Thirteenth Trip to the NIH

In one short month from today, I will be in sunny Cozumel with my sister Julie!  But last week, I was bundled up in Bethesda, enjoying the blessed benefits there with our son Shane.  He arrived safely from his travels in Peru on Dec. 7th, then took off with me on the 10th for my NIH appointment. One of the top three highlights of his trip was seeing llamas, his new favorite animal.  The other two are being able to visit Machu Picchu, and serving as the official witness for the marriage of his friends, Stewart and Kiara.

All my labs were great!  All in normal range.  Lymph nodes barely palpable.  No dreaded tests to endure!  Just cheery exchanges with the CLL team, then picking up my next 3-month supply of meds, and checking out
this year’s ingenious gingerbread display.

That evening, we took a taxi  to the Washington D.C. temple’s visitors center, really getting into the spirit of the season as we marveled at an international collection of crèches, before gathering in the warm auditorium for a concert of festive Christmas music.  All of this to honor the light that “shineth in darkness.” 

The next day we visited the Museum of American History, And most inspiring, the National Archives.  Just being near the Magna Carta, The original documents of the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution, stirred within us a sense of pride and patriotism for this great nation, which was, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, “conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

Merry Christmas to everyone, everywhere!  Because of Christ’s birth, life, and mission, we are eternally blessed! Joy, joy, and still more joy, to the world!

Thanksgiving Is for Giving Thanks

Over the river and through the woods
To their grandparents’ home they came.
When suddenly out in the driveway was heard
A terrifically loud boom bang!
“It’s Greg!” Grandma said, shaking her head,
“But the neighbors don’t know our son.”
So the neighbors called the cops, who soon put a stop
To more fireworks, but not to more fun!
(based on truth)

Many thanks to Greg and Shauna, Katy, Tori, Josalyn, Juli, Christian, and Levi, for bringing us a very happy Thanksgiving holiday!  I was concerned our hosting skills might not be up to the challenge, but everyone pitched in, and all went exceedingly well. A few highlights we’ll remember:

Chicken feet

Snuggling up watching our first Christmas movie of the season, The Muppets Christmas Carol, while munching on Grandpa Dan’s special popcorn.

         An energetic dance party held at Colin and Macey’s. (Well, the kids were energetic.)

Shauna reading “Petite Rouge” with a flambuoyant Cajun accent.

More memories:

• Grandma acting out what Greg was reading to the family from the Book of Mormon.
• Finding silver dollars using Grandpa’s metal detector.
• The children’s excitement over drawing names and thrift shopping for Christmas presents for each other. And they also showed me several cute shirts, slacks, jeans, shoes and a vest they found for themselves.

How about that Thanksgiving dinner!  Greg told me he wondered when I’d learned to cook so well because “the dinner was delicious!”☻   Many hands really do make light work.  I am so glad it all turned out!

Another highlight I won’t forget is how often I prayed and prayed and prayed, countless prayers in fact, for Shane’s safety while he was traveling by bus in Peru and possibly in Bolivia, too.  I didn’t know exactly where he was.  That’s because he was out of phone and internet range for over a week.  I’ve now been able to offer up a great many prayers of thanks since hearing from him on Saturday..  This month’s fast was one of gratitude that he’s back in touch, and will be home this weekend! 

Due to reasons beyond their control, Greg’s family’s visit had to be cut short. We skipped arranging a ride on Santa’s Express, and decided to have our doughnut party at next summer’s reunion.  We served up Thanksgiving dinner by about 11 so that Greg could take a nap before beginning the long drive home.  The last thing we did together was to make a quick visit to Jordan’s sacred resting place at the cemetery.  We miss him so much, and want him to be part of every important occasion in our lives.  Upon reaching the freeway, Greg drove southeast and we drove northwest.  A parting of the ways, but not of hearts.  For these and many other things, we
praise God, from whom all blessings flow.

Infallible Fall

“Now, let me say unequivocally that I am thrilled with the educational and other opportunities that are available to women. I treasure the fact that the backbreaking work and domestic drudgery required of women has been reduced in much of the world because of modern conveniences and that women are making such magnificent contributions in every field of endeavor. But if we allow our culture to reduce the special relationship that children have with mothers and grandmothers and others who nurture them, we will come to regret it.” (From GC by Quentin L. Cook)

Grandpa Dan and I are grateful that our dear sons and daughters-in-law encourage closeness with our very precious grandchildren.  We sometimes talk with them on the phone, exchange emails with several of them, receive cards, notes, and pictures from them, and are invited to some of their special events.  We can’t always make it, but we try very hard to go to as many as we can.  And best of all, sometimes they make the long drive, or flight, to visit us!  That’s what happened last weekend.  Even Santa Claus couldn’t have equaled the excitement we felt when we heard that Ethan and Missy’s family were coming to town!  Even though it took an unbelievable amount of work, we persuaded a local farmer to put on a Fall Festival in their honor!  ☻ Shane, just up from Provo for a visit before his long trip to Peru, was our photographer.  Thank you, Shane!

Three itsy bitsy spiders climbed on the spider web, Brooklyn, Lilly, and Zaid.

All aboooooaaaard?!

Patient little ponies

It’s a cornbox, right? think they can build a corncastle?

They call it a grain train

Swinging along down the trail

Ride –him, cowboys!

Last, we all hungrily trudged through the corn, thinking that corn
mazes aren’t all they’re Jimmy crack corned up to be.

Haha, he made a tree guardian for us

And then we went to Chick- Fil-A, then took in a 3D movie at Colin and Macey’s cute new house, followed by a wiener roast in Grandma and Grandpa’s backyard. Hurray for family, for fall, and for fun times together.  And prayers, please, for our sweet son Shane on his travels.

Twelfth Trip to the NIH

For this month’s appointment, Dr. Farooqui was no where to be found. But I wasn’t the least bit disappointed, because he was in Europe, on his honeymoon!  Congratulations to him and his lucky bride!  Happily, my labs were all very good.  The Ibrutinib continues its good work against the stubborn CLL.  My platelets are fine at 165k, but the PA said they’re keeping an eye on them because it’s unusual that they’ve been declining a bit lately.  I took a short nine-day course of Prednisone in August to get rid of one of the pain flare-ups that I’ve been prone to since starting the trial last summer.  Some pain is still nipping at my heels from time to time, but not so much that I’m ready to ask for Prednisone again.  More good news, I found out that I won’t need another bone marrow biopsy until next June.  Whew, big relief!  That covers Wednesday of last week, and brings us to Tuesday
at the National Mall, and Thursday at Mount Vernon With my sisters, Julie and Jamie.  We were the gleeful threeful, sharing lots of laughs, lots of love, and lots of fun. 

Mastering the Metro

Hanging out at the National Mall

Vietnam Women’s Memorial - The woman looking up is named Hope,
the woman praying is named Faith, and the woman tending to a wounded
soldier is named Charity. 

Finding Kenneth Avery’s name on the Wall (Dan’s cousin)

Mount Vernon, George Washington’s estate

Lunch at Mount Vernon Inn

The goosegirl at the Tidal Basin

Korean War Memorial – I was allowed to touch!

WW II Memorial

On the bank of the Potomac