The Gift of Family

Sat. March 24, 2012

This morning my mom called early. I know that she probably didn’t sleep very much last night. I spoke with both my parents and we had a long talk about my diagnosis. I told her that I was fine, other than the news of the cancer. She had many questions, but most of them I could not answer. We’ll know a lot more after our meeting with the oncologist on Monday. Until then, I told her that we have to be positive and have faith in the Lord. I don’t want any time spent on negative thoughts or' what if’s.' I’ve decided to move forward in faith and trust in the Lord and in His timing. I know with Him all things are possible. I shared my testimony with my parents and expressed my love to them. I told my mom that we, she & I need to be strong. She has an upcoming surgery next week and I have a chemo treatment to do. Together, we can do this. It was a good talk.

Later this morning, Kathy, Ashley, Lexy and I went to get pedicures. It was a lot of fun and now I have pretty toes going to surgery! This afternoon, we took Lexy and headed over to her soccer game. Chad, Tyler, and Lincoln joined us and we had a great time cheering the team on and seeing them win 3-1. Kathy took a lot of pictures. It was a great afternoon being with my family and feeling the warmth of the springtime sunshine.

As the word got out via email to our ward about the ward fast for me tomorrow, people have started dropping by the house to give hugs and express their love and concern for us. We live in such an amazing neighborhood. I feel so blessed.

This evening, we had a group ‘skype’ session via the computer with all of my family in Washington. My parents are in North Bend and my brother & his wife are in Redmond. Tyler & Andrea, Ashley & Lexy, Chad and Kathy were all here at the house with us. We surprised Kathy with a birthday cake and sang happy birthday to her. We made it a "Princess Party" for my sister and got a princess themed cake. My mom dressed up and wore her crazy Go Go boots. And for some crazy reason, my dad put on one of my mom's old wigs and sunglasses. They are so entertaining! Chris had collected a stack of old family photos and shared them with all of us as we tried to guess what year and where each one had been taken. It was such a wonderful time to laugh and giggle and enjoy being together as a family. Although I've always know how much I love my family, in light of my current situation, I realize more than ever what a treasure being a part of a family truly is. They are our greatest joy. 

Lisa & Lexy enjoying the soccer game.

Lincoln, Lisa, Kathy, Alex, Tyler, Andrea & Lexy