us. It is a '07 Red Ford Taurus to replace the Escort that was totaled in November. Anyway nothing really new here at the moment. I have been thinking lately though of going back to school and finishing my education degree.

thank you all

2008-06-03T20:46:00.002-06:00

Well, we all get SPAM. Some like it with eggs, others with toast or just plain. Others hate it especially when it fills our email boxes. Well, we received a forward from someone that had a special message in it. This is a song that was written as a tribute to all the veterns from World War 2 to Vietnam. Here is a link to this site. This song was put together by a musician neither of us had heard of until today, named Sam Bierstock. As a descendant of a Vietnam Vetern, I feel pride when I see things like this because I feel proud of what my father went through in Vietnam. I also feel proud of my youngest brother that has been to Iraq. He is currently on call to be deployed again in October. We are very proud of him.

Help part 2

2008-05-15T06:31:00.003-06:00

Some of you may think us selfish in posting that last blog. I have gotten some interesting feedback emails. For those that are interested in supporting us, we have chosen the date of May 28th to go to the temple. We would ask if you are able to, wherever you are, to attend the temple on that date. We will be going to the Ogden temple around 5ish on that day. If you are unable to attend the temple that day, please do another day, or at least remember us in your prayers, as well as a prayer for the "birth mother" whomever she may be, that we will find each other.

Thank you for your help and support.

new story attempt... PLEASE READ

2008-05-09T23:58:00.021-06:00

Picture, if you will, your brother or close cousin. They have spent their life until their mission, preparing to go on a mission. They go out, come home, and meet with their Stake President at his home, because he had cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy (and not doing well). The Stake President meets with him, and tells him that because of his physical state, he can't give a blessing, but feels that the returning missionary needs one. He instructs the father to give him one when he returns home. He is told, in the blessing, that there is someone special being prepared for him, but they were not yet of age or prepared for him. He is promised he will have a wonderful family. This is also in his Patriarchal Blessing. He finds this person and marries her. He does not pay attention to the rest of the people he knows and cares for as they baptize their children, and they start receiving the priesthood. He doesn't say anything as he sees them raising their children, complaining about the "terrible 2s" or seeing them excited because their child learned to use the potty by themselves, or the excitement because their child just grew in a new tooth, or got their hair cut. Let alone when he sees them getting them ready for their first day of school, or hear them complain about the lost sleep because they were sick, or wouldn't stop crying because they're newborns.

Now picture a girl that has been brought up in the Church. She is dreaming of having a child and a family. She sees her friends, family, and others marrying, having families (some of them larger than others), and just smiles and takes it all with a grin on her face.

These two are married for going on 2 years and find out that one of them is not capable of having children. The depression that follows cannot be described, as she continues to work at a Daycare, go to school to be an elementary school teacher. Add to this she is working in the Nursery in her ward.

Now magnify that feeling by 5 more years, and you can begin to imagine what Susan and I have been going through. I hated to write it like this, I am an amateur fiction writer, so this is difficult(coming from the heart doesn't help). In the past we haven't really said too much about our adoption process other than the link I posted in the last blog, but we would like to ask for some help. We met with our Case Worker this week, and were told we have not even been put on what they call "Soft Hold". This means we have not even been considered by any birth mother for the last 6 months.

We are asking to be remembered in prayers. Not necessarialy that we'll adopt (althought that's the only venue that the Lord has provided us with), but that we'll be provided a way. We are also talking about a special temple day, no matter if you live close to us or far away (ie: North Carolina - Genia). On this day, please attend a session at the temple that you are assigned to, and think about us and the "Birth Mother" that we will meet. If you cannot attend the temple for some reason, please add a special prayer on that day, for us. I know if this happens, we will see "fruits of our labors". I have seen temple days like this literally work miracles in lives of people (many of these people are reading this blog now). This is a very heart felt request. We will post on this blog later, and email you, with a date.

Another day...

2008-04-25T16:54:00.003-06:00

Well, here is another day at the Aycock home. Nothing really exciting at this point to report, compared to previous. Les is trying to find part time or temp work to get finances in order, Sue is working at Winegars, and Mother's day is coming up. Mother's day tends to make some of us think of how it would be to actually BE parents in this day and age, but the adoption process is VERY slow going. Who knows? Someday something might change. If you want to see our online profile for the adoption process, here's a link.. Even better is Les gets to give a lesson in Elder's Quorum Sunday. Well, that's it for now.

Excitement in Logan

2008-03-15T20:38:00.005-06:00

Well, another day another load of excitement in our little couple family. We went up to Logan on Thursday to visit with Elizabeth and David. As we got through the canyon, Sue began complaining about extreme pains in her lower abdomen. This is not a new complaint, but Les decided to take Sue to the InstaCare in Logan.

We got into the door, waited 5 min at most, and were escorted into room. The doctor came right in, talked to Sue, touched her abdomin and said she was sending us to the Emergency Room one way or another. We asked her if we could go down to McKay Dee Hospital, close to home in Ogden, but she said Sue would never make it. She said she suspected it was her appendix. Les got her to the ER extremely fast. They did blood work, urine labs, and a CT Scan. They said the blood and urine were normal, but the CT scan showed a problem with her appendix and it would have to be removed. Dave came and helped Les give Sue a blessing where she was told it would be alright. She went into surgery at 9:30pm, finished at 10:00pm. at 10:30, she was placed in a room for 24 hours, and was released. We got home around 5pm Friday night. Susan is mostly sleeping in a recliner in our living room until she finishes her recovery, or feels better whichever comes first.

While this excitement was going on, Elizabeth and David were very supportive. Without their assistance, and support, I don't know how we would have made it. We also contacted one of the families we got close to in Smithfield and let them know we were in the area, and what happened.

Learned

2008-02-10T16:39:00.000-07:00

Last week I learned a very important lesson while I was at work. I work in a bakery and fry the donuts in the morning. Anyway, I had finished the frying for the morning, or so I had thought. A customer came and took the six dozen glazed donuts which had been placed on the table and she proceeded to ask if we had more since she wanted 3 more dozen. We told her that we only had 7 individual donuts left in the back. She proceeded to the case and took the 3 dozen from the case, which only left us with 3 individual donuts, and this was only 6:30 in the morning. Then a customer called and wanted to order 4 dozen glazed donuts for between 9 and 10 in the morning. We usually don't take orders like that the day of since they cut the dough the night before and set them aside, but we had to make more anyway to replace what the customer earlier had taken. The lady on the phone was told she could get them closer to 10, she wasn't happy and wanted to know how long 3 dozen would take and was told that it would be the same amount of time since the dough still needed to be made and allowed to raise.
So I was frying the new donuts and got into a little bit of a hurry, since the lady from the phone was soon supposed to be there. That was lesson number one, do not get in too much of a hurry when working with hot oil and screens. I was on my next to last screen of donuts when I had slid the hot donuts onto the rack to glaze and went to slide the screen onto the pile of screens under the glazer, using a donut lifter for better use of the word, also made of metal. The screen slid onto the pile and right back out onto my shoe. Lesson number two, good thing shoes are required when working. I asked one of the co-workers for a rag to get the screen to go onto the pile. I let go of the lifter with my right hand. Biggggggg mistake, thus the third lesson always use two hands to hold the lifter. I then lifted my left hand to set the lifter onto the table, and the lifter swung back and got me on the left forearm, which hurt very badly. So the fourth and final lesson for the day was don't let hot metal objects touch you as they cause painful burns.

Special Memories

2008-02-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

Today I was watching the tribute to President Gordon B. Hinckley (http://www.ksl.com and http://www.lds.org). I remembered an experience that I had down in Salt Lake when I met him and the rest of the First Presidency. I was going down, with my aunt and uncle, to meet with their regional authority. We got into the office building through the underground parking levels, and were waiting at the security desk for their appointment. The security guard was having problems contacting the office secretary because the secretary had stepped out. We were in the small hallway, when the First Presidency came in(this was when President Faust was alive). They were greeted by the security guard, and saw us. We came out and President Hinckley called each of us by name (he called me Les, not Earnest), and shook our hands. When he met with me, he asked if I was still working in the Finance Department. I told him no and that I was working elsewhere (I was working for Burns Int'l Security). He saw my brother, Aaron, and told him he would see him later at work(My brother used to see the General Authorities when they made mission assignments), then he saw my younger brother Samuel. He asked him if he wanted to know where his call was going to be. He told him no. Then President Hinckley proceeded to tell him a story of an elder that was called to one mission in California, then got a call in the mail, after 1 year in the mission, to a mission overseas. Samuel got called to Des Moines, IA and was in the "Quad-cities" when his mission was re-aligned and he ended up in the Peoria, IL mission.

I will never forget the spirit or feeling that was in that hall when we met them.
President Monson told the guard to let us go up after them, and if we had problems to let him know since his office was just down the hall. In this visit, I got to help their area authority give my aunt a blessing, with 2 members of the 12! Talk about a testimony boost! Elders Haight and Scott helped us administer to my aunt.