Winter Adventures

Dear Friends and Family,

It has been a LONG few weeks! I apologize for the lack of updates. 

Here are the highlights and adventures from the last few weeks: 

Emilie's cold and cough: I started coughing at the beginning of January. I have been on two different antibiotics trying to kick it. It has been a rough full body cough, and combined with chemo I have been feeling pretty rough. Just finishing a two week round of Augmentin. I am finally noticing it letting up! I lost my voice for over a week. It still sounds like I am a heavy smoker. I miss my voice! 

Brandon's Recital: Brandon did an amazing job at his Senior Recital. It was awe inspiring and I can not tell you how impressed I was at his hard work. I tried to upload a snippet but it is not cooperating. I will keep working on it! We got to bring some refreshments for the reception afterword. It turned out to be a really fun night. Congratulations Brandon! He and McKenzie have decided not to walk, but they are graduated from ISU! So exciting for them!

Brandon's Birthday: Brandon came to us on the Sunday after his birthday for a yummy meal and some cake. It was fun to celebrate with him. I can't believe that he is 26! 

Emilie's day in the ER: Wednesday, January 25th was a tough day. I woke up at 2:30 in the morning to quite a bit of blood in my stools. The bleed continued for a few hours and then I was able to get a few hours of sleep before it started again. I was concerned as I have never had anything like this happen. I called Teton Cancer as soon as they opened. They told me to head to the ER so they could monitor how much blood I had lost. I waited for my chemo pump to come off, took a shower, then had Abrahm drive me in. Dennis was able to get his class covered and he met us there. The day was long and boring in the ER. They monitored my blood levels, had me do a cat scan and a chest X-ray. We were unable to find the source of the bleed but they believe it is lower GI because of the bright red color.  We asked to go home about 3:00 pm. They told us if I started feeling week or dizzy to come back. The bleeding stopped on it's own sometime in the evening. I followed up with Jed, my cancer PA, on Thursday. He believes one of my chemo drugs, Avastin, is causing the bleed. We will hold the Avastin for at least two chemo cycles and hope my body will heal. It was a scary experience for me and I would not like to repeat it!

Drew's Accident: The same night that we returned from the hospital, Drew got in a small accident. We feel blessed that no one was hurt. His car was T-boned but they were able to slow way down before they hit him. The 2002 Impala that he was driving took and good beating and is not drivable. The front drivers wheel was at a 45 degree angle and the door and fender were very crunched. Brandon has been helping us fix the car and we are so grateful for his help. He and Dennis spent almost a whole day just trying to get it towed back to our house. Drew moved to a friend Daniel's house a few months ago to work on his independence. After the accident, he has been staying with us because he needs rides. It has put a big kink in his plans and the girls are not enjoying sharing their car. A big thank you to Brandon for helping us get the car up and running. It is almost ready.

Kids COLD days out of school: We enjoyed two days this week off of school because of the extreme cold temperatures. We even got the luxury of knowing in advance so we could truly sleep in. It was wonderful and we enjoyed the time at home. We got to go see "A man called Otto." It was heavier (emotionally) than I expected, had more swearing than I care to hear, but very heartwarming. I really enjoyed it. 

Abby's Play: Abby got to be in the play "Romeo and Juliet." She was a townsperson. It has been keeping her busy on top of her heavy class load. We were impressed by the final production. It was very well done! 

Young Men/Women's Night of Belonging: This week we held our annual youth meeting. I tried so hard to delegate, but I still ended up speaking and setting everything up. It turned out nice, and I was grateful to have that one crossed of my list for one more year.

Chemo: Tomorrow is another chemo day. Why do they come so fast? I am hopeful that it will be less rough with the loss of Avastin from my regimen. Maybe I will get a break from the crusty, bloody, drippy nose. Here is hoping!

Overall, we are doing well and are so blessed! So many tender mercies that show us that God is in control. The latest scans showed no new growth! That is great news. We are so grateful that Drew is not hurt. We are grateful for all of the love and care we receive daily from so many. We are loving studying the New Testament this year. SO many fun insights! I love the "Chosen" and how it has brought the New Testament to life in my heart. We have loved going to the temple and feeling the love and peace there.

Praying for so many as you face your struggles. I am working on hearing the Lord's voice and DOING it right now. I am not very good at that! I love the scripture Luke 5:5: "And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all night and have taken nothing; nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net."

 I love the word NEVERTHELESS in this scripture. It shows trust. Trust that God knows better than me. I think I have reached a new place of trust in my journey. I know he cares, I know he is ABLE to heal me, I just wait on his timing. If that timing is not in this life, I will still trust him. I will still continue to praise Him. I recognize that he is holding me up and helping me through. 

May you feel the peace and joy he continually offers. Praying for so many of you through your health struggles, job hunts, and trials. 

Hannah's birthday is this week and I get to go to a fun women's retreat this weekend with my mom and sister! SO EXCITED!

Much Love, 

Emilie