And the Doctor Said...

NO CHEMO!

No chemo at all.

Thankful

Today I cannot deny that there is a God. I cannot deny that he knows us, he cares for us, and he hears our prayers.

Most of all, today I cannot deny that miracles happen.

_____________________________

Yes, for those of you who read and keep up with my blog, I am referring to my mom. Last week she was diagnosed with colon cancer. They quickly got her into surgery and successfully removed the baseball sized tumor. However, they were unsure if the cancer had penetrated the intestinal wall, or not. If it hadn't, that was good. If it had, that was really bad, and would mean that she would have to do chemotherapy. We, as a family, along with my mom, had prepared ourselves to hear the bad news, because even the doctor didn't give us much hope of hearing good news. 

This past week has been full of fasting and praying. 

And apparently, those kinds of things work. 

The doctor told us yesterday that the cancer had not penetrated the wall, and that there was no cancer found in any of the 37 lymph nodes that had been removed.

Even the doctor was surprised.

That, to me, seems like a miracle.

Me, Allison, Haley, and Bennett

Griffin and Ashland after a long drive

Mom and Zoey

My parents will have to talk to the oncologist to see if chemo is still needed as a precaution. But from what I understand, if she needs it, it will only be a very small amount.

What a blessing! I truly can't deny that our prayers are heard and answered.

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been amazed at the concern and love people from all over the world have shown. Seriously. From Hawaii, to Iraq, and even in Finland, people have been praying for my mom. On top of the prayers, which mean so much, we have also had constant visitors bringing delicious foods of all sorts, movies and books to keep Mom busy, and lots of kind words of encouragement. We even had someone offer to walk the dog. Which we don't have :) But it's definitely the thought that counts, and we, as a family, have been so grateful to everyone for all the help and support they have shown!

After hearing the good news, our worry levels have gone way down, and we are now just hoping that she can heal quickly. Despite the bad situation, I have been so happy to get to spend time with her and my family this past week (my brother and sister and their families came all the way from Oklahoma and Texas!) Although the circumstances weren't the best, it was good to see our family pull together a little bit when it was needed.

__________________________

Today in Relief Society we got to watch a Mormon Message. I love mormon messages, and the fact that this one was on service really helped me reflect on how strong my testimony of service is. I know that service is what brings us closer to those around us. It is what helps us to see others as Christ sees them-- as children of God. And that is what strengthens our relationship with Him. I am so grateful for those who have shown service towards me and my family, in any way. Hopefully, I can also show others such unselfish service. 

"When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God."

-Mosiah 2:17

Until next time,

So long

Fast

As I write this post I am sitting in the corner of a slightly dark and awfully quiet room. My dad is sitting next to me, and my mom is lying in a very deep sleep on the hospital bed in front of us.


Life comes at you fast.

_______________________

Yesterday at this time everything was normal... I went to classes, talked to friends, and texted my mom during Old Testament. She told me to head up to the house for our Thursday lunch. I went, and, of course, ate an unhealthy amount of Eggo waffles as I talked everyone's precious ears off with my pointless stories. A few minutes after finishing, my dad casually sat down and said, "I'm glad you're here because me and mom have something to tell you." Despite his calm approach, I immediately knew it was something bad... and I immediately panicked. 

"This morning mom went to the doctor and they found a mass about the size of a clementine in the caecum of her large intestine."

"The doctors aren't positive, but they are pretty sure Mom has colon cancer."

Silence...

Alright...let the water works officially begin.


I was an emotional bawling mess for a large portion of the day.

But that's ok. To be honest, I couldn't tell you why I was such a wreck. Everyone around me was telling me it was going to be just fine, including my mom. But I guess, for me, the tears just come naturally when I am worried. 

Worried and frustrated at my lack of control. 

Anyway, that all happened yesterday, March 9. The surgery (right hemi colectomy) was scheduled for this morning at 6:00. 

It's behind us now, and thankfully everything went well. They got the baseball sized mass (which was cancer) out of her body, and I am now sitting with her in the recovery room... so jealous of her deep sleep and total state of oblivion.

So everything went well, right?

Yes. As far as removing the tumor, or mass, or whatever you want to call it. But that's not the end of the story. According to the doctor, there is still a possibility that some of the cells broke through the walls and spread to other parts of Mom's body. If that is the case, then there's a chance that she will have to undergo chemo therapy treatments.

We won't know until Tuesday or Wednesday, but we are hoping and praying that she is clear.

Please do the same.

_________________________

This whole experience was so unexpected, and it all happened so fast. But I can definitely say that in that short amount of time I have been so proud to have these two people as my parents. They are such great examples to me of love and support. I am also happy to see that so many in the community feel that same love for them. I have been amazed as I've watched visitor after visitor come to check up on Mom, card upon card wishing her a sincere "get well soon," and endless phone calls, countless emails, and even a few text messages. It is so comforting to know that both my mom and dad are loved and looked out for by everyone they know. They are always giving service to others, and I'm so thankful to see it come back to them during their time of need. It means a lot. 

Right before mom went into surgery, she texted me:

'"You don't need to worry, you just need to have faith" 
-Julie B. Beck'

It's quite ironic that she is the one that sent this to me, but it's no secret that she is a very strong women. And I am so thankful for that. There have already been many times when this quote is the very thing that has saved me and my worried self from, once again, becoming a mini Niagara Falls :) 

I have a feeling that I will continue to remind myself of this quote through this whole process. I am anxious for Wednesday to get here, but until then, there is no time to worry, just time to have faith that everything will work out.

___________________________

When Mom wakes up I am going to have her use my ipod to listen to Yanni. He definitely creates healing music :)

And she needs that right now.

I love her.

I'm a Proud Aunt

I sure do miss these little cuties.

Evelyn

Bennett

Adalie

Jackson

Zoey

_____________

I love them all, and sure wish they lived closer!! I wish that I could be a more involved part of each of their childhoods. I would love to watch them grow up, watch them discover, laugh, play... 

But distance between me and them is doing a great job of preventing that wish-- for now. 

Let's just say that their parents are very lucky :) And I hope they realize that everyday.

Social Norms and Other Things

Hello all!
I don't have a lot to write about, but being the crazy hooligan of a college student that I am (complete sarcasm) I do have a few things up my sleeve that I can write about today.


To put it frankly, the main point of this blog is not to entertain. It's somewhat like a journal for me. It might be lengthy, or seem pointless to you, but most of the stuff I put on here is to help me keep memories and things I've learned fresh in my mind. That, and I like to write.


So here it goes...


This past week has been a pretty good one. Very easy as far as school has gone. Except for my Stats test. That was not easy. I am really loving my Sociology class though. It is so much fun! I can already see how learning about this kind of stuff is going to affect my perspective on a lot of things... and I'm not sure I like it. Well, I do-- but it's making me think weird stuff.


Everyday I find myself questioning and analyzing normal everyday things. Like the way people sit in their chair, or body language in general. I'm always asking, "Why is that person doing that? I bet it's only because that's what they are taught by those around them. That's what society has shown them to do. They are just following the crowd. Trying to keep up with the times. Why is our world like that? Why are there social norms? Why can't people just do what they want and not feel the judgment of society constantly surrounding them?..." And on and on and on. It's stupid, really. Because when it comes right down to it, people can sit in their chair however they want to. And they probably aren't thinking that hard about it.


On the other hand, we do get to talk about lots of fun stuff and hear really cool stories. I remember on the first day we learned about laws in the United States that are kind of out there. Here are some examples:
1. Idaho state law makes it illegal for a man to give his sweetheart a box of candy weighing less than fifty pounds.
2.  In Idaho, riding a merry-go-round on Sundays is considered a crime
3. According to Ohio law, it's against the law to kill a housefly within 160 feet of a church without a license. 
4. In Ohio, it is legal to throw a snake at someone but it is illegal to shake a snake at someone.
5. In Oklahoma City no one may walk backwards downtown while eating a hamburger.
6. In Tulsa, Oklahoma the limit on kisses is three minutes (by law).
7. In Texas, it is legal for a husband to beat his wife as long as he uses something no bigger than his thumb.
8. In Texas, it is illegal to urinate on the Alamo. 


And the cool thing is, learning about this stuff is actually legitimate, because today's society is what pushes laws like this to exist. I love it. Anything can relate to sociology. 

____________________________

On Friday, I was done with classes by 9:00 and I had the rest of the day to basically do whatever I wanted. So I cleaned a little bit, and got some stuff done, and then I went and played tennis with my friend Dan.


I haven't played tennis in a long time, and I have never played in the new BYU-I Center, so I felt a little bit out of my comfort zone. It was fun though, despite the fact that I played horribly. After we played, we went and got Jamba Juice and then we went home to get ready for dinner.


Me and my friends, Chelsea, Kandice, Jared, and Stefka, have been trying to have dinner together for a looong time, but it never happened until this week. And I'm so glad it did! Jared is really good at making food and this time he made delicious chicken with bacon and cheese on it :) with double stuffed potatoes and salad. Gourmet. 


After dinner, Jared got out his new X-Box Kinect game thing (the one where "you are the controller") and we played it. I (conveniently) had a headache :) so I didn't dance, but I did play ping pong against Dan and it was pretty fun. 


I lost.

Crazy Jared and a headless me. (Logan, this is the one that reminds me so much of you :)

Chelsea 

Kandice dancing like a pro

My old roommate, Kandice, worked at Craigos for two and half years. She loved it there, and was so sad when she had to leave it. Anyway, as we were eating, she told us how she had buried her high school soccer shoes centerfield at her old high school. And how she buried her missionary shoes on her last P-day at a stake center in the Netherlands. We all knew, at this point in her story where this was going... she wanted to bury her faithful Craigos work shoes in front of Craigos.


So, because you have to be sneaky about this kind of stuff, you know, keep it on the "low low," as Kandice would say, we drove to craigos at 12:30 a.m, got the shovel out of my car, and began to dig. After about ten very intense seconds, the hole was dug and we dropped the shoes in. Kandice requested that we have a quick moment of silence. So we did, and then got back in our cars and drove home. All together, the whole experience probably lasted two minutes. But I'm glad I stayed up and went. It's kind of a cool idea, isn't it? I want to bury my own shoes one day.    


I'm also glad I went because on the way home, me and Chelsea saw what looked like, possibly, the ending of a very awkward, horrible date for a girl. She was riding down the middle of the road on the back of his bike, with his bum swishing back and forth in her face. I'm assuming that that was her "ride" home from a very long and painful night. Haha I can only imagine. Her scared and uncomfortable expression as we passed said it all :) Sheesh! Talk about social norms... I'm sure she was glad when that was over :) I tried to take a picture, but I failed. Use your imagination.

Here is Jared with the shoes. He is, of course, wearing bright orange only because Kandice asked him to wear black so we wouldn't be spotted.

Kandice digging the hole.

Bye shoes.

Moment of silence.

Other than weird stuff like this, I have just been going to school and working. I work at Millhollow Frozen Yogurt. I have worked there for a very long time. Sometimes, I get sick of making food for people, but it's a good job, and lately it been pretty fun. The girls there are becoming good friends and I love to see them!

I'm very impressed if you have made it to the end of this post. It was a pretty long one.
My life is good.


Until next time,
so long

Making Memories

I love pictures. For me, they are such a good reminder of great memories that can sometimes be forgotten. Here are just a few of my favorite memories. 

This is my first roommate ever, Celeste Cook. We became really good friends, and I love her

Haley and Matt

Griffin and Ashland

Fourth of July camping trip 2009

At the Draper Days Rodeo

Me and Kait Kait

Guess who?

Last high school dance, with Kevin Jeppesen

Graduation.

After my last high school tennis match

Senior Trip to Las Vegas

Great Grandpa and Evelyn

Logan and Rachel cross country skiing

summer days

Seattle trip

Poker Night. So fun!

Uncle Griffin and Evelyn

At the Tulsa Aquarium with Griffin and Ash

(Look at my last post for a video memory)

Feeling Mellow

I am not in my usual gung-ho writing mood, so this post is kind of watered down and to the point. But here it is nonetheless 

Today has been a good day. The spring weather is finally starting to show itself. Today I walked outside to hear birds chirping and see tiny rivers running down every gutter.

I got to learn about health care (sociology), and talking donkey's and death by fire (Old Testament).

I also got to watch P.S I Love You for the first time and I loved it. It's one of those movies that makes you laugh and cry. And the music choice was fantastic. In fact, the song you should be listening to right now (Kisses and Cake) is one example. 

Around the time the movie got over, Dad called and said that since he had missed our Thursday lunch, he wanted to have dinner instead. So he picked me up from my apartment with Mom and Allison, and we had a lovely dinner at Taco Time. 

Following the dinner date at Taco Time, I went to The Craze, a little place here with laser tag and stuff, for a ward party. It was more fun than I thought it would be. I was ranked 15th in Laser Tag... and I got killed by my FHE brother in Mini Golf. But let it be known that I did get a hole in two once. It didn't quite make up for the hole in 25... but I finally got the "rock the baby" motion down, so maybe next time I can take him. 

Anyways, as I am writing this I am regretting the fact that I don't have any pictures to show for it. 

I'll have to remember to take my camera with me next time.

For now though, I think I will just share a video that I love with all my heart. It is old and irrelevant to today, but it's a good memory. So pause the music, and take a look.

It's really bad quality, but I love it so much I couldn't leave it out. Griffin and I used to do this sometimes-- and as you can tell, we aren't the best. It was always fun though :) It must have been the Slurpee that kept things going

The Big 2-0

I would just like to give a shout out to my best bud on her Birthday!

Turning 20 is a big deal.

And she is too 

:)