Lots to do and lots of fun

It has been a beautiful summer despite the yard work. We are busy with shots and shopping etc, but are trying to stop and smell the flowers as Daniel gets ready to leave. We are preparing for a big week next week with company, temple, farewell etc. It is coming fast. Daniel is not feeling too well today after all of his vaccinations. The excitement is building and the reality is setting in. The apricots are ready so I am trying to dry a few of them. Russ is busy trying to get his new electronic medical records system up and running. He has replaced two of his 3 employees as well. Ah, life goes on!

REWINDING LIFE

Since my last post there have been many life changing events. About July of 2009 I discovered a lump in my neck and Russ did a FNA (fine needle aspiration). The test results came back benign. Life went on and after the holiday and wedding festivities I noticed that the lump had continued to grow so I had another FNA by Dr. Christensen, an endocrinologist. About a week later the phone rang and Dr. C informed me that the test results said I had papillary thyroid cancer. I was pretty surprised and concerned. I have had Hashimoto's thyroiditis for 26 years and have had a non-functioning thryoid since Marshall was born. That required me to take thyroid replacement. Russ suggested I have Dr. Schwartz do the surgery even though it is a surgery that he does himself. Dr. Schwarz saw me right away and the following week I had my thyroid removed. I was hypocalcemic, low calcium after the surgery and ended up staying 5 days instead of 2. In February I had to go on a low iodine diet to prepare myself for a scan to see if all of the throid tissue had been removed. That is basically a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, no salt or preservative or any prepackaged food. I could have chicken and beef in small portions and also kosher salt. In addition to the diet I had to swallow a radioactive iodine pill so they could scan and see if there was any remaining tissue. I was blessed to not have any remaining tissue but I have had a hard time getting my thyroid levels regulated. I have had a lot of ups and downs, experienced a lot anxiety and depression, but am grateful that my last bloodwork was great and that I feel pretty well. I do have some symptoms, but I guess it just takes a while to get everything regulated.

Everything else has been much more exciting and I will just give a brief chronology and then elaborate more on certain events.

Marshall graduated from Brigham Young University in April and decided to move to North Carolina to go to medical school. He and Elise live in Winston-Salem and he goes to Wake Forest Medical school. They are expecting a baby January 16, 2011. Daniel took a road trip with them and helped them move.

Daniel graduated from high school at the end of May 2010.

Russ, Daniel and I went on a vacation to Europe and visited Zurich, Switzerland-Munich, Germany-Prague, Chech Republic and Vienna, Austria. We had a great time.

Hillary was a camp director so Brooklyn and Max were here for 3 days in July. I really missed them when they went back home.

Madison was here from Canada for a visit in July and we had a great time. Madison, Ashleigh and Alissa had a sleep over and we had so much fun. Madison also had one night here and we spent 5 hours at the discovery center.

Charlotte and Brad have a new baby boy-Baylor Scott, born July 23, 2010. Mason stayed with me overnight and was so good.

It has been fun to have grandkids over and spend some time with them. They are all so sweet!

Daniel went on the trek with our stake July 25, 2010 and while he was gone his mission call came. He had a great time with one of his high school friends that is not a member, going along. They went to Wyoming and then to Salt Lake City to go to the temple. When they got home he had friends and family over to find out where he will serve. He will be leaving on September 1st, 2010 to serve for 2 years to Ecuador Guayaquil South mission. He is so excited, we are so excited but wow he leaves so soon.

Daniel left today for Sun Valley to go to a viola camp. He will return Saturday and then we will get busy with mission preparations. Daniel needs a mini lesson on ironing & button sewing...then he is ready to go.

Lots to Catch Up

Wow...time flies. We so enjoyed Marshall and Elise's wedding in the Houston temple. It was a day to remember. Some of the family had some weather hold-ups getting down there, but we all made it and things flowed smoothly. Elise's family were gracious and took such good care of us. Marshall looked very handsome and Elise was beautiful. The temple was such a memorable experience. I was overwhelmed with joy as our family entered the sealing room and loved the feeling of being connected as eternal families. It seemed significant this day as Russ's father performed the sealing. We were blessed to have my mom and dad there, Russ's mom and dad, Ken and Shirla Snow, Hillary and Jim Lowe, Charlotte and Brad Hogg, and several of Elise's family and friends and Marshall's friend Adam. David and his family and Daniel and all of the grandkids were waiting to join us after the ceremony. The reception was very elegant and many people expressed their love for Elise's family. We all returned safely and got ready for Christmas. This year was a bit quieter with just Russ and Daniel and I. Daniel reminded us that he will only have one more Christmas with us before he leaves on a mission!!! I really had not thought of this. Later on Christmas day we had David and Charlotte's family over for our traditional eggs benedict breakfast. It was delicious and we had fun exchanging gifts. Next we caught up with Hillary's family the day after Christmas as they stayed in Houston until Christmas day. Then we scurried to ready ourselves for the Idaho wedding celebration/open house. Everyone arrived safely and we had a great time. Some fun surprises, Russ's brother and his wife Pam came with their son that is Marshall's age, Travis and his new wife Malea. They are expecitng thier first baby this summer. They had tried to come to Houston, but the Salt Lake City airport shut down just after we left with bad weather. We had a great visit with them and so appreciate all the love and support of all of our family members. The open house was wonderful, beautiful and exceeded my expectations. Marshall's mission president from Cambodia showed up to surprise him! President and Sister Towers drove up from Salt Lake City. That was a great surprise to meet them. Now we are waiting for some pictures and have moved into the new year and the adventures that await in 2009.

So Many Choices - So Many Opinions

Marshall is gettting married in a few weeks...and wants to serve apple pie at the open house. So I began to gather pies in the valley and we had a pie tasting extravaganza. We compared ten apple pies. What fun it was to sample and then sample some more! I know there are more varieties out there, but I came to the realization that I still needed to fit into my mother of the groom dress. We sampled from Boise, Caldwell, Kuna, Nampa and Melba. They were culinary delights. Some were pretty, some were tasty, some were sweet and some were tart. We...I mean the whole family wanted to weigh in...decided that we couldn't agree which pie was the best. Everyone had a different favorite. Russ loved having the pies around, Daniel is sick of apple pie, I dropped one on the kitchen floor...Hillary is never going to make home-made apple pie for Jim because he picked the frozen one from Wal-mart and Charlotte liked the carmel apple pie. I found a delightful lady named Fredda in Kuna who runs PIE FACE who makes a wonderful apple struesal pie and many other wonderful varieties that we will have to sample when I am off my diet!!! We will be serving brownies... but Marshall doesn't care because he just wants to get married.

Happy Birthday Friend

Today is my sister in law's birthday. Happy Birthday Shirla! This was taken 5/08 in Mesa, Arizona...wish we would have had a few more days. We have shared many great experiences together on our ride through life married to these brothers. Here's to many more years and adventures. Love ya!

Just the Beginning

Last night my friend Beth helped me learn how to set up my blog. I am excited to learn how to use this resource to capture and share important things in my life. I have wanted to keep a journal for many years so here we go...thanks Beth for sharing this idea with me!