HOPE--One of the Three Sisters

I haven't had time to write--all the recent doctor visits and my life changing so fast and all. I have been diagnosed with breast cancer. I go in next week for a partial mastectomy on the left side and and a removal of a benign papaloma on the right. I feel blessed at this stage that it was caught early. So far the doctors say I have a "low risk" breast cancer. Because I opted for a lumpectomy (partial mastectomy), I will have to have radation. That requires travelling to the hospital for 5 days a week for six weeks. Talk about ruin a summer of fun! After the surgery, my auxillary lymph nodes will be sent out to California for a test called an Oncotype DX which measures your risk of cancer throughout the rest of the body. If this test comes back below a score of 17, then I will NOT have to have chemo. It looks like I should be in good shape that way too. So you might ask yourself, "where does the title of this article come in to all of this?" Well, let's take a look at HOPE. We don't always know what is in store for us--what the good Lord's purposes may be, but we have to trust in him. Even though the puzzle pieces aren't all coming together for me or aren't all there yet, I have learned through past experience that the Lord does come through. So HOPE is more than just a cross of the fingers--it's the experience I have had to know that HOPE combined with FAITH can work miracles for us.

Twelve years ago, I went through an interesting health scare. At that time my daughter was only in 8th grade. Now she is 25 and living in NYC. I asked her how she was feeling with all of the news. She replied, "You know mom, our last experience taught me a lot about faith and that the Lord will help us get through this one too. It has given me confidence to know He is in charge and knows all." Yes, I thought. He has ALL the pieces of the puzzle. If I possessed all the pieces, I would never have to exercise FAITH and find HOPE in the experience I have had with Him.

Photo Credit: © Jaromír Ondra Dreamstime.com

Mama's At a Glance: June Family Fun Calendar

Summer Reading: Oh, the places you will go...!

Oh, the places you will go without physically traveling very far. Summer is right around the corner and so is having an enjoyable time reading with your kids. Summer is all about sharing an Award winning book together in the tent at night in your own backyard OR each night sitting around the family room OR piling on a bed to read. Some of our fondest memories as a family was to camp and read from a novel each evening before bed using a flashlight or the trailer light. The best part was to hear my kids beg for more as I would end the read for the evening with a climatic high from the book. The next evening they couldn't wait learn more of the story. One summer we met an orphaned dog named Shiloh (Phyllis Reynolds Naylor), learned we didn't want to be The Whipping Boy (Sid Fleischman), and discovered ancient Egypt through The Egypt Game (Zilpha Keatley Snyder).

If you are looking for something to stimulate your child to read, I would suggest Jim Trelease's The Read-Aloud Handbook. His book is divided into two sections; the first section contains specific information on the effects of reading aloud to your child and the second section contains a treasury of great short reads in which he pulls some chapters, sections, and excerpts from some really great books. His book will have your child wanting to know more about the various characters, the "rest of the story," and stimulate your child to want to read the entire book all because of the excerpts he chooses. I have several of his volumes. For more on his book visit this site: http://childrensbooks.about.com/cs/readalouds/fr/readaloudhandbk.htm

AND For a list of great 2009 summer reads for kids and teens, fiction and non-fiction, visit this website: http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/libdev/summerreading/2009bcyl_handoutfromNLAsession.pdf

HAPPY READING!!! Hundreds of adventures await your family right in your own backyard. Oh, the places you will go!!!!

Living Water

Recently my husband and I spent time hiking through the beautiful red rock and desert. One particular hike was a 3 mile hike in through a box canyon called Calf Creek. We read the trail markers along the way describing the various vegetation and history of the canyon. We enjoyed pictoglifs, tiny budding red flowers in skinny little rock crevices, making a whistle out of horsetail, and watching scampering small lizards. The trail for the most part was good. At times there were deep pockets of sand to walk through, hills & valleys, which may have slowed down our journey, but also added to the depth of our experience. At times the journey seemed hot and long, but we knew their was a wonderful reward at the end. As we progressed through the hot afternoon, rambling on and talking away, we came to end of the canyon only to find a beautiful cascading cool waterfall.

During earlier days the box canyon held cattle. Even amongst the hot dry desert, there was water to keep the cattle alive. I pondered this for a bit, knowing that each of us have a journey to make in our life--easy, hard, well marked, not so clear, even slowed down by the unexpected. When the hills are high or the valleys extremely low, we always have a choice. Our journey can be barren, dry, and harsh as the unforgiving desert or we can choose to partake of living water. The kind of living water which will quench our thirst, give us life, and purpose for being.

Photo Credit: © Victor Russillo Dreamstime.com

Empty Nest Parenting: Top Ten Ways to Get Your Kid to Fly the Coop!

Having trouble getting your kid to fly the coop? Try one of our top ten ways to achieve an empty nest.

10. Watch a movie sitting between your son/daughter and the girl/boyfriend.

9. Program the doorbell to play "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission.

8. Borrow their car OR better yet trade them for a beater car.

7. Pay the girlfriend/boyfriend NOT to come over.

6. Change his/her facebook picture to something really dorky & embarassing.

5. Keep saying, "Out the door by 24."
4. Cancel satellite/cable and charge rent; (30)% of their income.

3. Invite the grandkids over for a sleepover every night.

2. Sell the house and go on a mission.

1. Redecorate their room as a nursery while they are gone. When they return say, "Won't it be nice to share your bedroom with your new baby sister?"

If all else fails, move to a third world country where hard labor is abundant and there are NO amenities. For YOUR sanity sneek home, leaving your child penniless.

Photo Credit: © Bruce Shippe Dreamstime.com
BYU Women's Conference. 2009. It’s Time to Fly! Encouraging Young Adults to Build Nests of Their Own. Marianne Hunt, Bruce Hunt.

Four Words A Woman Never Wants to Hear

I felt an overwhelming feeling of illness sweep over my entire body as I heard the four words a women never wants to hear, "You have a lump." "What?" I replied. "A lump in your breast," was the response. "Are you sure?" In denial, I felt the spot that was identified. Sure enough. There it was, unmistakenly, a large lump. How did I NOT notice it? How long had it been there? When was my last exam...a year ago; clean then. My last mammogram? Two-three years. Now panic had set in. My mind quickly went to the worst case scenario. My husband, thank goodness for him, calmed me down and reminded me not to panic until I had the facts. I quickly called to get a mammogram. Did you know there are two different kinds? A screening, which we all normally get, and then a diagnostic--the kind for those of us with lumps. It took several days to get an appointment for a mammogram and several more days for an appointment with the Doctor. In the meantime, I had to keep myself busy so my mind didn't wander. Really, it can make one crazy! So...until the appointments, I prayed like mad.

I arrived to get the "diagnostic" mammogram yesterday. It's much like the screening only more intense smashing with different sizes of paddles. I was asked several times, "tell me when you can't stand the pain and I will quick cranking the paddle." I remember seeing a cartoon about mammograms. That's exactly how I was looking and feeling! (Photo Credit: Joan Starks, ASCII Art http://www.ascii-art.com/) The screening was followed by an ultra sound. Not bad at all. During the exams, I was asked several times if my doctor discovered the lump or myself. "No," I replied, actually it was my husband. To which we all laughed and I was told that most husbands do make the discovery first. My friend and I quipped, "Who said we would ever be so thankful for sex!" and laughed together in a tense situation. Thanks goodness for female friends.

Back to the diagnostic test; Lastly, there was a doctor on staff who met with me. We went over all of the pictures and talked best case and worst; he was extremely helpful. He even gave me his card and told me to call any time I had questions--day or night. Wow! When was the last time a doctor said that to you.

When I first felt the lump, I quickly got on the internet (http://www.breastcancer.org/). Yes, it can make you crazy, but it helps to educate one about breast cancer so they are prepared to ask the neccessary questions. It's a great site. I suggest every women should visit it and educate yourself more thoroughly. Even if you are never affected by the big "C", the odds are you may have a friend or family member who is. Did you know a vast amount of women ignore or are in denial about a lump they may have. In fact, the Doctor told me many even wait up to a year before they seek a diagnosis...and then what? Do your monthly breast check and get out there and get your mammogram. Schedule your past due mammogram today (Davis County in Utah is 801-807-1000). Believe me, you DO NOT want to hear those four words, "You have a lump." And if you ever do, take immediate action...the sooner the better.

Oh, yes. At this date, we are calling my lump a fibroadenoma. Nothing too serious. Very common among women. The lump is oval, with clear defined edges and contains calcification. I will know more after the biopsy on Thursday. Worst case? I can live with it. I will survive.

Are You Being Remodeled?

"Imagine youself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently, He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? the explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of--throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into decent little cottage: but He is building a palace." -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 174.

Don't we sometimes just want to be a decent little cottage! I do, it really hurts--those trials, the pain and suffering. When I pray I even say, "Thank you Lord. I am happy and healthy, I don't want to really be rebuilt, I don't think I'm up to it...everything is just fine." But, wham-mo...the battering ram swings around and knocks me flat. At times I even wonder how I am able to get back up; but, somehow I do. Somehow He knows I will--that I will plug forward again, building a new wing where I didn't think it was possible, adding that extra floor when I didn't know I needed one, running up a new tall tower of strength, filling my new courtyard with joy. So...don't you ever wonder WHEN the palace will be finished AND what it will look like? I do...I think He must know a whole lot more than me!