Fabulous Doctors' Reports!

Hello everyone...or anyone who is still reading. You can spend tons of time reading blogs, and never getting anything else done...so I totally understand if you don't even read this. However, I did want to report that I went to my GI doctor and to the surgeon this week...and both were so happy to report that I am doing GREAT! It was the last appointment we'll have with the surgeon...unless more surgery comes up sometime in the future (you never know what the future will bring!), and he was just so pleased with the way everything went. Basically, it all started when the radiation and chemo took care of that tumor. The surgery also went really well, and from the pet scan and the endoscopy, things are looking clear and good. Both said it couldn't have gone better. So I am extremely thankful to be where I am today...and not where I was a year ago--not knowing what was going on, but wondering why I couldn't swallow anything. Thank heavens for modern medicine, for competent doctors, for the great power of faith and prayer, and for priesthood blessings--all of them worked together to make me well, and I am very grateful.

I am also able to do better at exercising. I have been a little more consistent with taking my dog on walks...and I have been pretty faithful in working out at the cancer center practically every day. For quite a while, my arm really hurt--we couldn't figure out why, but now think that it had atrophied while I was recovering. After working out and working specifically on that arm, it has definitely improved. I can move it without it hurting, and I am getting stronger. So, another reason to be thankful!

Our remodel is a MESS! I've got to do something today to pick things up--it's just where do you put them when you pick them up? We now have tile in our bathrooms, pantry and utility room. We are totally into paper goods, since we have no dishwasher and only one bathroom with a sink in it. It makes you be creative...or just give up and go out to eat! It is also very HOT right now in Arizona--but we did get new air conditioning units...and we are certainly using them! Well, that is an update on me and on us. Things are looking good, and we are grateful for all the good results and positive reports. Thanks for your friendships--they mean the world to me! Love, Louise

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there! I hope you have a great Sunday. I will add some pictures of some of our kids--the latest ones I don't have downloaded, and those would actually be more appropriate for Father's Day, but you'll just have to wait until the next entry, after I have downloaded and edited them. we just got back late this afternoon from Utah (AGAIN!) where my nephew, Jamey Price, was married. What a wonderful time we had--it was so fun to be with Jamey and his terrific family. I was so impressed by all of them--they are the greatest combinations of fun and spirituality. You laugh almost constantly while you are with them, but they are darn good people too. I'm so thankful to be related to them. It was so fun to see other members of Spence's big extended Price family also. We were with his dad and Marge, his wife--and we had a good time being with them too.

We also got early Father's Day celebrations with our kids up there--Emily and Michael, and their baby, SJ, and with Katie and Kelsey. Brady got home from Scout camp today, and he's told us a lot about that. Our kids really love their dad and appreciate the good man he is--we had an early Father's Day breakfast this morning in Utah with Emily and Kelsey--SOOO fun! (again, pictures will come soon!)

Traveling isn't always easy for me, but I am amazed at my increase of energy...and am very grateful. I still have my moments, but I can go for longer periods of time, and do more. I was with my niece, Shelby, who is also a cancer survivor--and it made me very grateful to be with her and with her 5 kids--another one of the Lord's tender mercies to both of us.

Writing in journals or blogs is not Spence's thing, but on this Father's Day Eve, I would say he is very grateful for the family he has. He is so cute with this new baby, SJ, and he misses seeing his other grandson, Logan. He loves his kids, and has been so patient and loving with them over the years--they are very lucky to have him for their dad. He is very supportive of our whole family. So I'll include a few pictures, and tell you who they are. Ok--this is the rundown. The top picture is of 3 of my 4 girls--Emily, Kelsey and katie. They were checking out pictures that had been taken of Katie and her fiance, Cody. Then there is a picture of Brady, who turns 14 on Father's Day, and Baby SJ. Then the last one is of Spence and SJ--that's the info on the pictures.

Make sure you tell all the fathers in your lives how much you love them, and how thankful you are for their examples in your lives. (it may not be your own father, but many men are like fathers to many of us--how grateful we should be for them too!)Hooray for fathers, and for beautiful weddings and for families! :)

Loneliness is no fun!

I had an experience this weekend that gave me just a small taste of how it feels to be alone...and it is NO FUN! My husband took our son to Scout camp, and my daughter is up in Utah with her sister...so Saturday I was all by myself. I was so bored--life is a lot more fun when you have someone to share it with. I thought I would get so much done, and be super productive, but I was just LONELY. It was hard not to have anyone here, and instead of feeling motivated, I just missed my people. It was good for me to realize how many lonely people there are in the world--who are alone every night and who face an empty house every day. My heart really went out to the many friends I have who are widows or have gone through divorces, and who face those empty moments so often. It is hard. I was very glad when my husband got home last night, and when my older daughter, Jodie, came to go to Church with me. I hope that I will be more mindful of people who are alone, and who have those feelings often. It made me grateful for my family, and for the majority of time when I am not alone. So may our Father bless all of you who may be lonely, and may He help all of us to be aware of the lonely people in our lives. Have a good one.

Update from home

It's been nearly a week since I wrote in here. We had a very nice time in Utah, although we only had maybe 2 days of pretty decent weather. It's still fairly cool up there, but it is so much fun to be with our kids. The blessing for baby SJ went really well. Our son-in-law, Michael, did a great job on giving the blessing. Michael is an amazing person, and one of my all-time favorites. :) Katie and her fiance, Cody, came down and spent Sunday with us too. It was great to have so many of us together. It was hard for Brady, our youngest, to come home--he enjoys being with his older siblings so much...and he loves playing basketball with Michael.

We came home to our torn-up house. Even though everything is out of place, we are excited about how it's going to look. We have raised the ceiling in our kitchen, and that makes everything seem roomier. The tile has also been torn out, and will be replaced mostly by wood floors. We are getting new appliances, and got a great deal on a new oven, microwave, and refrigerator. We feel so lucky to be getting all these things.

Meanwhile, we are trying to get things ready for Katie's wedding. It is hard to do a wedding long-distance, but we've got an amazing friend, Terri Flaherty, who is helping us with the wedding and our house--she is fabulous! I hope we can pull all of this together before the beginning of August.

Some of you have commented on the amount of traveling I am doing--it is pretty amazing. (and sometimes is hard with some of my ongoing health issues). On the whole, I am doing well...but I still have to be careful. I still have problems with the dumping syndrome--I've got to watch the consumption of sweets, and also be careful about not eating too much period. We went out to dinner at a great place in Utah, but I ate too much, and then I had to lay down. Otherwise, I get hot, delirious, faint and kind of crazy--like I am so disoriented. One night at Emily's, I had an "episode" where I wasn't even sure where I was. Spence stayed right by my side, and got me up into her hallway, where a fan could blow on me. With the help of some Gatorade and crackers, I was able to get feeling better in about a half hour.It's almost like I have a diabetic reaction. I just need to rest after eating, and try to listen to my body before it gets to that point. I have decided that I have those episodes more when Spence is around--he is so attentive, and I know I'll get total care if he's around. He is very reassuring to me when I'm going through that. It doesn't happen often, but it is kind of unnerving when it DOES happen. We are going back to Utah in a week for the wedding of our nephew. Then I'm home until we go to the beach at the end of July. Anyway, that is the latest update. I hope you all are doing well. With all my love, Louise

Hanging out in Utah

Spence and I are up here in Utah with Emily. We also have Brady and Kelsey with us. We are here for the baby's blessing which will take place on Sunday. While we are here, they are going to have a baby shower for Emily tomorrow, and we are going to watch as another daughter, Kelsey, takes pictures for the wedding invitations for Katie. It's a busy family time. I know it is hectic for Emily to have family here, and to have to take care of her brand-new baby--she and Michael are nice to let us come invade. It is still chilly up here--pretty sunny days, but still kind of cool. Of course, we come from our hot desert, so practically anything would seem cool to us. :)

We had a tragic thing happen to a friend of ours yesterday. Jerry Shelley, who is a member of our LDS ward, was shot in Yuma. He was a divorce lawyer, and was shot by a man whose divorce he (Jerry) had worked on a few years ago. The man who shot him went on a shooting spree where he killed 6 people, including himself. Jerry and his wife were teachers for our son when he was still in the Church's childrens' organization (ends when the children turn 12), and Brady just loved him. He was a kind, good man, and it is such a loss to have had this happened. It is so senseless, and so random, and such a horrible tragedy. It is things like this that are so hard to understand. We are praying for his good wife, Nancy, and for their children. What a terrible loss. Life is so fragile, especially when there are people like this killer who harbor such hate and revenge. Life is so crazy at times. Again, another reminder that we need to treasure each day we have with loved ones.

In a Mess!

I am on my way back up to Utah. Our little baby boy, SJ, is getting blessed this Sunday, and we are going up for it. Brady and Kelsey are coming too...and then Kelsey is staying for the month of June to help Emily with SJ. We ar excited to go--however, the weather is STILL cold up there. When is summer actually going to come to Utah? Katie, who is in Logan, said it snowed there a couple of days ago--crazy!

It has been a hectic couple of days for us. We are getting ready to do some remodeling, and it has forced us to empty cupboards and drawers. We need to do this more often--we have accumulated SO MUCH junk! It has been a full-time job, plus there have been errands to run--dentist appointments, basketball camp, etc. I am worn out. Kelsey, who has always been the best about watching out for me, makes sure that I take rests, and don't try to keep going. It gets to be a lot. The demolition on our kitchen starts tomorrow--so things should look pretty different when we get back. To add to the craziness, our dog has been acting strangely--like he is going through some trauma. i can identify--tonight I couldn't find any potholders so I dropped a bunch of the casserole on the floor of the oven. I fell apart when I did that. How am I supposed to cook when I can't find pans, or towels or potholders? I know what you're all thinking--perfect excuse to eat out every night! Anyway, somehow we'll get this all done...and we'll be ready, and our house will be a disaster...and hopefully all this work will be done before the wedding.

I will post another picture--I have been taking so many lately, that I need to share them. This is one (maybe two) of Kelsey and Brady at their graduations. They are cute kids, and really have been great helps with all this chaos going on here. How am I going to survive June without Kelsey to help out? :)I'm not sure I can let her go to college in the fall either. She is my right hand--helps with everything!