Stupid Cancer!

Rob went to the doctor with his dad last week. They were expecting to hear news about getting a bone marrow transplant etc. Instead, they were told that the cancer cells are back up to 13% (that's about as high as they were when he got to Huntsman Cancer Institute). Just three weeks previous, his leukemia was considered in remission. We had gotten so much good news lately, that we were all taken completely by surprise by this. The worst part is, the doctor doesn't think that there is much left they can do to fight the leukemia. The leukemia is so aggressive! They can't give him any of the chemo treatments he's already had, because they aren't effective the second time through. Monday he started a really mild chemo treatment to see if it will do anything for him. The doctor says they are in uncharted territory, and have no way to know if it will be effective. It's worth a shot! He can't have a bone marrow transplant unless they can reduce the % of cancer cells. They haven't been able to locate a bone marrow match for him either. We are going to get tested to see if we possibly could be a match. When they heard the news, Rob said that they all felt like they got punched in the stomach. Cancer stinks!!! He sincerely hopes that he can stick around until September, when he and Rob's mom can go through the temple.

Rob's mom promised his dad that if he got a remission, he could buy "his dream car." Rather than the Corvette he had always thought about, he has discovered the Porche Cayenne. He test drove one a few weeks ago, and fell in love. I hope he gets it, and loves every minute of it!

Good luck Grandpa! We are cheering for you, and you are constantly in our prayers. We loved Sarah's sincere prayer for Grandpa as she asked Heavenly Father "to help Grandpa fight the zucchini." We didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Thank You Nathan

I played a little harder than maybe I should have in a church basketball game last night. That left me quite sore this morning in my nethermost regions. This morning I mentioned how sore I was and asked the rhetorical question, "How am I going to do aerobics today?" Rob suggested that maybe I should skip it today. Nathan chimed in with, "Maybe you should just go to aerobics so you can lose some weight." Thanks for that Nathan, you sure know how to make a woman feel good!
Granted, he may have overheard me lamenting to someone that I had just been to the OB, and found that I had gained way too much weight over Christmas. (Yes, Christmas was GOOD!) But still... you don't tell a 6-month pregnant woman that they should lose weight. It's hard enough getting fatter and fatter each day; you don't need to be reminded of it. Needless to say, I did go to aerobics this morning.

Bye Bye

My parents headed for Guam today on their mission. Since I was taking them to the airport at 3:30 this morning, we had our kids say their goodbyes last night when they came over for dinner.My kids were not in the mood for goodbyes, nor pictures. Thus the result:It was not the cute, fond farewells I had anticipated, but we got what we got.I do have to mention that we had woken them up from their naps for dinner, and they were still grumpy about that. This picture was a failed attempt at taking a cute picture of Matthew and cousin Adam with Grandma. (sigh)

Adam was sweet for the pictures. At least I got a cute one of Nathan and Grandpa. In the rest of his pictures, he was trying to Kung Fu fight with Grandpa.

I have a few better pictures of the goodbyes before Grandma and Grandpa went to the MTC. Adam and Matthew are definitely Grandpa's boys! Boy are they going to miss him (and they don't even understand it yet)!!!

Bye, bye Grandma and Grandpa. We will miss you so much!

Princess Cowgirls

The other day Sarah's friends Emma and Aubrey came over to play. They were so cute all dressed up that I had to take a picture. I love the mix of princess and cowboy dress up.

A Blizzard, Hookeybobbin' and a Funeral

One of the funniest things I have ever witnessed in my life!
Ward, the father of my brother-in-law Mike, passed away last week after a long battle with multiple myeloma. I attended his funeral yesterday in Centerville. It was a great funeral, celebrating the life of this great man. What is most memorable to me now, however, is what happened at the Centerville Cemetery. I mean no disrespect to Ward, by telling this story. He would have laughed too. His wife and son thought it was pretty funny.

A huge blizzard began during the funeral, and continued as we headed to the cemetery. The roads were snow-packed, and and the hearse wasn't able to make it up the steep hill in the cemetery to the burial plot. The wheels just spun and spun. I considered volunteering to hook up a tow strap to my truck and pull them up the hill. They decided to take another route, taking the hearse up a gentler slope on the edge of the cemetery, across the top, then part-way down the hill in the center of the cemetery, closest to the plot. The pallbearers gathered around the back of the hearse and opened up the back end to remove the casket. As they began pulling the casket out, the hearse started sliding down the steep hill pulling all the pallbearers with it, either holding on to the casket or the back of the hearse. The hearse picked up speed, and was going at a pretty good clip down the hill until finally the slope leveled out somewhat, and the hearse came to a stop. We were laughing so hard, we were in tears. It's not everyday that you see a bunch of old men (mostly Ward's High Priest Group) *hookeybobbin' behind a hearse down a steep hill. I looked up the hill at the Air Force Honor Guard, standing at attention, getting covered with snow. They were trying so hard not to bust up laughing. The pallbearers brushed themselves off, and brought the casket up the hill, trudging through over 6 inches of snow. The man carrying the flowers in front of the casket slipped and fell forward in the snow, landing on top of the flowers. Apparently marble and granite headstones get very slick when covered with snow (especially at 20 degrees!). Luckily the casket made it safely to it's final resting place. Bonnie, the widow, kept saying that Ward had probably planned this and was up there getting a good laugh. I wish we had a video of the excitement. We would have won a lot of money on "America's Funniest Home Videos." I had predicted the hearse sliding down the hill, and my sister had made comments about wishing we had a video camera with us- before it even happened. Sometimes you just know something is going to happen. The mortuary people said they had never had such an experience. I think in the future, they may invest in some chains for their hearse.

It was a funeral to remember, for a really neat and funny guy. My sister exclaimed that when anyone else she loves dies, they had better do it in the summer! I think my toes are still cold. What was I thinking only wearing normal dress shoes with knee-high nylons?! What a day. It took me 2 hours just to get home from Centerville. I hope no one is horrified by my story. For all who were there, it was hilarious. Here are some pictures my sister Laura took after the incident. She used her telephoto lens, so it doesn't really show just how far down the hill they were. At least it shows the conditions.

*A note on hookeybobbin'. My husband didn't know what hookeybobbin' is, so I guess I should explain. Hookeybobbin' is a term used to describe the practice of holding onto the bumper of a car and being pulled down an icy road. I know it's called different things in different areas, but here we call it hookeybobbin', and yes, it's dangerous! No wonder Rob didn't know what it was; they probably don't even have a term for such an thing in Southern California.

A Very Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!!

We had a great Christmas. What a magical time of year. Nathan said it best a few days before Christmas. "I just love Christmas time. Do you know what I love best- the great feeling." We enjoyed being together and with extended family. We hope that you and your family feel the great peace and joy that comes from celebrating our Savior's humble birth.

This is my favorite picture from Christmas. Matthew, our Disney "Cars" nut was so excited for his MegaBlocks Mac, Lightening McQueen and Mater. We were terribly spoiled! Nathan loves his new Lego sets. I'm loving having little tiny Lego pieces all over his room. He and Rob had a great time putting the sets together. Apparently he did have Legos as a kid.Sarah loves playing on her "laptop" from Evan and Toni, and with her purse and girly stuff from Sena and Clint.Rob has played game after game of Candy Land and the Kid's Farming Game with the kids. Can he really do it? What a cute game! Rob was excited for his Ticket To Ride 1910 Expansion pack. Oh the games we'll play now!

Sarah's face cracks me up, as Nathan shows her the ballet dress he got for her. She had told him she wanted one. She has yet to try it on. Last year it took about 8 months before she tried on the dress-up clothes we got her for Christmas. What a funny girl!

Cowboy Christmas

About two weeks before Christmas, my kids decided what they really wanted for Christmas was cowboy boots and cowboy hats. I'm not sure where it came from, but... Nathan cancelled everything else off his list (except the cap guns-maybe that's what made him think of the boots and hat). Sarah never had given any indication of what she wanted for Christmas. She always just said "I'll be happy with whatever." A few days after deciding on boots and hats, I asked her again what she wanted for Christmas. Her reply was, "well, you already know that I want cowboy-girl boots, and a cowboy-girl hat. The rest, you'll just have to wait and see." After she left the room, Rob and I about fell out of our bed laughing.

Nathan was thrilled with his boots.As was Sarah.

What cute cowboys!

Love the "Rodeo Queen" cowboy hat.Christmas Eve

We spent the 23rd and 24th with Rob's family. We had fun hanging out, watching ball games, and eating yummy food.

Rob's parents with uncle Ron and aunt Jan.

Tara & SteveSena & ClintMatt loves going to Tara's house because of their dog Zoe, and their great collection of Cars cars. Sarah was not thrilled to be a shepherd as we reenacted the Nativity. She wanted to be a Wise man with Nathan. The Shepherds- Madi, Becky and Sarah.

On Christmas day we went to my parents' house. It was a very low-key Christmas celebration, as my parents were busy packing up their house and cleaning- in preparation for leaving on their mission. We had yummy food at Jim & Lynette's house. Somehow I didn't even get the camera out. We got home and went right to bed. I was in bed by 9:30 p.m. What a great time of year!