ON THE ROAD

Rick loaded the car last night and it is PACKED!!!!! We are leaving in about 5 minutes. We have a little addition we are bringing home with us -- we have a baby! :) Well, HE thinks he is a baby. We are bringing home a chihuahua. Can you believe it? He is so cute -- I would never have guessed I would love a chihuahua. We are still debating the name. I think I might lose this time around. Rick thinks Dobby is cute. I have to admit it fits him with his ears. I will post pictures when we get back to Texas. He is smart and snuggly and hasn't yipped once (let's hope it continues). He isn't all the way potty-trained, though, so we have that in front of us. Emma and Caleb are beside themselves. It will give them something to think about when they are missing their cousins. Anyway, we were sad to say goodbyes here, but we are glad to be going home to be a family again.

Eastward Ho!

We are now leaving Friday morning. Rick is flying in to AZ and will drive back with us. Trying to pack and still do treatments has proven a bit tricky, as I don't feel like I am worth much in the afternoons. But, little by little we'll get it done.

We had a fun birthday weekend with the kids. Rick flew in Thursday night on Emma's b-day and we spent Friday celebrating Caleb's birthday. In the afternoon we drove to Queen Creek to Brady and Berta's house. My Dad and Sharon were there to visit. Caleb got to play Uncle Brady's Wii and some Xbox games we don't have. He thought that was cool. Aunt Berta let Emma, Cat and Sarah (cousins) play with her make-up. Oh wow, what that a hit. I have to get the pictures from Berta - they are too good to pass up.

Saturday morning we went to the zoo. I love zoos a LOT, but we did get pretty hot there. We drank a lot of water and went in the shade, when possible. The orangatuans were my favorite this time at the zoo. The baby was a riot -- so smart!

Rick and I got to spend a little bit of time alone Saturday night - yay! He left Sunday night but will be back on Thursday. I can't believe we are really truly going home! And cross your fingers, our house is under contract. We hope it will go through smoothly and quickly.

Just think, I will be sleeping my own bed in 4 nights. I hope to get home on Saturday in time to make it to the General Relief Society Broadcast. Is there anything going on before it at the Stake Center? I need to find out.

We're going home!!

We are so excited -- we are going home! We are leaving early next Thursday morning, one week from TODAY! It happened so fast that now it seems like there is much to do to get ready to go home. I hope Mom won't be finding things all over her house for the next month that we forgot. And it will be an adjustment for all of us again. I have to get used to being married again -- just kidding. That will be nice. The kids will have to get used to having a quiet house without cousins next door to play with. They will each miss that! I will miss everyone here, too, but having our family back together again outweighs all of that.

The Results are in!

Okay, the results are in and, we are thankful to say that they are good! The only part that was a little disheartening was that, apparently, there was more cancer spread throughout my body than we initially knew. So, when we found out all the improvement, our first response was: what? we didn't know there had been cancer there! Maybe now it is good that I didn't know; if I had known how widespread it was, who knows if I would have fought so hard when I was sooooo terribly sick right before the surgery. But now I know and all the places have either gotten drastically smaller or are gone.

Here is what the Dr. wants me to do: chemo every other week for 3 rounds (1st one starting tomorrow), so that would put us here for another month. I have to decide. So we may not be home to Texas until the second week in October. *sigh* We'll see..... I might be able to only have 2 more rounds. We are playing it by ear right now.

The pictures of the kids are cute, huh (and what a cute Grandma and Baby Matthew)? Although you can tell that by the time we got to present-opening-time, Caleb was hot and sweaty from playing outside with cousins. :) They had fun and got seriously spoiled by Aunties and Uncles and Grandma! I love them and am so grateful for them! Rick and I would be so lonely without them! They have been trooopers through this whole experience. They have both grown in compassion for others and in understanding how prayer can really work!

And, one last picture: Emma is learning to make omelets. Omelets or granola seem to be the breakfasts of choice around here, lately.

The next PET scan is here!

Okay, the PET scan is tomorrow - Tuesday, September 9th. I have to be there at 9:30 for the radioactive junk to get put into my blood for the 11:00am scan. I am praying so hard. I don't know when I get the results, but it should be before the end of the week.

Also, my liver enzymes started dropping!!!! That is a great sign. We are so happy!

So, when I post again it should be with good results - I hope, I hope!

Another reason to post is to put up some pictures of the kids. Their cousins and aunts and uncles celebrated their birthdays on Sunday (pretty early, but it was the weekend that worked). The kids got spoiled rotten by their aunts and uncles! They were so happy and excited. And I was tired! I had to make 2 cakes on Saturday/Sunday. Caleb did want to decorate his own and that was ok with me. This is monkey business having kids whose birthdays are right next to each other! :) September is an expensive month for us. Rick's birthday is August 26, Emma's is September 18 and Caleb's is September 19th. I had a good incentive (okay, bribe) for them today to get their schoolwork done quickly; they could play with all their new stuff as soon as they were finished. I have never seen Emma get done sooooo cheerfully and soooooo quickly!

So, Caleb and Emma get to celebrate their birthdays 2 times. They don't mind. We will celebrate it again on their real birthdays when Rick comes into town the 18th - 21.

Okay, I am trying not to worry a lot, it could be nothing. The last few blood tests they have drawn at the Dr's have shown elevated liver enzymes: which could mean several things, one of which is cancer in the liver. I wasn't worried at first, but it went up even more this week. Dr. Lodi moved up the next PET scan to next Tuesday or Wednesday to "check things out". They said not to worry, but that is definitely easier said than done. I am so set on going home by the end of this month that I don't want anything to go wrong. I am praying that it is nothing. The office is scheduling the PET scan and I will know by tomorrow if it will be on Tuesday or Wednesday. Enough time to worry. I hope the time flies by for me until then.

Well, once again I feel like a slacker, but it is nice to be "too busy" to catch up on the blog. Things have been really busy!! We have had a fun last couple of weeks.

I went to the temple all by myself. What an accomplishment. Whew! It was a test of faith, but once I got there, I felt so silly that I had doubted. Everyone was so nice and helpful, and, I was glad to see that I didn't need much help. :) Rick went the same day to the San Antonio Temple so we could "be in the temple together." I know: soooo romantic. Well, we tried.

We had a GREAT time with Rick when he was here. We had a big birthday dinner for him with family and friends here on the Sunday before his birthday and then (THANK YOU Aunt Karson) Rick and I went out alone on his birthday. It was nice to be together!!!!

We had a really fun time in San Diego visiting Uncle Jon and Aunt Megan and their family. We went to Old Town and the beach and the San Diego Zoo. My favorite part (as you can tell by my including the picture) of the zoo were the meerkats. And I never knew giraffes had such personality! It was very very fun. Aunt Megan should be buff now after pushing me so much in the wheelchair that day -- up and down ALL those hills. The San Diego Temple was open for a few hours Monday morning for the Labor Day holiday, so Rick and I got up early and went and did a session -- finally REALLY together in the temple. And it was a dream for Rick since he had grown up in San Diego, but then moved for his Sr. year in High School and then was on his mission when the temple was completed. Other than seeing a sealing room at Barry's and Avery's wedding, we had never seen the inside. It is very very beautiful!

This morning I had to take Rick to the airport which was hard for both of us. Back to being apart. *sigh* The kids and I got right into school after breakfast, though, which helped me stay busy. They did a great job after about 2 1/2 months of NO school. It will be nice to be in a routine again.

I am continuing to feel good, although I am tired sometimes since I go, go, go a lot. After feeling so encumbered and unable to go and do, I just want to go, go, go and often I do a bit much. I still get sick from the treatments, so I really don't go too much Monday - Thursday, but on Fridays and Saturdays, I seem to make up for it and then some. I will continue to learn my limits. I am so grateful for all the help I receive.

It is continually brought to my attention how mindful Heavenly Father is of all his children. I know He loves me and my husband and my children. I am so grateful. I don't know what the rest of my life holds in store, but I am so grateful to know I am not alone in any of this. I am grateful for a Savior who thinks I am worth believing in. I am grateful for all He has done for me. I am grateful for temples, for the gospel and prophets who lead us today. On Sunday, in my brother's ward in San Diego, they talked a lot about Proposition 8 (the amendment to the State Constitution about marriage between only a man and a woman). I am so grateful for the Proclamation to the World from our leaders. I am grateful for others around the world who also stand for the family and also fight to keep the family unit strong. I know that if we can keep families strong, our nation will be stronger.