my cousin

this is my cousin, doc. he's serving our country in iraq. he and his little family are so brave. his wife, tori, is due with their second baby in just a month or so. she has spent the last 7 months without her husband. he will be able to come home for 15 days when she has their new baby boy. apparently doc has a pretty important job and was just promoted. the bridge in the background of this photo was framed in 4 hours! they are working hard, and it's hot, hot! around 135 degrees. seriously. can you imagine wearing all that gear and working in 135 degree weather?
my hat is off to doc and tori and all the other people who are part of the military. i'm grateful to them and i'm sure there are people all over the world who are grateful to them for building new bridges, roads, and schools.
please keep doc and tori in your prayers.

back on the wagon

alright, now that we have the cancer stuff almost finished up, it's time to start running and doing yoga and playing tennis again. it would be fair to say that i've slacked off over the summer. not completely, but mostly. and i recently learned that it is perfectly normal for women to gain weight after being diagnosed with breast cancer, so there! in fact, i was scheduled to participate in a study since i fit the bill, but decided to drop out due to my astonishing fear of needles and blood draws, etc.
so, feel free to send any motivating thoughts, pictures, stories, facts, etc!
love to all of you!

goodbye cancer!

short version...cancer is gone!

long version...i had a surgery to remove remaining calcifications a week or two ago. went to my follow-up appointment yesterday and the margins are clear! the margins refers to the area around the calcifications that they check to be sure there is no additional cancer.

so, i will start a 6 week round of radiation in a month and then perhaps take some medication and then i'm done. can you believe it?

we are so happy and relieved. it's been a long summer of worry, but we knew it would turn out alright.

all our love and thanks to each of you who sent positive thoughts our way, prayed for us, put my name on the prayer rolls of the temple, took our girls for long stretches of time, took our girls without a bit of warning, made me delicious dinner, brought me flowers, sent me cards, and listened to my sad story.

i have felt so much love from everyone and i thank you from the very very bottom of my heart. i love you all and hope i will be able to be a positive force when you are in need one day.

the newest star on the court!

ella started tennis lessons today! she has been soooooo excited to finally get on the court for some serious tennis. as you can see, she has been completely outfitted for the event. including new shoes. she did a really great job and was possibly the only kid out of 6 to hit the ball. not too shabby. she liked coach wayne and was one of two girls in the class. she is taking lessons at the club where i play. they have a really great kids program and excellent instructors. hopefully she'll like tennis well enough to continue playing throughout her life. it's a great sport and a great way to meet people.
and here's our star resting after a tough drill session.

coincidence?

on saturday ryan and i both wore red and white (not planned. seriously) and it was a nebraska football game day. the husker blood has finally seeped into my veins.
GO BIG RED!

i have peace like a river...

afton came home from school today asking if she could sing a song to me. "of course you can!!" said i. so she sang i have peace like a river. the three verses are as follows...

i have peace like a river in my soul
i have joy like a fountain in my soul
i have love like an ocean in my soul.

each verse repeats a few times and by the last verse, ella came and snuggled up to me as we listened to the last verse about love like an ocean. it nearly brought me to tears!

and this is our sweet ballerina. she had her first day of ballet yesterday. i felt like a "real-life"mom as we drove to her lessons. i steered with my knees and sewed her elastic straps on her shoes at the same time!!! the girls were amazed that i could drive with my knees like marmee! like mother, like daughter i suppose.

and here we have afton's most favorite accomplishment. cursive! she has been dying to learn to write in cursive. so hooray for 3rd grade. she practices day and night. literally. i've found her writing by the light of her nightlight the last couple of nights! she is loving school this year already. she has a friend from church in her class this year named grant. she said that "this is going to be a great year!"

on a side note, it's been fun that the richards and west families go to our school now. for a year or two afton was the only member of our church in her school. so she and grant are the only two members in 3rd grade, then monte is in 2nd, jack is in 1st and lilly, lydia and ella are the only kindergartners. it's not bad or terrible to be the only mormon kid at school because all the kids are really great. but it's just a little more fun when you have an association between church and school. we love heim elementary!!!

aaahhhhhh

now that the children are at school...

the beginning of the end...

today is the first day of school for both of our sweeties!

we've got backpacks, lunchbags, new clothes, new supplies and...new clogs!!!!! we all love them, except for ryan. he's sure someone will break an ankle and has repeatedly warned of running in "those shoes". all girls know that a rolled ankle is just a part of life when you have the cutest shoes on. here are the sweetest little things getting on the bus. thanks aftie for being such a great sister to ella-belle! afton helped her on the bus and helped her find a seat. so kind!

and you can see, i've had a really difficult time adjusting to no children at home.