New From Ruth and Michael Malan

Life is really hectic and it shouldn't be. We returned this week from spending nearly a week in Colorado visiting and vacationing. Lisa's oldest daughter, Katherine, graduated from high school on Saturday so we went for that. We brought a couple of her other younger children home with us so Ron and Lisa could take Katherine on a trip. We have a nine-year-old and a three-year-old with us. Also we have Gina's daughter here so I can work and they can be entertained. Lisa will be here on Saturday. Two of her other children are with Laura. It is fun to see them and spend some time with them since we don't see them very often.

Lisa's oldest son is on a mission in Fiji. He has been there for a year now and really loves it.

Laura graduated with honors from Utah State University this month in education. She will be teaching third grade at an elementary school close to her home. Gina also works at that school. We were really proud of her for going back to school after having four children.

Also we reached a new milestone this month. May 5 our first great-grandson was born. He is really cute, of course. Josh and Haley are cute parents to little Cason.

We still live in the same house on Oxford Drive in Kaysville. We have been here for so long that we will probably be here for the rest of our lives. At least it is paid for.

Michael has been suffering with his back so the trip wasn't great for that. He is doing OK though. He has lost a lot of weight since being diagnosed with diabetes. Wish I could lost weight. You are blessed not to have the fat gene. I struggle with weight all of the time and one of our daughters also does.

Donna's house still hasn't sold. The real estate market here in Utah is supposed to be better than any place else but it still hasn't sold. Maybe this summer. It is getting very expensive to leave empty. Michael has to pay the condo fees and the electricity too.

And here is a short note to tell you about Michael's back. He has had several doctors but they don't seem to help. Apparently it is a birth defect. It was OK when he was young because his muscles were young too and held everything in place. When we looked at the MRI we could see how the nerves wrap around the spinal column. We were told that no surgeon would touch him because there is a 50 percent chance it would paralyze him. Some of the disks have deteriorated too so he just puts up with it and takes over the counter pain medications. For a while he got some prescription drugs but they didn't do any better than the cheap ones. He doesn't use them every day though.

There is a Hadley reunion coming up next month. We hardly ever go. We went to a cousin reunion a few years ago -- I should say I went with some of my children. Michael really doesn't like reunions so I have to drag him to them. He is like his dad that way. He would rather just stay home. He looks more like his dad now too. I said that to Lisa the other day and she said, "but he is cuter." That is a funny thing to say about an older man, but he is her father.

I am not on staff with the paper just a correspondent so I get to write at home. I go up to the Ogden office about once a month to meetings.

Right now I am going to check on three granddaughters who are up in the kitchen. Emily, age 9 and cousin Sadie age 8 are playing a version of Monopoly and Rebekah age 3 is bothering them -- oops here is Rebekah now asking for lunch. I told her I would be there in a minute and she said, "I'll be waiting up there," and "Grandma you're funny."