Last June Anna was baptized, we also celebrated her birthday!
Later that day we had the baptism, I made her Baptism Dress. She actually got Baptized in a jumpsuit, but in Idaho they wear a pretty dress when they get confirmed and then wear it the rest of the year. What is better than twirling!
Amy and Mike!
And the Family
Wouldn't you know, the thing that would get me blogging again after over a month would be breaking the Sabbath! I went out to the greenhouse to eat some cherry tomatoes, and quite frankly because Lizzie had said that my greenhouse was beautiful (no one says that but me in the condition it is in). Quite an innocent thing, the Lord gathered food on the Sabbath. As I was picking and eating these beautiful cherry tomatoes, I noticed that the pepper plant that is dying for some reason is really dying. So I decide I better pick them all. Well to do this if you have never picked peppers, it is easier to do with some pruning shears. Can you tell where this is going. Well, I am done with my peppers and I can't help but notice that the other peppers are all inundated with overgrown lettuce, volunteer parsley, and a marigold. I couldn't let those pepper plants die also could I? Pepper plants in the greenhouse don't like to be crowded. I don't think that would be wise, so I proceed to pull out all the offending plants. I then think well I maybe should prune a few tomato vines that are really getting out of hand. Now this is the way my greenhouse looks right now!
Do you really think a few vines is all that is needed???!!!! Well I start in on a few, then I start pulling away some leaves that have died from a cabbage plant. And what do I find but the most amazing display of composting at its finest! Underneath the leaves was some of the most beautiful dark black fine soil you have seen in a long time. I was shocked and amazed. It was truly beautiful. I had to run into the house grab my camera and document this. I am sure that this is not so fascinating to all of you, but to me it was one of the more joyful experiences I have had in a while!! 
As Steve pointed out, the top pic the soil is damp and the bottom section of the garden was dry, but, if you look at it closely you can see that there are less big pieces and more finer soil in the top pic. I was reminded of how much I love my greenhouse and how it needs to be one of my daily haunts. (it isn't right now) The pic below is my Sabbath breaking pile of pruning!
I then quit breaking the sabbath, and then just harvested some more food for dinner.
By the way we finished the tuna canning, we ended up with more jars filled than last year and about as many tuna steaks in the freezer. Steve still wants to go out, but I told him if he does, he has to give it all away, because my canner is clean and put away, and the freezer says NO MORE TUNA!!!!!
I love you all!
Today when I was running out the door to go to Weight Watchers, Steve noticed a young Deer out by our woodshed. He or she didn't seem to be one bit afraid of us, so I ran into the house and got my camera and snapped a few pics! Fun huh?! Its about time for a little fun, don't you think?
For those of you that haven't seen her spleen, here it is, all 8lbs. of it! Amazing huh! The other pic is her incision. They cut right through her belly button, that will be interesting when it is healed!
When Amy was in the hospital we decided to take pics of her and the luxurious room she was in. They had wood mouldings, fancy tile, and private rooms and an amazing view!
Below is more pics of Amy's room and her red teeth, she could only have clear liquids before and after the surgery for a couple of days. She liked the cherry Popsicles. Mike was working on a survival book while he was there. Amy had a hard time breathing after the surgery for a few days, so she had oxygen.
Her lungs started to fill up with water, so she had to blow in that thing every hour 10 times to cause her lungs to fill up with air instead! For about two days this was Amy, pushing this button for more drugs from her epidural !
Amy teaches the 7-8 years olds, they sent her these pics they drew!
The people at the hospital were very nice and accommodating. The couch Mike was laying on turned into a twin bed, they offered sheets and blankets if someone wanted to sleep there. Mike slept there on the weekend, and I stayed there during the week. It was a tough experience, she was there 9 days. I was having a hard time not getting discouraged, they told us starting with the 6th day that we would be going home, and then it would be one more day, etc. I realized the necessity of it by the time we left, but it was hard. I was very glad to take her home that last day. I am so grateful for modern medicine and that we live today. Amy will have 12 chemo treatments all together, she has had one, so 11 more to go! She did well with the first one. She will have one treatment every two weeks. It will take just a little under 6 months. They have come so far with chemo, she will have the one that is called AVBD. It is more mild and the long term effects are minimal. A few years ago it would have been cancer free for about 10 years and then she would get leukemia. I am so grateful they have continued to study and figured out how to make it take away her cancer and then have a long and full life with the ability to bear children. Her life will be so much better after she has recovered from her chemo treatments. I am so happy and excited for her to have a healthy body, something she has not had for 4 or more years. Thank you all for your prayers and support. It has touched me greatly. I love you all!Well, a couple of days ago Amy called me in great pain and asked me to come over. I said I would. She was having great pain in her shoulder, and that added to the wait of 2 weeks for surgery was just a little too much for her. They prescribed vikadon for her, but it is a narcotic so 2 weeks? no way. Any way they said if the pain didn't go away the next day to come in. The pain was still there so much so she could hardly move and talk. We went to Dr's appt. and met with the Surgeon on call. He tried to talk to her, but she couldn't really talk or talk coherently, so I talked for her, I think that was the cincher, he said, "I don't see any purpose in waiting two weeks, so lets check her in at the inn, and do the surgery tomorrow." My first thought was, "there was a purpose?" Anyway overshadowing that was my desire to jump up and down and shout YES!!!! Amy was so happy the pain was a little less for a while and then came rapidly back.
It was so hard to see my little baby, (it is weird how they become babies in your eyes when it is so serious) so weak and sick. I don't think she or Mike could see how sick she had really become. I hadn't seen her in about 2 1/2 weeks. She looked pregnant and so small and fragile.
I could hardly stop thinking about how wonderful her life will be once this is all over and she is healed up. She will have energy, no night sweats, no nausea, a desire to eat, regular sleep habits, (or at least the ability to have them) and the list goes on. I was elated, mixed with of course the normal anxiety of surgery.
Well, she got out of surgery at 2:00pm or so, a little under an hour and a half. I think Mike and I heaved a big sigh of relief! It was a very happy moment. Mike is asleep right now, I think this has all done him in. I am so grateful for my health. I am so grateful I can be here and help with things. I am so grateful for Fasting and the power of the Priesthood.
At this point they think it is Lymphoma. They don't know for sure and won't know until they get the results back from the lab. If it is they said she would have 3 months of chemo. They act like this is a good thing that it is lymphoma. I saw the doctor in the elevator after the surgery and he said everything went great and she looked good, all her organs were healthy. He said with a look of relief on his face, there were no signs of that nasty intestinal cancer. So again even if she has to have something that results in Chemo, they seemed happy and relieved that it looks still like what they thought it was. I am grateful for that. I am just happy she is going to have a full life with energy and the ability to have lots of little kids running around her house singing and dancing with her.
Will keep you updated as things go along.
We love you all and from our whole family we so appreciate your prayers and love!
I am a law abiding citizen. I don't steal, I don't drink, so therefore don't drive drunk, I don't do drugs, I pay my taxes (unlike Obama's cabinet members), I am kind, strive to do my best in this life. So today when I am driving home from Subway, thinking about Amy having surgery, for the first time in years, I was speeding in town. There wasn't a sole in town, it was 8:00pm which in Waldport means the stores are closed, no one is on the streets and there was me and one other car on the road. I realize I am speeding so I slow down, and all of the sudden I see a police car following me at a closer than legal distance I might add, he follows me for a good mile or more too close to my bumper, and finally pulls me over. He appears to be younger than half my kids. Now as a side note, we don't even have police support the majority of the week. If we were to need the police we would literally be up the creek! Anyway this young police officer asks me why I was speeding, I say it was probably because my daughter just got diagnosed with something. He then goes back to his car and is gone so long (by the way I haven't had a ticket in so long I can't remember when it was) I know he is going to give me a ticket. The longer I sit there the madder I get. I am thinking, is this the best use of our police force and my tax dollars! In the city of Springfiield, if you are a drug dealer you might spend one night in jail and then you are free the next day. If you want to kick them out of your apartment you have to jump throught a gillion hoops. But if I go over the speed limit on a deserted street I get pulled over and have to pay 145.00 so this new young cop can get a ticket on his record.
I remember one time about 30 years ago we had some tenants steal a bunch of our furniture, the police basically sad too bad so sad. I am normally not this way. But the longer I sat there thinking about all the real law breaking people that not only don't pay for a ticket, but use my tax dollars for the police to arrest them, feed them, house them for a night and then let them go. To think about Clinton lying to the grand jury and still getting to serve as president of the United States, I got more and more mad. Then that pip squeak of a policeman comes back with my ticket in his hand and tells me how worried he is that I will hurt myself or some other person for my little amount over the speed limit. He is concerned for my welfare. RIGHT!!! he just wanted to collect more money for the govenment to pay for all the stupid things they do with my hard earned money! Well, I know some of you are going to say well you broke the law, and yes I did, but it still ticks me off!
When Jake and the kids were here, Ruby wanted to be buried as usual. We tried a different way and it made for a fun look. I love having my grandkids here!
I love candid shots. It is always fun to me to watch Fathers with their sons, Steve and Jake have so many mannerisms that are the same.
