I see Love.
I'm hoping to find a way to get pics posted later, but I can't wait any longer to rhapsodize about last week's joyful events. First of all, our youngest son, Shane, arrived home from the NY NY South mission. So many people said the two years had gone by quickly, but not to me, his anxiously waiting mother. He has learned so much, and he is willing to share! His sacrament meeting talk was on how the mission strengthened his testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He admits he left with some trepidation, aware that he had a testimony, but being able to gain confidence in that testimony as he served among the Spanish people of New York. In the beginning, he thought he had to accomplish things in his own strength, but he learned to trust in the Lord's strength instead of his own. He kept several journals of his experiences, so he knows the exact date that Mosiah 4:2 filled his mind with a new understanding of this. "And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying" O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins , and our hearts may be purified, for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men." I think at that moment, he knew Jesus, instead of just knowing about Jesus, and it was a transforming moment in his life. He had 13 companions in all, and the last 3 were somewhat difficult for various reasons. But he still learned from each of them, cares about them, and tried to be helpful to them. He started working today with his friend, Sage, and will be with us until he leaves for BYU in early January.
We had a large welcoming committee to greet him and spend time with each other last week. Ethan and Missy and family arrived on Tuesday. Big thanks go out to Missy for doing so much to help us get ready for all our guests. She scrubbed two neglected showers, and alerted us that the shower heads needed to be soaked in LimeAway. She also shopped for us multiple times, and helped prepare meals. Whew, where would I be without my right-hand girls! Neil and Penny and the 11-month-old twins arrived Wednesday before noon. I had so much on mmy mind that many desires fell by the wayside. I could just kick myself for not begging someone to take pictures of the little guys while they were here! We didn't get pics when we were there last May, either. Doh! The babies go to bed at 6PM, so Penny stayed home finishing up our dinner preparations and tidying the kitchen while we all flocked to the airport. She and Missy and Brooklyn and Lilly made posters, and Missy bought balloons, to take with us to give Shane a big welcome. Sarah Arnold showed Brianna how to form long, skinny balloons into heart shapes to carry out our Valentine's Day decorating theme. And Joan W. made a heart-shaped cake. Shane was greeted by lots of Washburns, Darringtons, Jason and Brianna, Kirt Naylor, and Sage and Bret. Yay Shane! And thank goodness Missy remembered to make the Spanish rice I forgot, to go along with the Tex-Mex chicken cobbler Penny worked on.
On Thursday, we had a nice Thanksgiving dinner. It wasn't the paper tableware that we'll remember, but the company we kept. It was simple -- turkey, stuffing, mashed sweet and white potatoes, green beans, cranberries, homemade rolls, and Brianna's mini cheesecakes. Jason supplied the games, and the rest of the day is a blur to my tired but happy mind. Oh, we love his game, Bausack! And Sage reigned supreme.... this time.
Shopping and shopping came next, then Halloween. We figured since we don't get together for most holidays, we'd celebrate several of them at once. Greg arrived in a 12-passenger van with his 3 children, and his special friend, Shauna, and her 4 children, Friday evening. Woohoo, the decibel level rose even higher now with 9 more added to our number! Another simple dinner of ham, bewitched stuffed potatoes, more green beans, and treats of Bug Juice, gummy pumpkins and spiders for dessert. Penny brought lots of yarn, and attached one end to the treats, then wound them around the furniture in the game room to form a giant spiderweb. Each child had to follow his own long piece of yarn to find his treat. They also shot Silly String at Spiderman, used a pumpkin for a bowling ball, and had to figure out how to eat doughnuts suspended from a string.
On Saturday, everybody but the oldies and the youngies went off to romp around at a Bounce place. Word is that it was a whole lot of fun! Christian got stuck up 9 or 10 feet high on the sticky wall, but Greg was able to pull him down to terra firma after a few tries. By the time everyone was back in the afternoon, we had 13 adults and 12 children in our just under 1800 square foot home. Off to the playroom with you, children, while the grown-ups play a couple of rounds of the white elephant gift exchange game. Good gifts were brought by all, but I think the favorite was the tiny one-soda-pop-can-sized refrigerator that Jason and Brianna supplied, and Colin stole. Then Neil lit off a string of firecrackers which somehow caused gifts for all the children to be scattered around on the front lawn. He said something about seeing an unidentified flying object in the skky, and just naturally lighting them off to divert it away from our property. Whatever happened, the kids were happy to have gifts to open! Jason then led teams in a game to see who could build the highest tower from a set amount of spaghetti and marshmallows. Colin and Macey won that one.
And then, I had a stroke of genius. Let's all go to a Chinese buffet for dinner!!!! Ah so, and so we did, everyone except Neil and Penny and McKay and McKenna. They needed some peace and quiet by this time. Shane's talk was wonderful on Sunday, even after all our shenanigans. My prayers were answered and everyone had good traveling weather. Bonds were strengthened and memories made. We missed Kimball, but he called several times to let us know his heart was with us. And we are all living happily ever after.
Dec. 2nd is always a day of remembrance for me. Four years ago, when the day started, I was on top of the world. By day's end though, a change had blown in like a hurricane. Jordan called from China that evening with the news that something was very wrong. He had fainted while teaching his English class, and Brianna had made him go to the doctor. There they had learned that all of his blood counts were dangerously low. I asked him to read his CBC to me. So he got a copy of it, and called me back. When I heard it, my heart was immediately seized with great fear. So began the saddest chapter of our lives. Interestingly, some are closer to the Lord now as a result of Jordan's ordeal, and others seem about the same as before.
I thought I might as well report on my own CLL saga today, too, sort of lumping all the health-related topics together in one post. First, a brief history. My younger brother, Jim, my dad, and my Grandma Jennie all had CLL before me. But inexplicably, it never even occurred to me that I might have it as well, even when I became symptomatic.. I guess that's called either denial, or stupidity. In my defense, I didn't really know much about CLL because I didn't have computer access when my loved ones were dealing with itt, and it wasn't uppermost in my mind when I finally gained a few computer skills. In June of 2004, I had a case of strep throat, and my cervical lymph nodes became quite enlarged. The strep didn't respond to the first course of antibiotics, so I had another round of a second kind. But even when I was well again, the lymph nodes remained swollen. In Feb. of 2005, I sought medical help in overcoming a realy bad cold, which turned out to be pneumonia.. A smart PA asked me if I had a family history of any bad diseases. I answered, "Yes, CLL." He asked me to follow up with Dr. Lisa. She did a few blood tests, and called me on Valentine's Day with the great news that I only had mononucleosis. Much better than CLL! Over the next few months, I felt better, but now the axillary lymph nodes were enlarging, too. What could it mean? Another horrible cold sent me scurrying back to the doc in Feb. of 2006. This time, one test led to another, and I was officially and correctly diagnosed with CLL AKA chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which I'm certain had been there all along, not mono. I was able to avoid treatment until March through August of 2007. I chose PCR, Pentostatin, Cytoxan, and Rituxan. After treatment the lymph nodes were no longer palpable, and I felt grrrreat! .... until I had a bone marrow biopsy and learned that I still had 30% atypical infiltrates in my bone marrow. Still, I was better, and that was very good. Sept., Oct., Nov., wonderful months! Dec. 2nd, sad.
Over the past year, my white blood cell count has been steadily climbing, and both cervical and axillary (neck and armpit) lymph nodes are bulking up once again, my fatigue level is greater, and I know treatment is right around the corner for me. I'm not sure what it will be this time, but I have begun reading up on the options in an effort to be prepared to make informed decisions. Not my favorite reading material, but necessary nonetheless.
Note: I apologize if the format of this post, or any other one, is messed up. I hope it's decipherable.
