What a week

One week. A lot can happen in just one week. Last week I spent three days in the hospital to see if I could go off seizure medicine. I am down to one pill a day now and in a month, should be totally off. Good news.

On Thursday morning, my mom called and told me she had cancer. Isn't there a song that says, Should I stay or should I go?" That is how I felt, should I stay home or go to my mom. Sunday I made the trip to Ohio. Mom has kidney cancer and it has spread to her lungs. Tuesday we visited the cancer doctor. It is Stage 4, her kidney needs to be removed and then she will go on Chemo pills for the lung cancer. We are hopeful. She is so tired and weak. She has lost over 60 pounds since December. She slept 28 of my first 36 hours here.

She is resting now. She is a bit relieved to know what she is fighting. We are hopeful that she will have a few years left. I plan to write a blog about my mom. I want my kids and grandkids to know this amazing woman. I will start my blog tomorrow.

Our Neighborhood in the WILD

What is that you ask??? Well, we are not totally sure but we think we found a foxes den. The neighborhood is abuzz, someone counted 7 of these furry critters. I hope I can figure out how to post a video, I have one of them barking. They have dug a hole under the drainage ditch and can walk about as fas as I can throw under the drainage ditch and have another hole they can come out of. I tried to look inside the 'den' but the smell was so terrible that I couldn't get close enough. It was bad and there were several small animal bones laying in the grass around the den.

I'd like to consult the animal expert. Maya, does this look like a baby fox to you?

One of the Bridesmaids Bouquets

Made from brooches, paper flowers, old earrings, etc. here is one of the bouquets. I love it/

I'm HOME!!!

Dr. Shafer

Okay, so it was a short lived vacation with no cooking, no cleaning, nothing to do but play on the computer, listen to my Ipod and watch TV but I am home!! Can't wait to get into my comfortable bed (unlike the hard hospital bed and even harder pillows) and set the timer on my TV (the hospital TV didn't have a timer).


Here's the verdict:

No Seizure Activity.

Some slowness in the frontal lobes of my brain.

Stay on 1/2 dose of medicine for another month and see how I do.

Go totally off meds after the month is over.

Go see that cute Doctor Shafer in two months (if I don't have any seizures) (oh, and he is cuter than his picture)


Hopefully do another EEG (the 20 minute kind not the 3 day kind) and if it looks like the hospital one, I'm FREE!


Keep your fingers crossed!

Mark the day, SEPTEMBER 19

I am looking forward to that day, SEPTEMBER 19, 2010. I would love to say James is getting married *just kidding* but it might be the next best thing to look forward to. No, it isn't another wonderful vacation like I am currently on nor is it my forecasted day to win the biggest lottery in history.


Most everyone who reads my blog will remember that day about four years ago. We had just moved into our new house. Larry had a real job, real stressful job and I had recovered totally from my total hysterectomy. Life didn't get much better. The day was September 10, 2006. A day I had anticipated as I will this SEPTEMBER 19 date. With Hannah in bed and a nice storm coming in, I prepared to plop myself in front of the TV to watch one of the most important events (tongue in cheek) of my life take place on our big flat screen TV. Everything was going as planned until the power went out. I patiently waited thinking it couldn't be out for long. The hands on the clock on the living room wall were flying towards the appointed hour. Desperate, I called Duke Energy. I expressed the importance of having power. I told them if I didn't have power within the hour, I would miss something they could never give me back, I cried (literally). Well, the power did not come on, not for several hours so I missed the historic Manning vs Manning game. Commercials had hyped it up, all the sports shows were talking about it and I had to settle listening to the end in the car with my sweet husband. I missed seeing Peyton talk to Eli after the game and the face of his dad in the high-dollar seats. But, if you are upset at my previous plight, have no fear, cry no more:

SEPTEMBER 19, 2010

MANNING VS MANNINGLife is good!

Things I want my kids to know

I was laying in bed with Hannah on Sunday (cuddle time) and I felt I needed to share with her my knowledge of the gospel. She said, "Not now, mom." Yes, now. I shared with her that I know that Heavenly Father loves me and her and everyone. I have the full gospel of Jesus Christ. How lucky is that? Heavenly Father loves us so much that:

- He has given us living prophets today, for us.

- He cares about our marriages and gives us divine guidance as to how to make them strong

- He cares about our children and gives us divine guidance as to how to teach and train our children.

- He cares about us financially

- He cares about us spiritually

- He cares about our health

- He cares about how I feel about myself as His daughter - as a mother - as a wife

- provides all this so we can be happy in this life and in the next

- He provides wonderful programs for our children, teens and young adults to strengthen their faith

-He provides opportunities to strengthen my faith and also my homemaking skills

- He teaches us to be self sustaining

-He cares that we have His Spirit in our homes

- He guides us in important and non-important decisions in our lives

- He heals the sick through the priesthood

- He loves us no matter what we do and wants us to live with him eternally

Thanks to my kids for striving to receive the blessings he has in store for them. Please continue to strive.

Wow, I am blessed.

Another Prayer

My room is at the end of a hallway. When I could leave my room, I walked out my door, made a right and there is the window to the helipad. Yesterday I watched two helicopters fly in and land there and then I was confined to my room. Hannah was able to watch a couple also when she came in the evening. Today, several have came and then went. My room is at the end of the hallway where there are 4 Seizure rooms to monitor patients like me and across the hall is the cancer unit. Several people come to the end of the hallway to make phone calls. I can hear stress in their voices. It is really sad and I think anger must be a result of stress. A man made a phone call to someone and was highly agitated. I have to admit I was a little scared (but then again I get scared in airports with 'spring breakers' around me). He was using lots of words that are not in my vocabulary but I know what they mean. In the course of his conversation I learned that his daughter is in a 'life and death situation'. I know what he is going through. I have been there. I don't understand the anger though. I have found another one of my mom's sayings is totally true, "You can draw more flies with sugar than vinegar" unless they are fruit flies, I guess. I will say a prayer for this man too.

Free Gifts

At Time Out for Women I learned there are several things we can give to people that we have an endless supply of. One of these is prayer. I can pray for people.
There is a woman outside my door talking on the phone to people. One person after another hears the story of her loved one who has cancer, near the spinal cord. She is confused as to what to do, treatment even though his time is limited, or take him home. I am thinking it is her father she is losing. As I sit in my bed and listen to her one-sided conversation, I thought about how bless I am to have the power of prayer. I decided to say a prayer for her and her family. I don't know what she looks like as I can't leave my room but I can pray for her and Heavenly Father knows her. I know he does. If she doesn't know that, I will pray for her. I hope she can feel His love during her difficult times ahead.

Catching Up

APRIL FOOLS!!! I decided to make this little treat for Landon and Addie (and my neices Jenna and Carly) and NO ONE would even try it!! I was so disappointed.
A piece of pound cake, vanilla yogurt and half of an apricot.
PARTY POOPERS!!

My sister's little girl, after playing outside. Her kids NEVER get dirty so this was so fun for them. The kids all had a blast.

Wait, what happened??

Baby Grant and Grampy. Aren't they cute? Grant is playing the DS, he's a genius.

For James

James wrote a short story for a college class about when Larry was in Deseret Storm. He mentioned this tree and I knew he would love to see a photo of this. I love you James (and Brad, and Amanda, and Sarah, and Hannah!)