Lovin' my beautiful kids right now.

I was just looking at a picture of the kids and noticing that my girls are beautiful and my boys are way cool! Just wanted to share that bit of information with everyone. I love my kids a ton and I sure hope that they had a great Christmas/New Year break and are enjoying being back at school.

December starts with a BANG

Traditionally we have our "Christmas Kick-off Day" the day right after Thanksgiving. This year we were in Utah so we had to come up with a different day. So, we decided to do it on the 1st Saturday in December. Friday night was spent putting up the Christmas tree (it's fake so David and I had to put all the branches in), stringing the lights and making the cinnamon rolls for breakfast the next morning. David ran out and got us some dinner from a restaurant. We ate, put the kids to bed and started in on all the prep work for the next morning. Then around 10 we headed to bed.

At 3:10am I woke up with the worst stomach pain EVER!! Oh it was awful. It was followed by numerous bouts of vomiting and diarrhea and painful stomach cramps. We were up for an hour, my sweet husband gave me a Priesthood Blessing and then sat up with me. At 4:15ish I was finally able to go back to sleep. Shortly thereafter David was woken up by our boy Nephi and they went out and slept on the couch. Nephi was so excited about the Christmas tree. David said when he flipped the switch and turned the lights on, Nephi's eyes grew really big and he was so happy and excited! Cool!! I stayed in bed all of Saturday morning still having episodes of vomiting and diarrhea and trying, when the pain would let up, to get some sleep. David, the great father that he is, cooked the cinnamon rolls according to my instructions and made the frosting - both of which he had never done before. I was grateful and the kids said they turned out wonderfully. They then set up all the Christmas decorations and, after waiting as long as they could for me to join them, went ahead without me and decorated the Christmas tree. I was still miserable in bed.

Occasionally I will get sick and be in bed for a while, but it usually only for a few hours and then it passes. This time it wasn't getting any better and in fact seemed to be getting worse. Around 2:15pm I had a deep impression that I should go to the ER. I immediately called for David and told him he needed to get me an ambulance because there was no way I could make it out to the car - I was so weak. He called 911 and then went out to warn the kids that the ambulance was coming to take me to the doctor, but that I would be okay and there was no reason for them to worry. The paramedics came and whisked me away - off to Kaiser we went. David loaded the kids in the car and went to pick up Eve, his mom that lives nearby, and then dropped them all off at home and hurried over to the hospital. My parents were also in route.

When I got there and they hooked me up to the monitors the nurses started becoming concerned. Apparently my heart rate was down to 32 beats per minute - not a good thing. My heart was also in a weird rhythm they referred to as By-jimineys. That means instead of a regular beat it was going really fast and then would stop or slow down in an erratic fashion. In fact, they told us after ward that they had a crash cart right outside the room for me. In came 3 nurses and 1 doctor and they administered Atropine (I think that's what they called it) to jump start my heart. It worked and I started feeling much better. They ran multiple EKGs and did some X-Rays. We realized how serious it was when they started to ask in a round about sort of way if I had a DNR.

They then decided it best for me to remain in the hospital so I was admitted. Over the course of the next few days they gave me various different drugs and I continued to improve. By Monday I felt like a whole different person and they let me come home on Tuesday. I was so excited to see my kids and they sure seem happy and relieved to see me. Huge thanks go out to my sister, Jenn, for coming to sit with me most of the day on Monday so I didn't have to be alone. Also to my parents for hanging out with me until I was admitted and then my mom coming to the hospital on Sunday and staying with me for a long time. I am so grateful to my wonderful husband. This was probably the worst time for this to happen as he is in the middle of studying for finals - but he has been so great and has ALWAYS put me first and has been doing great with the kids. Thanks to Eve for spending the weekend at my house so that David could come and go as he needed and could visit me whenever he could. And finally a huge thanks to all of you for your prayers and happy thoughts. I couldn't make it through this without you.

So now I am home and am still recovering. I have to make sure to sit down and rest regularly. My body is slowly gaining strength - very slowly. I am so grateful that we called the ambulance when we did - they suggested that if we would have waited things could be much worse. I am sure that I was inspired to call for the ambulance and thank my Heavenly Father for his healing power. I know that my time is limited, or might be by this disease that I have, but I am not going down without a fight and it seems as though God is on my side in this fight - so I think I am here for a long time to come.

I came home to a very wonderfully decorated house and I am so excited to celebrate this Christmas season. I am thankful for my Savior and I love celebrating his birth. This is my favorite time of year! I hope that you all have a joyous holiday season. Merry Christmas!!!

End of November

The week before Thanksgiving I took Faith and Hyrum to see the new Harry Potter movie - the midnight premiere of course!! We went with my parents and met up with my brother, Jarrod and 3 of his boys. It was a blast. Before we went in I was waiting in the car because it was so cold and my parents were waiting in line with the kids. After a few minutes of waiting in the freezing cold, my mom took the kids up to the lobby and asked if we could wait inside due to the fact that I had cancer and the cold is hard for me. They were very nice and said that we could. When they came back to the car to get me, Hyrum said, "Man! Cancer Rocks!!" with as much enthusiasm as a child could muster. I turned to him and said - "Hyrum! It doesn't rock, but there are occasional perks." He immediately agreed with me. It was hilarious!!

The day before Thanksgiving, we loaded a rental car (a beautiful black Suburban) with tons of stuff and headed East for Alpine, Utah. We only had 4 stops, but with crazy traffic it took us 15 hours to get there. We arrived on Thanksgiving morning at 1:30am. We had a fantastic visit with David's family and then on Saturday with my family. The only thing we didn't do - and now I'm kicking myself - is that we didn't get any group pictures! UGH!!! Oh well. We did get this great family picture on Friday afternoon when we took the kids into Salt Lake City and walked around Temple Square.

On Sunday after church the kids and David got all dressed in David's Mom's extra snow clothes and went outside and played in the snow. They thought it was so fun and some of them were out there for hours.

We headed home on Monday morning and it took us only 2 stops and 11 hours later we were home! We had a great vacation and I just want to make sure all who helped us get there and/or planned things so that we could see everyone know how much I really appreciate all you did! It was a great trip and we couldn't have done it without The Dream Foundation, our Mission Family and other friends and family. Thanks for making our family's Thanksgiving Day the best it could have been!!

Not much happening

We have had a pretty uneventful month! Which is wonderful. As I look back over the calendar though, I think more happened than I realized!

I had 2 doctor appointments. One with my oncologist and one with my radiology oncologist. Both had similar outcomes. The scans that I had at the end of October and beginning of September show that my cancer is stable. Good news, huh? The bad part? There is nothing they can do right now. I guess that it is not so bad. I really don't want to have chemotherapy - it causes such lousy side effects and I just don't like spending my time there. So, we just wait and pray for the best. We exercise the two things I am not so good at lately: patience and faith/trust in God.

For those of you who know me, you know that I am by far NOT the most patient person you will ever meet. I also like to do things on my own. This is my trial. So I push forward and practice patience with the Lord and this stupid cancer while learning better to trust God and have faith and confidence in Him. What a struggle this is becoming for me. You would think that as this experience goes on, I would get better, but I feel that I am falling behind. It is easy to get complacent. It is easy to forget on a daily basis to turn to the Lord. Instead I find myself only looking to Him when I need some relief from the pain or aches. I need to break this habit NOW!! It is vital to my eternal progression. It doesn't matter in the long run what my kids get this Christmas if I am not there in the Eternities with them. I have to keep reminding myself of this. It is so important!

As for everything else, things are going well. The kids are now on Thanksgiving break and loving it. We are planning on leaving for Utah on Wednesday, early in the morning, and driving across Nevada to visit David's family and some of mine as well. The kids are counting down the days until we leave. They are so excited to see their Grandparents and Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. I hope the drive won't be too difficult for us all. We did all survive the trip to Disneyland in March, so hopefully that is a good indicator that this will go well.

This Christmas will be a busy one. We have 3 concerts in 2 nights the week before Christmas - not quite sure how we are gonna pull that one off. We also have many school festivities and reports due. David and I have finals and then some much need time off! So things are filling up on our calendars but in a good way and we are excited to celebrate this joyous time of year. I love Christmas and have already started playing some Christmas music here and there.

We hope that everyone enjoys their holidays beginning with a Happy Thanksgiving!! I know that I have TONS to be grateful for!!

Happy Halloween

Very Quick Health Update

Just wanted to let everyone know that we discovered today that I can't take the new experimental drug. It would cause problems with my pain medicine and there is no other pain medication that they can give me. We are still optimistic and I am counting on your prayers, my body fighting and blessings from heaven to get us through this. I have confidence in the Lord that if it is his will, my life will be preserved. Please continue to pray that I might have a full recovery. Remember that He knows what is best for me, my husband, my kids, my parents (all of them) and all of my extended family and friends. My life is fully in His hands.

I am a lot disappointed, but I have to rely on my faith now and I will. I am so grateful for what I know and my faith in God. Thanks again for all your prayers - keep 'em comin'!!

Quick Health Update

I saw the oncologist yesterday (Monday). After reviewing my bloodwork it has been determined that I am no longer a candidate for chemotherapy. Basically - Chemo suppresses your bone marrow, as does radiation. My bone marrow has been so suppressed that it is not rebuilding itself. If I continue to do chemo it will just make me weaker and sicker and destroy, or at least dramatically impact, my quality of life. So, no more chemo!! YAY for me!! I am so thrilled. I am also a little concerned about what that means for my cancer, but I am grateful that I don't have to go through the side-effects of chemo again.

My doctor said that if we were seeing another doctor they might just say that they would send me to hospice and from what I understand of that, it's their way of saying - "Sorry, nothing more we can do for you." But my doctor has noticed that my body is fighting this cancer and that I am not showing all the symptoms/signs of some one who is as "sick" as I am. This gives him hope and so he is willing to try a very experimental treatment. This is so experimental that they are not even in clinical testing yet and in fact it is just a theory backed by one study of a doctor that shows promise. The treatment is that I take an extremely low dose of a certain drug that is usually used to help drug addicts get over their addictions. The size dose is about 10% of the traditional dose. I am not 100% sure that we are going this route, but it does sound promising and I don't have anything to lose - there are no side effects. I will be researching this over the next few days and probably start with it next week. We shall see.

Other than that, things here are going well. We are doing lots of homework, cleaning house, making dinner, running errands and just the everyday goings on for a Mom. Halloween is almost upon us and I think I am almost done with the costumes!! So excited!!

Hope all is well with you all. We love you and appreciate your prayers and kind thoughts in our behalf. Enjoy the remainder of your week, we will - with all our activities planned how could we not?!?!

Grumpy - Grateful

Lately I haven't felt the best so I have been a little grumpy. I think it was Friday night that I looked at Gloria and Nephi and just felt a wave of gratitude wash over me. Yesterday was the school carnival. We went and again as I watched all of my kids playing the games or hangin' with their friends and my wonderful husband helping the 2 little ones (who aren't so little these days), I again felt that gratitude. So, rather than post all the goings on around here for the past few weeks, I decided that I wanted to post what I am grateful for. Here goes:

My loving Father in Heaven and his son Jesus Christ

My wonderful, loving, helpful husband

My beautiful, energetic children

My delightful and very helpful parents

My extended family and their prayers on my behalf

My friends and their concern for me

A warm home that fits us all

A soft bed to lay on when I feel crummy or am just ready for a good night sleep

A car that fits us all and gets us where we need to go

The bus for bringing David home from school some days

The gospel

The scriptures for teaching me of the Lord

The sun

The rain

The clouds

The beautiful trees and flowers

Umbrellas

Clothes

Shoes

Having plenty of food and even more treats

Store bought sugar cookies with frosting - you know the ones

A good school for my kids to go to

The opportunity for me to go back to school

Hearing Aids

Being crafty

My camera

Time

My health - I know I have cancer - but it could be worse

Pain medicine

Doctors

VIP week in Kindergarten

Star week in 3rd grade

Smiles

Hugs

Kisses from my kids

The United States of America

Memories

The ability to read and write

Music

My husband's beautiful voice

A clean house

Just for Kids (an organization that provides activities for families with cancer)

Sutter Cancer Center's CATS program

Panda Express (yummy spring rolls!!)

Chipotle (love their chicken tacos)

Sees Candy

Pictures

Disneyland

Rollercoaster Rides

Animals (just not at my house)

Sewing

Dates with my husband

Quiet times

Peaceful feelings

Happy thoughts

People that read my blog :)

People that make comments on my blog :)

A Dishwasher

Washers and Dryers for my clothes

Toilets that flush

Running water in my house

A place for my kids to play right outside

Parks

Learning

and the list goes on...

I hope you can take some time today or in the future to just think about what you're grateful for. I know that what I am grateful for far out weighs what I don't care for. Thinking about these things and writing them all down gives me a bit of perspective, kind of like a pro/con list. I have so many things to be grateful for.

I had blood work done today and it came back very close to the same as last time I got it done a month ago. Tomorrow I will meet with my doctor and find out exactly what that means - I am thinking that chemo is a no-go again. In fact, based on my very limited knowledge and understanding, I believe that I am no longer a chemo candidate. My bone marrow has become too suppressed. We shall find out tomorrow and I will pass on any news here.

Enjoy your Sabbath Day. Remember to be grateful. Tell whom you love that you love them and give hugs. All things considered I am doing well and I love my life. Have a happy day!

A month?

Wow!! Time sure flies when you are having fun - and we have been having lots of fun! Let's see if I can get you caught up with our busy lives. On August 20th the girls were in a great play put on by the Arden Players Club. They both had speaking parts and singing and dancing parts. It was really a cute show and they had a fun time over the summer going to practice 2 - 4 days per week and learning a lot of music from the 70s and 80s.

The 23rd of August was the first day of school and the wonderfully forgetful mom that I am forgot all about taking pictures. So you will just have to believe me when I say they were the cutest 6th grader, 5th grader, 3rd grader, 1st grader and Kindergartener that I know!

They had a great 1st day and now it has been a few weeks and they are still enjoying going to school!

August 27th I took Vilate on a date to the mall to get her ears pierced! She was so funny walking around the store trying to decide if she was brave enough. She was so nervous that it was going to hurt and she hates to get hurt. After about 20 minutes of coaching from me and the lady who worked there, she decided that she could handle it. She held on so tight to that teddybear and my hand for the first ear, but then once she realized that it didn't really hurt, she did the other ear on her own! Way to go Vilate!!

Faith is my big 6th grader this year and is loving it! The 6th graders at our school have the privilege of having one of the teachers being a guitar fan. Mr. Martin has, for years, taught those 6th graders with a desire to learn, how to play the guitar. Faith was so excited and her Dad took her to a couple of music stores where they located the perfect guitar for her. She is supposed to bring her guitar to school on Fridays for class, but she brings her guitar everyday so that she can play during recess and after lunch. She is constantly cleaning the house up so that she can have some guitar time. So far she has learned: Mary had a Little Lamb, some of Jingle Bells, some of Smoke on the Water and some other parts of songs. She is loving it!!

Let's see what else have we done? We went to the Chili-Cookoff/Pie-Bakeoff at the church a few weeks ago and the kids were bobbing for apples. They were having so much fun. Nephi kept trying to do it - he kept just dunking his head in the bucket of water and was so proud of himself.

On the 31st of August school started for David and I - yes I am going to school again. I need something to do that is a challenge for me and that I enjoy doing. I am taking 2 classes. One is online and it is a class on the family in society and the other is in class two days per week and is a child development that covers infants through adolescents. So far I am enjoying them. David is taking 4 classes (a full load) and his are communications, economics and math classes. So we are busy - but it's a good busy!

I love this picture of Nephi. He came in my room one evening and climbed under the bed and was using the bedskirt as his blanket. I thought he looked really cute laying there!

So that's our month in a nutshell and now we are just plugging away with our routine every week of taking kids to school, going to school ourselves and picking people up.

As for a health update, I saw my doctor a few weeks ago and my bone marrow was too suppressed to do chemo right then. So, today I went and had another blood test and I am at about the same levels, in some areas I am a little worse than last time. I go see the doctor tomorrow and I think he was hoping to do chemo this week, but I know with the numbers that I have now, that it would not be good, so I get a few more weeks off of chemo. I am enjoying feeling almost normal and I love that I have energy to be a part of things. I don't really want to go back to doing chemo so right now we are debating it deciding the pros and cons and counting the cost. I feel good, although I am still very tired.

Life is good, family is great and I am loving every minute of it.

An Apostle in our Town

Last night right after Faith sang, David and I left the kids with Grandma & Grandpa Morgan at the field and the little ones were home with Grandma Eve and we headed over to the church. It was Stake Conference weekend. We had an Apostle from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles come and speak to us. For those of you who don't know about our church, it is organized like Christ organized the church in the Bible. We have the First Presidency which is the Prophet and his counselors, then we have the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. They all reside in Salt Lake City, UT and frequently travel the globe to visit members of the church. There are so many members of our church in so many countries that they only make it Sacramento every so often. We were very blessed that L. Tom Perry, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, came to visit our Stake and speak to us. David and I went up to him last night and shook his hand and met his lovely wife.

It was a unique and wonderful experience to sit at an apostles feet and be taught. I felt the spirit and knew that, even though it was hard to sit there physically and my kids were crazy loud today, I knew that I was in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. I was reassured of the love the Lord has for me and I was reminded that He really does know everything that is going on in my life. I was reminded that He has experienced all this and that He wants what is best for me and my family. What a blessing to live in this day and age, when there are so many things that are good for me to see, feel and hear. I needed yesterday and today to remind me that I am not alone. Not only do I have a wonderful husband, great kids, a wonderful family and awesome friends, I have my Savior. I am one blessed lady!!

One of the Coolest Things

Last night David and I took the 3 older kids, Faith, Hyrum and Vilate and went with my parents to the River Cats game. Faith had tried out and been chosen to sing the National Anthem at the game. It was so cool! Because she was down on the field preparing to sing the song, they also let her throw out one of the first pitches along with some other kids.

We were told that we would get some pictures and a DVD of her performance from the River Cats. When I get them I will upload them for your viewing pleasure.

She really did a great job and I was a proud Mama watching her out there on that huge, beautiful field and seeing her on the big screen! So cool!!!

Happy 5th Birthday to Gloria

July 28th was Gloria's 5th birthday and we had fun celebrating. We had a lot of activities planned on her actual birthday - too bad they were all for the older kids! We did end the day with a pink frosted cake!!

We threw a party the next week at the park. It was simple and I made the greatest pinata! It's a Honey Nut Cheerios box covered in a bag that you put presents in. I taped tissue paper on the top to make it more authentic.

It was funny that this pinata lasted longer than any other pinata we have ever used. The string broke and at the end David was having the big kids play baseball with it. It was hilarious.

Gloria loved being the birthday girl. She loves to give hugs and kisses. She is a sweet girl that loves to be a girl. She loves dresses and pink shoes. She loves it when I call her princess. Gloria loves to play with Nephi. They come up with some great games. Gloria plays with My Little Ponies, collects Barbies - she doesn't play with them so much as just likes to have a lot of them. She loves Littlest Pets Shop toys and especially playing with the big girls stuff. She is excited to start Kindergarten and can't wait to go to the big kids school. Gloria loves to be read to and would sit for hours if someone would just keep reading to her. She loves to have her hair done. Glo is a happy little girl that makes me smile daily!! I'm so glad she was sent to our family - with her bright blonde hair and big blue eyes. I love this kid!!

HaPpY 10tH bIrThDaY hYrUm!!!

July 27th was Hyrum's 10th birthday! We celebrated the day by going to the California State Fair. We haven't gone to the fair in years - I think Faith and Hyrum were just toddlers the last time we went. We had a blast!! The kids got to ride whatever they wanted and the favorite was the slide. They were flying!!

After the fair we headed home ate a quick dinner and enjoyed eating Turtle Pie.

David then took Hyrum to the store and bought him his first pocket knife. He was given a $20 budget and ended up being able to buy 2 that were on sale and come under his budget! What a great shopper!!

Hyrum is awesome! I love his happiness. It is contagious. He loves the gospel and tries really hard to be obedient and do what's right. He loves baseball. He looks forward every week to going to Cub Scouts and participating with the other boys. He has recently caught the reading bug and I love seeing him read in his room at night. He loves to play video games - especially Pokemon on the DS and Mario on the Wii. He is a good kid and is learning how to be a better leader among his siblings. He loves to sword fight with Nephi and Helaman and come up with intricate games with all the kids together. I love you bunches Hyrum!! You are a great addition to our family and I can't imagine life without you in it!!!

Enough Already!!

Just so everyone knows, this is going to be a complaining post. I generally don't post when I feel sad, angry, frustrated or anything else negative. I don't want to be remembered as a complainer or as someone who couldn't deal with things. But today I have had enough!! I am tired of being a cancer patient. I am tired of driving daily to radiation treatments. I am tired of pain and pain medicine. I am tired of not being able to be a mom the way that I used to be and really want to be. I want my life back!!! NOW!

Everyone tells me that I am handling this so well and that I am such an inspiration. But please know that I am not perfect. I have had many "bad" days. My poor children and husband have to deal with me all the time and they can attest to those days. I am grumpy a lot more than I should be. My faith is lacking in many ways. I don't trust my Father in Heaven the way that I should. I don't read my scriptures enough. I don't know enough about them. I need to become much better at that. I don't pray enough. I need to have conversations with my Father in Heaven more often. I'm sure that those things will help my "bad" days become fewer.

Lately I have spent so much time in my bed just laying here missing out on things. I long for the days that I used to do so many things and get them done. I had energy to do them and desire to do them. The desire is there, for the most part, just not the energy. A lot of the reason I have been in bed is because the pain is great and I am having to take pain meds that make me so tired and loopy. I am really skinny now - down more than 50 pounds. I weigh less now than I did when we got married. I know that riding my stationary bike will help with the weight and energy, but riding my bike isn't what I want to do - I should do it anyway.

Really my life is not so bad. My children are all healthy and growing well. They are happy and are very smart and looking forward to going back to school in a few weeks to see their friends. I have a husband who loves me very much and he even scrubbed the bathroom ceiling today for me. He is leading the way to clean out our house and get rid of all the junk. Today he spent hours in the girls' room helping them to get rid of stuff and organize it so that they can better utilize the space and got it done. Tomorrow we are on to the boys' room. He drives me where ever I need to go and makes sure the kids get to where they need to be.

So, today is not so good, but tomorrow will be better and I'm already feeling happier. We are going to take the kids swimming at the club now - maybe I'll get in today. I'm sure it will help me continue to feel better. I know this is really for my benefit and the benefit for my family - but sometimes it just feels like too much. If you are still reading this, thanks for listening to me complain! Sometimes just getting off your chest is helpful. We are going to have some fun now. And I am going to get some hugs from some really great kids and a husband I love more than anything! Have a good day - mine can only get better from here!!

Tattoos

Just a quick reminder that these tattoos are just dots on my skin. They are black and about the size of a sharpie dot on a piece of paper. They are just so that the techs that do my radiation know where to position my body so that I get the radiation in the right spot. Didn't mean to confuse anyone!! I do not have and am not in the least bit interested in getting artwork tattoos.

Tattoos

So the doctor's office called this morning and asked if I could come in today instead of Friday. We called a friend to watch all the kiddos (thanks Robyn) and headed out to Rancho Cordova. We met with the doctor and I had to sign a form stating that I understood the risks of the radiation and then off to get tattoos we went. I have 3 more - one on my stomach - right at the bottom of my sternum, and then one on each side about the same distance down on my torso. Let me tell you it was pretty exciting! - being a rebel that is. Just kidding. But they did hurt more this time then I remember them hurting last time.

I will start radiation on Monday afternoon and then I will go for 14 more days in the mornings. They will then follow-up with scans and bloodwork to make sure all is well. Here we go!

It's a slower busy!

We have been enjoying our summer and are over half-way through with it. We have been swimming - not as much as I have wanted, but some. The kids have been cleaning out their rooms - we went through all the kids drawers and have bags in the car on their way to DI. We have thrown away many broken toys and books and even with all that work - those kids still have way too much stuff!!!

Faith and Vilate are involved in a local group that is putting a play together. They were just cast in the show - Vilate has a lot of lines to memorize and Faith is singing a solo in the show. They are really enjoying it and go twice a week in the mornings.

The rest of the time at our house has been spent playing video games, reading books from the local library, watching a lot (way too much) TV, cleaning house, clearing out drawers and closets and throwing away a bunch of junk! On Wednesday and Thursday here at the apartments there are scheduled activities for kids from 10:30am - 2:30pm. They have a blast playing games and even doing work (math, reading, etc.). They actually said it was fun to do school work over there!

We are planning on going to the State Fair next week. Gloria wants to have a birthday party and Hyrum wants a sleepover for his birthday - we shall see if either of those activities come to fruition.

We have had lots of appointments and places to be, but it has been a lot less than at the end of the school year and we are enjoying the slower pace.

34 days until school starts!! I only know that because Helaman just asked me to count :). He is so excited to be starting 1st grade!! I am so proud of that kid - all of them really. Helaman has become quite the reader and loves to read to anyone that will listen. Every morning the kids all read the "Book of Mormon Reader" together. Helaman can read a whole page by himself and he is so proud of himself. So cool to see!!

Radiation

Well, they decided against doing the last radiation on my ribs. I went in and saw the radiology oncologist and got the pictures taken and all marked up and then they were able to match up exactly where I was having the pain and it did not coincide with what they had thought was causing it - the tumor on my rib. So they cancelled it.

Because the pain is still there they did a little more investigating and found that the source of my pain is my enlarged liver. It has been enlarged since this whole thing began but now it is apparently rubbing against my ribs or something and that is causing the pain. So the doctors' suggested treatment is either pain control or, more aggressive treatment of radiating my liver. Over the phone when they first recommended radiating my liver they had to tell me the risk - 5-10% liver failure. That was kinda scary to hear.

Since hearing that information we have been trying to make a decision whether to do it or not. We have researched info on the web (what a pain that is!!), talked with multiple doctors, prayed and fasted to know what the best thing for my body would be. I have also sent my medical records on to The Huntsman Cancer Institute located in Salt Lake City, Utah. As of now we are going through with the radiation to my liver. We feel like it is a good option. My type of cancer responds well to radiation, so there is a very good chance this will help my liver to get rid of some of that cancer that's in there. There is risk - 5-10% of liver failure. It can take 3-6 months to show up. We shall go on faith and hope for the best.

I meet with the doctor on Friday to get all lined up and might get another set of tattoos!! So exciting!! When my leg was radiated in January I got 3 freckle-sized tattoos on my legs. I'll let ya all know on Friday!!

Vilate's Special Day

Vilate was baptized last night at the church. We had a great turnout and it was a wonderful service. Friends of ours brought this delicious cake from Ettore's - a local Italian Cafe. She loved it.

We are so happy for Vilate and pleased with her choice. Right after she was baptized I was helping her change out of her wet clothes and in to her white dress and she was so happy. She kept saying, "Now I'm a member of the church." She was so excited and pleased with herself.

Aren't they are cute couple? I love this picture of the two of them. My wonderful, handsome and worthy husband and my beautiful, sweet and innocent daughter. I love them so very much!!

Thanks to all who helped set up: my parents, David's parents, Tina, Alvina, and Bishop Timpson. And all else who came, helped and showed their support for our Vilate. Your examples and testimonies are much appreciated and bless the lives of us and our children.

4th of July

Our 4th started off bright and early at the park with the ward. We had a wonderful pancake breakfast. The kids walked, rode bikes, rollerblades, and scooters in a parade around the park. There was a great turn out and the kids had a marvelous time. I really enjoyed visiting with my friends and ward family.

We went home for a bit and then we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Morgan's house to swim and BBQ and just have a bunch of fun with our cousins!

We missed having the Robinson family with us and we missed the "out-of-towners." But the rest of us had a wonderful time.

After the swimming, BBQ-ing and Yummy homemade ice cream - and after my nap - we went out front and let the kids do some "Morning Glory" fireworks. They love it and had a great time writing their names in Grandpa's gutter. Silly kids!!At the end of the many, many Morning Glories, Grandpa lit a whole bunch in his hand. The kids thought his torch was so cool. He couldn't lift it up like the Statue of Liberty because of all the sparks flying off but it sure was a nice looking torch!

After the festivities we went home and went to bed. It had been a really long, but very fun day!

I love the 4th of July. It is one of my favorite holidays. I am so grateful that we live in a country that was set aside and kept safe by the Lord as a place where the gospel could be restored. I know that I am blessed to live here and be a citizen. I love our flag. Saying the Pledge of Allegiance and singing the Star Spangled Banner make me so happy. They fill my heart with indescribable joy. I appreciate so much those young men and women who have dedicated their lives to serving our country and I pray for their welfare. I am grateful to the Founding Fathers and their vision and dedication to this country. How blessed we are!

I hope you all had an enjoyable 4th of July!!