Taking out the Jet Ski

It was almost 100 degrees here on Monday so we decided to take the Jet ski out with my brother Mason, brother-in-law Trevor, niece Brooke, and nephew Cole. Everyone had a great time. Cole and Brooke were pretty timid about taking a ride but Trevor really liked it. Here are some snap shots.

Brooke trying out the jet ski

Mason and TrevorCody and Brooke

Amy is here!

My sister Amy and her family drove into town on Sunday and we were so excited to see them that we went to mom's house after church to wait for them. My nephew Cole ran into a picnic table at the park the day before at my sister Toni's house and had to go get stitches near his eye. Ouch! Cody was in one of his moods all because I didn't bring him a different shirt to change into after church. Whoa, dude. Seriously chill. So I taped some of his tantrum for those who think he is so quite and sweet all the time. Even he has his moments. What a rotten mom I am for taping him :-)



They are here for 2 weeks and here is there arrival!

The Denver Aquarium

Since we didn't go to Glendo last week Jon and I thought it would be fun to take the kids and do something fun with them so on Friday we went down to Denver to the old Ocean Journey aquarium. I think it is just called the downtown aquarium now run by Landry's. I had gift certificates that I hadn't used yet from Diana Price Fish from last winter. The kids liked walking through it but it only took us about an hour and a half to walk through. We also got to pet the sting rays at the end of the walk through which was neat but also a little freaky. They were trying to jump out of the little area where people were feeding them. The twins were both really into it and I was actually the one trying to pull their arms and hands out of there when they looked like they were going to be eaten off. :-)

The kids with a shark

Jon and Coder at the aquarium restaurant

Eliza and Ali at the restaurant

Olivia at the restaurant showing off her 2 loose teeth on the bottom. Hopefully they come out soon, they are really close and she is asking us to pull them for her but I can't hold on to them well enough to pull. We should be doing the first visit from the tooth fairy soon :-)

Aunt Nancy's Visit

My aunt Nancy and uncle Ray came into town last week and we were able to spend some time with them for the afternoon and over dinner. Nancy even braved the tramp with the kids, they were totally pumped. Mom's body doesn't quite agree with jumping on the tramp after having kids. I would probably wet my pants :-) Don't cha just love what those kiddos do to your body? Ha! Well worth it though, gotta love them!

Grandma's house is cooler than our house!

We went over to my parents house last week to find a bunch of fun new toys in their backyard. I would kill for a backyard the size of my parents, they don't make 'em like that anymore! So they put up 2 swings in their trees and bought a kid friendly trampoline with the enclosure that keeps all the kids inside and safe. Needless to say the kids were over the moon about it! Check 'em out.

Buddy Check 9

Hey ladies..
I missed it yesterday but it was Buddy Check 9 day. Don't forget to do your monthly self breast exam. Here is the message from Kim this month:

If you are anything like me, you're thinking this summer has gone by far too quickly. Here it is mid-July and it's time to start thinking about going back to school or maybe squeezing in another summer getaway or two. In our busy lives there are many things to keep track of and plans to be made that we rely on a few reminders to keep up. So here's a reminder, that doesn't require an appointment or a babysitter or a trip across town. We are asking you to do a breast self exam, whenever you can find five minutes. That's not a lot to ask and it could save your life. In addition, we hope you will remind a busy friend or family member or co-worker to do the same.

Ironically, on this Buddy Check 9 day there is a man in a pink wig and sunglasses walking through the state of Colorado. His name is Ron Kessler and he's from Fort Collins. But he started walking in Delaware and he won't stop walking until he reaches the California Coast. Ron is doing this for breast cancer. A good friend of his was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer in 2004. After undergoing treatment she appeared to be in remission. But last summer, she got bad news. The cancer metastasized and is in her bones and lungs. She is staying strong, although this is rough time for her and her family. Ron is walking for his friend and for the 180,000 women and men who are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the U.S. If you would like to know more or donate to his efforts go to www.firstgiving.com/roadtothecure/

The next time you take a walk on a warm summer night, think about Ron and his walk for a friend.

4th of July Weekend Part 2...

On Friday night we brought up some fireworks to set off.

Of course the kids did sparklers. One of the dogs was freaked out by the fireworks and the other one was trying to eat them. It was funny.

Saturday we went on another long day ride and just went all over the mountain. We did this really steep trail were Jon caught some air over both the jumps. That was neat.

We also went through another beaver pond crossing, which is always interesting. The kids just love riding the ATVs. I am glad we found something that we all really enjoy doing.Saturday night when we got back from our ride there was another family that came up that was friends with another person we were camping with. Jon and I had both heard stories about this family and that they have some real problems with alcohol. Both the parents are heavy drinkers and they brought up there son and his girlfriend who are in their early 20s. The son has had multiple DUIs and been in I think 2 drunk driving accidents that were really serious, yet still continues to be a heavy drinker. I am sure you can tell where this story is going.... I put the kids to bed in the camper and was inside for about an hour and came out after we put them to sleep and the kid and his girlfriend were beyond drunk tripping over each other and just completely belligerent. They ended up having someone take them up to the lodge so they were gone for a bit and then when they came back it was even worse. I am pretty sure they were both on drugs at that point also because they were both twitching and just seriously being crazy. I have never seen anything like what happened next. They were just both being so rude to everyone trying to start a fight with the rest of us which there were at least 10 other adults there. The kids mom ended up coming out trying to get them to come back in their trailer which of course turned into a yelling match of obscene language. I have never heard anyone speak to their mother like that. Wow. Apparently this is a regular occurrence with them, how sad. It ended up in a serious knock down drag out, fists flying, legs kicking, pushing, brawl. They would not leave after they were asked repeatedly to at least go away from the rest of us. The girlfriend would not leave and would not stop trying to just get a fight started with everyone. It took 5 good size dudes to get these 2 kids back into their parents trailer and away from the rest of us. Like I said I have never seen anything like that before, a serious fight. Wow. I was so glad my kids weren't awake and didn't wake up. I am just so grateful that we don't have those kinds of issues to deal with in my family. I cannot even imagine ever hearing my children speak to me like that or have these issues be a regular occurrence. It just goes to show what a horrible reality it is for an alcoholic or the family of an alcoholic.

The guys all ended up staying up until about 2 in the morning because we were all afraid they would mess with our things or the ATVs or our vehicles. Pretty sad. We all left that next morning. These people even had the nerve to lecture the friend that invited them up for not being more of an adult in the situation.....WHAT?!? Step back into reality for a quick second and realize you and your family have a HUGE problem! I don't know what he could have done any better than asking them over and over to please leave and they weren't welcome in our camp any longer with that behavior. The girlfriend is the one that started her mouth and also started throwing the punches. What an interesting end to our glorious weekend. I am so glad that nobody that we invited ended up coming. I would have been so embarrassed to have had anyone else witness such crazy behavior.

Between Saturday and Sunday I also finished the first 1/3 of Eclipse, the 3rd book in the Twilight series. I am still really enjoying it even though it is my 2nd time reading it. We were able to get the camper all unpacked on Sunday afternoon and back to where were park it before 3 so Jon could lay down and nap before he had to be back at work on Sunday night.

We decided that we are cancelling our trip to Glendo this week since the sandy beach campground is still flooded. Bummer. I went with one of my girlfriends, Alyssa, yesterday to get a drain pulled. She had a tummy tuck done and has 2 drains under her incision. I felt so bad that she had to go through that. It sucks, big time. She did really well but was so nervous. We were both crying before it was all over. She has one more that has to be pulled tomorrow. Ouch! Hopefully it will be better than yesterday! Way to put on a brave face woman, you look excellent!

4th of July Weekend Part 1...

It was a long and fun weekend and so nice to get away from it all. After a long day Wednesday of packing up and stopping off and the bank and the store for some things we forgot we didn't get up to Wycolo until about 8pm. On our way in it was overcast and we actually saw a moose in a beaver pond on the way in. I don't think he was very big as far as moose go, but he looked huge to me. Here is some video of it.

As soon as we got out of the car the mosquitos were in attack mode. It was crazy. I was hoping they would only be bad at night but they were out in full force the whole time we were there both day and night. That part kinda sucked! We are all covered in mosquito bites despite the numerous times of doucing ourselves in bug spray.

We spent most of the day Thursday on a ride on the ATVs going over some really neat trails and even through some deep pond crossings. It was a fun ride, obsticals always make things interesting. They are also leaving Jon wanting a 4 wheel drive machine rather than his 2 wheel drive Raptor he currently has. He is always getting stuck and in turn wet when manovering through some of these obsticals. It always makes for an interesting ride :-)

I don't think I posted about this yet but a few weeks ago Jon came across a really good deal on craigs list for another little 80. Since we are hoping to get the kids all ATVs at some point Jon has been keeping an eye out for them. We bought it a few weeks ago and this was the first time we have had it out. Of course Cody is thrilled to have another one even if he has to share it with his sister right now. Jon has taken them each out a few times and they are starting to learn out to ride them with Dad on the back of course. Alex is much more intimidated by it than Cody and would much rather be a passenger than learning how to drive it.We also came across some snow (yes there is still some snow on the ground in July despite the 70 degree temps in the day) on the trail. There was this hill still covered in it. Jon had a blast on his raptor playing in this.

Here is Jon and Cod-man.

Some of the people we were camping with had this little dog I fell in love with, she was a pug chiuwawa mix. She was so cute and loved riding the ATVs with us. She loved being inside our shirts.

Jon even got some video of me driving through the snow. It doesn't look nearly as hard as it really is...

Jon's parents came up on Thrusday night and stayed a few nights with us. I was pretty sore after riding most of the day on Thursday so I didn't ride on Friday much. Bev and Vern (Jon's parents) tried out the ATV and the kids played around camp on their's a bunch.

Then almost everyone else took a long ATV trip over to the dunes in Walden on Friday afternoon. I have never been to the dunes but the pictures look fun. Jon even got this video of this crazy dude in a wig climbing one....wow, I would never try that!

I was able to stay at the camper and enjoy some peace and quite for a few hours. I read my book and sat out in the sun since it was so nice. I started reading New Moon, the 2nd book in the Twilight series again and finished it up on Friday. I love these books. It was nice to just relax by myself for the afternoon.

Smarsh-mellows and Cancer free!

So today I went to my actual 6 month check up with my amazing oncologist Dr. Medgyesy. It was good to see her again, since I haven't been around there much lately (yipee!). She said all my tests were fine and blood work is still with in normal ranges. She did the full frontal check me out and mentioned that my reconstruction looked great and that Dr. Brewster is amazing. For someone who probably sees lots of fake racks, I took that as a complement. I am still thinking I will have another surgery towards the end of the year to loosen up the scar tissue on the one side since it is still looking different from the other side. Now that the left side is more "settled" the left side (cancer side) even looks higher than the right on top of being tighter and just appearing a little different. Anyway...enough about my anatomy, hopefully the next surgery will do the trick.
I took a big risk this weekend and actually wore a regular bra for my birthday. I have had to wear a sports bra since the last time I had surgery. It was fine for most of the night but did start to irritate me at the end of the movie. It actually fit which was nice. When I tried it on after I had surgery the under wire was super tight around my implants since they hadn't settled yet and I was still swollen. It felt nice that it actually fit me. Anyway back to what I was getting at was I have had a sore rib under my chest for the last few days and I think my bra was the culprit. Although even wearing the sports bra makes it sore after the end of the day. Back on the path to normalcy.
We are probably leaving tomorrow to go camping until Sunday. I am excited to get the heck out of dodge and escape to the wilderness with no cell or wi-fi access!
My kids were eating "smarshmellows" the other day and I just had to catch it on tape. It is so funny that they call them smarshmellows. Oh, and ignore the messy faces, geesh mom wipe those faces off after dinner! I am normally OCD about that and running noses, pet peeves. Enjoy!

Oh Happy Monday...night!

Wow it has been a long day. Work was crazy today. Non stop. It's 8 o'clock and I put in 6 1/2 hours today...with the kids here! AH!
I am glad that is behind me. So of course the weekend was crazy as well. Saturday was my birthday and Jon had worked until about 6am so he rested for the morning while my mom watched the kiddos and I was able to get my pedicure. I LOVE pedicures. I haven't had one since I was going through treatment and it was so nice to be able to do that again. After I went to pick up the kids from my moms we came back to the house and just relaxed which was nice to not be going a million miles an hour. I made myself take a break from work all weekend and that was great! Cody was also giving a little talk in primary on Sunday so we prepared that and I went back through my talk to make sure everything went together nicely. Jon had gotten me a few things so we (as in me and the kids) opened them up in the afternoon. Honestly after you have kids do you ever get to open up your own presents? So here is what I scored....
There are packs for my ATV that strap on the front and back. They can carry food, coats, just whatever you want to take with you on your ride. Also the one in the back doubles as a sort of cushion for the passenger so they have something to lean up against. Snap!

Then he got me these cool Teva sandal/shoes. You can wear socks or no socks and they are super comfy. I am the ultimate outdoors woman.

And oh yeah, who doesn't love VS? I get to pick out my own paraphernalia!For dinner I got a sitter and we went out to eat at the outback with Jon's parents, Aunt & Uncle John, and my parents. Here are the snapshots.

My parents..

Aunt Clara & Uncle John..

Jon's Parents...

Jon and I of course....(me always with my eyes looking goofy)

After dinner Jon took me to see a movie. There really isn't any movies out now that I was dying to see but thought Wanted sounded kinda interesting with Angelina Jolie. There were a lot of really cool scenes in this movie but I think the story was pretty lacking. I did get to spend some time alone with Jon and that is what I wanted to do.Sunday.....Crazy. I do have to say that speaking in church does force you to actually be ready and get there on time, so there is an upside. So I had to give my talk in Sacrament meeting, for those of you that aren't familiar it is the big meeting. I wanted to post it but know some of you aren't interested in reading it so just put it in the next post. Feel free to skip over it if you're not interested. No offense taken :-) It was something that I spent a lot of time preparing and wanted to share with those that are interested. So after sacrament meeting everyone splits up into Sunday school classes. I was racing down to primary (the kids class) since Cody was giving a little talk there when the gal that I team teach the 6 year olds with stopped me in the hall. She wasn't feeling good and needed to go home and it was her day to teach. So I was flustered with having the kids lesson thrust upon me on top of everything else with no preparation, plus trying to find someone extra to sit with the class and myself since there are so many of them. Since my parents were in primary to watch Cody my mom became that person by default. Man I love my mom. So I helped Cody with his talk and he did actually better than I thought. There were 5 little pictures with sayings on them and he repeated 2 of them after me. After realizing that his voice was pretty stinkin' loud with the microphone he decided that was not for him and I finished it off for him. All in all, he did pretty well. After we all went to sit back down with classes my mom read over the lesson for me and did amazing teaching the lesson off of 5 minutes of preparation. She's amazing. After church I was just so relieved to have the day over. Yikes. Too much responsibilities at church today!Jon had to work last night so he had to leave for work at 7 but right before hand my friend Alyssa dropped by to give me a birthday gift. Wow. Check this out! She made me this scrapbook that is amazing and so sweet. Here it is from all views.

The front..

Behind the F in front of the R..

Behind the R in front of the I..Behind the I in front of the E..

Behind the E in front of the N..

Behind the N in front of the D..

Behind the D..

Alyssa.....I love you, you are amazing and I know we will be life long friends. You did an amazing job on the book. I absolutely love it and it will be on display in the Brock household! You're the bomb Alowizzle Morbizzle!

Warning LDS talk ahead....read with caution!

Ha, so here is my talk that I gave in church on Sunday. It is a good thing that I came prepared with my little kleenex pack because they didn't have a tissue box up on the stand. What's up with that? I would have flooded the podium. So here it is for those of you that missed it and are interested in hearing what I had to say......

I was asked to speak today on the Word of Wisdom. When hearing the topic “The Word of Wisdom” I think many of us think primarily about alcohol and tobacco. The Word of Wisdom not only guides us on those “should nots” but also on the “shoulds”. To fully understand the importance of this counsel it is also important to understand that our bodies are great blessings. In the gospel principles manual we are taught, “We need a physical body to become like our Heavenly Father. Our bodies are so important that the lord calls them Temples. In 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 it reads…
"16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."
Our bodies are holy,” For this reason I think that it makes perfect sense that Heavenly Father would also give us instruction on how to properly take care of our bodies.
In D & C 89, the section heading reads...
"Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Kirtland, Ohio, February 27, 1833. HC 1: 327–329. As a consequence of the early brethren using tobacco in their meetings, the Prophet was led to ponder upon the matter; consequently he inquired of the Lord concerning it. This revelation, known as the Word of Wisdom, was the result. The first three verses were originally written as an inspired introduction and description by the Prophet. "
The first 3 verses or inspired introduction to the revelation read..
"1 A Word OF Wisdom, for the benefit of the council of high priests, assembled in Kirtland, and the church, and also the saints in Zion—
2 To be sent greeting; not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days—
3 Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints."
So we are told that the Word of Wisdom is given for a principal with a promise. These 4 promises are outlined in the end of the section in verses 18 through 21 stating:
1. Shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones.
2. Shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even in hidden treasures.
3. Shall run and not be weary and shall walk and not faint.
4. That the destroying angel shall pass by them as the children of Israel, and not slay them.
The Prophet Spencer W. Kimball said in the Miracle of Forgiveness that in our time this means we will be saved from spiritual death: “For observing the Word of Wisdom the reward is life, not only prolonged mortal life but life eternal.”
To me the Word of Wisdom is just another prime example of the wonderful blessings that come from modern day revelation. There is was no way, save it be through the lord, that the prophet Joseph could have known all the adverse effect that could fall upon us by not obeying the counsel given by the word of wisdom.
While doing some research about the growing number of health concerns we face today, I wasn’t surprised to find that the WHO or the World Health Organization sites many things that were given to us as counsel in D&C 89. Under their “Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health” they say Diet and physical activity should be a public health priority. They go on to say:
"Healthy diets and regular, adequate physical activity are major factors in the promotion and maintenance of good health throughout the entire life course.
Unhealthy diets and physical inactivity are two of the main risk factors for raised blood pressure, raised blood glucose, abnormal blood lipids, overweight/obesity, and for the major chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes.
Overall, 2.7 million deaths are attributable to low fruit and vegetable intake.
Overall, 1.9 million deaths are attributable to physical inactivity."
Obesity is currently being called a health crisis or an epidemic. The WHO says….
"Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health.
Facts about overweight and obesity
WHO’s latest projections indicate that globally in 2005:
approximately 1.6 billion adults (age 15+) were overweight;
at least 400 million adults were obese.
WHO further projects that by 2015, approximately 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will be obese.
At least 20 million children under the age of 5 years are overweight globally in 2005.
What causes obesity and overweight?
Global increases in overweight and obesity are attributable to a number of factors including:
a global shift in diet towards increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat and sugars but low in vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients; and
a trend towards decreased physical activity due to the increasingly sedentary nature of many forms of work, changing modes of transportation, and increasing urbanization.
What are common health consequences of overweight and obesity?
Cardiovascular disease (mainly heart disease and stroke) - already the world's number one cause of death, killing 17 million people each year.
Diabetes – which has rapidly become a global epidemic. WHO projects that diabetes deaths will increase by more than 50% worldwide in the next 10 years.
Musculoskeletal disorders – especially osteoarthritis.
Some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon).
Childhood obesity is associated with a higher chance of premature death and disability in adulthood.
How can the burden of overweight and obesity be reduced?
Overweight and obesity, as well as their related chronic diseases, are largely preventable.
At the individual level, people can:
achieve energy balance and a healthy weight;
limit energy intake from total fats and shift fat consumption away from saturated fats to unsaturated fats;
increase consumption of fruit and vegetables, as well as legumes, whole grains and nuts;
limit the intake of sugars; and
increase physical activity - at least 30 minutes of regular, moderate-intensity activity on most days. More activity may be required for weight control. "
In verse #11 it says….
"11 Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving."
and in verse #16 it says….
"16 All grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground—"
This scripture is technically not part of the word of wisdom but also concerns our health in D&C 88: 124 it reads….
"124 Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one with another; cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated."
So these scientific facts that have now been proven were given to us by revelation more than 100 years ago.
I think that when a reputable source and not to mention the lord, is telling us prevention of not only, obesity and overweight, but it says chronic diseases are preventable by following these steps we should all be aware of the counsel given and follow it. Along with this counsel the additional counsel in D&C for the “shoulds” is in verses #10 and 12-15 and 17.
"10 And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man—
12 Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly;
13 And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.
14 All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth;
15 And these hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.
17 Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain. "
I can say from personal experience that when I am making an effort to eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and get a good night sleep, I feel much better than when I chose to not make these a priority. As most of you know I was diagnosed with breast cancer almost 2 years ago. After I was diagnosed I was forced to make this more of a priority in my life. I was doing pretty top notch already with the “should nots” but needed to focus more on the “shoulds” to get me through the long hard months of fighting off the cancer. My nurses and family alike would be there as a constant reminder when I was not feeling well to say “Are you drinking your water? What did you have to eat today? Did you get enough sleep last night?” It seemed like these were the main questions to get down to the root of my complaints. When my chemo regimen changed half way through to start the “really bad” stuff my body was deprived of white blood cells and I had to have a shot of Neulasta which stimulates the white blood cell production in the body. Since these cells are produced in your bone marrow it in turn left me in complete pain in all the large bones in my body. My legs hurt to walk, my hips hurt to sit on, and I couldn’t believe it but my skull hurt the worse. I couldn’t even lie down and be comfortable. After the excruciating week of dealing with the side effects of these shots my mother took it upon herself to hit the ground running to find out what was going to get me through the seemingly never ending months of constant nausea and pain. It was after this first treatment that we started juicing. We juiced wheat grass, carrots, and apples several times daily to build up my blood and immune system. It was going back to these basic but very important principals, and of course listening to the wise counsel of my mother, that got me through this horrible time. I never did have to take another one of the dreaded and might I add ridiculously expensive shots during the rest of those months of treatment.
The “should nots” of the Word of Wisdom are more widely talked about and known. In D&C 89:9 it reads...
"9 And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly."
In the Gospel Principles book it explains “Church leaders have said that this means coffee and tea, which contain harmful drugs. We should avoid all drinks that contain harmful drugs.” This study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, appears in the July/August 2002 issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.
"The effects of coffee drinking are long-lasting and exaggerate the stress response both in terms of the body’s physiological response in blood pressure elevations and stress hormone levels, but it also magnifies a person’s perception of stress," said James D. Lane, Ph.D., lead author of the study. "People haven’t really accepted the fact that there could be a health downside to caffeine consumption, but our evidence – and that of other studies – shows that this downside exists and people should be aware of it in order to make the best possible health choices."
In D&C 89:7 it reads..
"7 And, again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies."
In turn the WHO also agrees stating:
"Alcohol consumption has health and social consequences via intoxication (drunkenness), dependence (habitual, compulsive and long-term drinking), and other biochemical effects. In addition to chronic diseases that may affect drinkers after many years of heavy use, alcohol contributes to traumatic outcomes that kill or disable at a relatively young age, resulting in the loss of many years of life to death or disability. There is increasing evidence that besides volume of alcohol, the pattern of the drinking is relevant for the health outcomes. Overall there is a causal relationship between alcohol consumption and more than 60 types of disease and injury. Alcohol is estimated to cause about 20-30% worldwide of oesophageal cancer, liver cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, homicide, epilepsy, and motor vehicle accidents.
Worldwide alcohol causes 1.8 million deaths (3.2% of total) and 58.3 million (4% of total) of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). Unintentional injuries alone account for about one third of the 1.8 million deaths, while neuro-psychiatric conditions account for close to 40% of the 58.3 million DALYs."
Tobacco is also addressed in the word of wisdom. This would also include smokeless or chewing tobacco. In D&C 89:8 it reads..
" 8 And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill."
And yet again in modern studies we learn (from the WHO)..
"Tobacco kills up to half of those who use it. Yet tobacco use is common throughout the world due to low prices, aggressive and widespread marketing, lack of awareness about its dangers, and inconsistent public policies against its use.
Most of tobacco’s damage to health does not become evident until years or even decades after the onset of use.
The tobacco epidemic kills 5.4 million people a year from lung cancer, heart disease and other illnesses. Unchecked, that number will increase to more than eight million a year by 2030. Tobacco use is a risk factor for six of the eight leading causes of deaths in the world."
Modern studies have also proven that not only those doing the actual smoking of the tobacco but those exposed to 2nd hand smoke are also at risk. Also put out by the WHO..
"Its conclusions confirmed the cancer-causing effects of active smoking. It also concluded its evaluation of the carcinogenic risks associated with involuntary smoking and classified second-hand smoke as carcinogenic to humans(1).
There is clear scientific evidence of an increased risk of lung cancer in non-smokers exposed to SHS. This increased risk is estimated at 20% in women and 30% in men who live with a smoker (2). Similarly, it has been shown that non-smokers exposed to SHS in the workplace have a 16 to 19% increased risk of developing lung cancer (3). In addition to this risk, What are the effects of SHS on children’s health?
Small children whose parents smoke at home have an increased risk of suffering lower tract respiratory infections and otitis media (6,7). SHS has also been linked to an increase in the number and severity of asthma episodes in asthmatic children (8). There is also evidence that SHS increases the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) (9)."
So not only smoking tobacco yourself, but being in an environment where you are around smoke is bad for you.
In a book I was reading during one of my chemotherapy sessions I came across a rather humorous comic. It showed a bald woman, who was obviously the person going through chemotherapy, attending a cocktail party. A gentleman who was passing by her and smoking offered her a cigarette. Her reply was “No thanks, I already have cancer.” In my mind it is a no brainer. The warning is printed right there on the side of the box by the surgeon general. “SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, And May Complicate Pregnancy." What’s not to understand? I am not sure how this can lead to anything other than the cause and effect of smoking equals death. Who can read this and still be thinking….bring it on? It is completely baffling to me having been through the battle that cancer is, and surviving it, why anyone would so willingly invite that horrible reality into their lives and the lives of those who surround them while they are smoking.
It is no secret that alcohol and substance abuse plays a negative role in many lives, not only by the addict but also their family and friends who are impacted by their negative choices.
My husband’s life has been greatly affected by having a father and a brother who have had substance abuse problems. My husband’s father passed away at the age 52. He was diagnosed with throat cancer which was caused by his chronic drinking and smoking. In trying to treat the cancer the doctors overlapped 2 of the radiation fields in his neck. This caused scar tissue to form in his throat which in turn caused him to basically suffocate. His brother is currently in a rehabilitation program and has struggled with substance abuse his whole life. I have only met him on 2 occasions and he has very limited contact with his parents and his children. I have seen first hand that by simply staying away from these substances he probably would have had a more meaningful relationship with those who love and care about him.
I think that it is also important to remember that the Word of Wisdom is not a get out of jail free card. There are promised blessings for following this counsel but it doesn’t mean that you will have no health issues if you are obedient to these teachings. On the LDS website I read, “As part of Heavenly Father's plan of redemption, all people experience adversity during their lifetime. Trials, disappointments, sadness, sickness, and heartache are a difficult part of life, but with the help of the Lord they can lead to spiritual growth, refinement, and progress.” In no way do I feel like I was being punished having to experience my own trials through cancer. I feel just that. It was one of my difficult trials to endure and it still is. It is still hard for me very frequently to not let my mind wander to the places of “What if it comes back, what would I do? Or my toenail hurts; I think my cancer is coming back.” I don’t know if my mom remembers this but right after I was diagnosed we were sitting at church and she gave me a sticky note with a few scriptures on it. One of the scriptures was 2nd Tim 1:7...
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
I try to think of that scripture often when I feel like my mind is wandering there and not have that spirit of fear but of a sound mind. Making healthy decisions for me and for my family are part of that.
I have a testimony of the importance of the Word of Wisdom and of modern day revelation. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that our current prophet Thomas S. Monson is also. I know that our Heavenly Father has given us this counsel to help us take better care of our bodies. I hope that we will all make it a priority to follow these teachings.

Fun Tag Post

So my sister Tagged me a few days ago, and although I did take the pictures a few days ago I never got around to posting them. So here we go.

Here are the "rules" for this game of tag. You are supposed to take pictures of the following things just as they are - no stopping to clean, straighten, or to wipe a child's nose: The kitchen sink, the fridge, the toilet, the closet, the laundry room, your favorite shoes, your favorite room, and your kiddies. No cheating!

So here is the sink.....good times. The empty water bottles are normal around here. They can't go in the dishwasher so they are just aways there, awaiting the soapy water hand washing.

Here we have the fridges, loaded with condiments, soda, leftovers....ya know the necessities.

Exciting toilet. This is the bathroom I painted recently. Looks awesome with the shower curtain.

Here is my happy closet. At least my side. And yes Toni, my t shirts and sweaters are also color coordinated. Easier to find!

Moving on to the ever tiny laundry room. A washer and dryer squeezed into this tiny room next to the garage door. I hate it. But anyway it is pretty tidy. I made a goal to try and do a load of laundry a day and immediately fold it out of the dryer. Otherwise it sits in the basket for days until 4 loads accumulate and then I never want to fold it.

Moving on to my favorite shoes, which I did switch pictures for. Jon bought me these Tiva's for my birthday. They are the the kind you can wear without socks. The ultimate outdoor sandals, and VERY comfy might I add! And here are the cutest kids in the world doing the "super star" move. I actually had them dressed and their hair done before 10 in the morning which is unheard of for the summer.

I decided to for go the favorite room since it is in the basement, Oliva's new room and I just posted painting pictures of it a few weeks ago. Well it will be my favorite room when it is all done....hopefully that will be soon!

Okay so there is my tag. I am supposed to name the next people I am tagging but I am not sure they are crazy enough to do it. But what the heck I only have a few blogging friends so you guys are now tagged! Michelle, Alyssa, Aislinn, Robyn, and Jerilyn. You're it....only if you want to!

TGIF

Wow, this week couldn't have crawled along any slower. Jon has been working SO much this week. He turned in almost 70 hours on his time card. Which of course leaves me at home feeling like a single mom trying to stay patient with the kids while getting work done, the house cleaned, meals made, noses wiped, butts wiped....you know mom stuff. I have been trying to get really into preparing this talk I have to give on Sunday but it just seemed like every time I sat down to do it I couldn't get the ball rolling. Read a few things here and there but never really get into it. I was also reminded yesterday that my son is supposed to give a little 1-2 min talk in primary on Sunday. The Brocks are going to be up in everyone's face on Sunday. I will seriously fall down if he actually gets up and does it. He always throws a fit about going to primary (the kids class at church). The week before last he ran out screaming, "I hate primary. I don't want to go to primary." Ha! What a momma's boy. There is really no way he is getting up in front of 30 plus kids to do anything but pout and refuse to do the repeat-after-me routine.
I was finally forced this evening, since I have absolutely no other free time to get mine done. Well 11:52 with 8 min left in the day and finally, mission accomplished.
Which also officially means my birthday has arrived. Hurray. I guess. Ever notice how birthdays just get less and less exciting the older you get. By the time I am 35 I will probably just forget about it all together. Of course even with all the working and non sleeping that my husband did this week I still had expectations of him planning something to do for my birthday that was special and got me out of this crazy house full of kids. After all, the entire day the world should rotate around me and my wants, right? At the beginning of the week he notified me that he might have to work the entire day and into the night Saturday since the were so behind in the store which of course I was none to happy about, but thought we can just go out a different night. I am not one of those complete crazies that is like we HAVE to do it on MY actual birthday or it isn't the same. As long as we are celebrating at some point, I'm good. But he did end up finding out that he would only have to work tonight (Friday) and that he was off again until Sunday night, so that was worked out. Well somewhere along the 50 hours of work mark and very little sleep he just gave up on making plans which of course left me scrambling last night to line up a sitter and let him know that I might want to have some input on what we are doing on Eliza-day. After some hurt feelings and trying to explain that all I wanted to do for my birthday was spend some time with my husband that I never see, and have him make arrangements for sitters and what we were doing (with at least a little input from me), I think we are finally ready to have a stress free and happy birthday. Phew! Love ya babe, I hate it when you work this much!
I plan to go and get a pedicure in the morning.....ahhh bliss. I haven't had one of those since going through treatment so I am really excited. Then we are going to go eat at the Outback (one of my favorite restaurants) with my parents, his parents, and his aunt and uncle. Then I am still not sure after that. Maybe a Josh Turner concert or dancing....we will see, but guaranteed to be a fun earth-rotating-completely-around-me-get-what-I-want-and-don't-argue kind of day!

A sigh of relief.

So I went in today to get my blood drawn to have my tumor marker test or in real person terms to see if my levels have risen and they think cancerous tumors are taking over my body once again. Of course I insisted that a nurse read me my MRI results from last week since I was anxious about it. I was proud of myself that I hadn't called the office bugging them for it before now. She said everything was normal and hadn't changed from the previous scan......thank goodness. I will get my results from the blood draw today at my appointment next week. I also took the opportunity to distribute some little cards advertising my online support group message board to the cancer centers in the area and radiation doctor and the breast diagnostic center up in Fort Collins in the same complex.
We then set off to Kohls since I had heard they were having a killer sale and I really needed to get a bathing suit that fit me. I haven't had a new one since before I was diagnosed and now they all of course don't fit me right. I found a few that I liked and also some good stuff on clearance. I have also been looking for some new pots and pans. The ones that Jon and I got after we were married have the Teflon peeling off the bottoms. It's so irritating because they were pretty pricey when we bought them. There was a set on sale at Kohls and then I had an extra 15% off coupon so that was a pretty good deal. It did turn out to be one of those nightmare shopping trips with the kids though. Since I had to chase them all over the hospital campus passing out those cards I told them they had to stay in the cart at the store. I think Alex seriously cried 90% of the time we were there. I was so irritated at her, but she really isn't like that very often. She was crying every time she bent her finger the wrong way today though. After we got home and had dinner she passed right out on the couch. 7pm and she is fast asleep. Wow.....that has um, NEVER, happened. She is always going a mile a minute. It has been a quite night already which has been nice.

Will I ever feel really real?

So today this thought has crossed my mind about 10 times...will I ever feel really real again? Speaking of my chest of course. I am still surprised to feel itchy under my skin where I am numb under my arms and towards my back. Still surprised every time I get undressed to shower and feel my chest and feel cold implants when I am hot. (not to mention freezing implants when I am cold) I wonder if I will ever regain that feeling or not be surprised to feel just the pressure when I am touching my chest rather than the actual touch....probably not. That sucks.

Painting....Take 2

Happy to report that the rest of the week has managed to be normal. Nothing big to report. Jon and I spent a good part of the day on Friday at Home Depot getting paint and picking up trim and doors for the basement. After the kids were all screaming and both Jon and I wanted to chain them to floor and leave them at Home Depot we decided to separate with the kids. I told him, I will get the paint and you get the doors. When we met back at home he had gotten the doors and.......more paint. Apparently he didn't hear me say I was getting it so I went to pick it up after being mixed and then he had them mix more. Now we have 10 gallons of paint instead of 5. Ha! Too bad you can't return it. Jon started hanging the doors and doing the shelf work in one of the closets on Friday evening and I was able to go to my friend Emily's house who was having a house warming party. She just bought a cute town home in South Fort Collins. It was good to be able to see her.
Saturday Jon was back in the basement and our neighborhood was having a yard sale so I put some things out. Not a total success but was able to get rid of a few big things that the kids have out grown or we no longer use. The kids and I went to a birthday party in the afternoon for my friend Jenn's son Caleb all we all had a good time. They played some fun games where they got to paint their hair and use chop sticks to pick a prize. It was a Kung Fu Panda party. Of course now they want to see the movie. Afterwards we came home and I started painting, or should I say re painting, the majority of the basement. After we painted the first time the color looked too peach and didn't go well with the darker carpet we picked out. Duh, we should have picked those out together. So we decided to change the paint and get the color carpet that we wanted. Jon painted it all the first time so was none too excited to do it all over. So I started doing it because with him starting to hang trim I didn't want to have to tape off all the trim and re paint after the trim. I have it about 1/2 way done but haven't done any of the hard parts by the ceiling where we have to tape it off. I do think the new color will go better but man is it a pain. Jon was able to finish the door and the closet in one room and now we have one room in the basement about 90% finished. Yeah! Only about 4 more to go..... slowly but surely I suppose. I can't wait until it is done.
I got a new calling in church last week to start teaching my daughter's primary class. This is the children's program at church and she is in the 5-6 class. I am excited, I have never served in the primary before and I think it should be a good experience. I taught the class for the first time today and it went pretty well. There is one boy in her class that is a stinker and has a really hard time sitting still so he will be a challenge, but he is a cute kid and hopefully he will get better. Next week I was asked to speak in Sacrament meeting which I am never too excited about. I just am not a fan of getting up in front of large groups of people. I suppose it is a good practice though, just always takes me back to high school speech class, which of course I hated. Although 30 kids in my class compared to a few hundred in church was a little better. My birthday is next Saturday and I have to speak on Sunday, hardly fair, but I haven't spoke since 2005 so I guess my number was up. I was quick to remind them though that Jon hasn't spoken since before the last time I talked so he will probably be getting a call here shortly too. HA HA! He was giving me the "stank eye" when I was notifying them when he called. Sorry babe, if I have to do it so do you!! So I am talking on living a healthy lifestyle and taking care of your body along with the Word Of Wisdom. I suppose it shouldn't be so bad since I have been trying to be better about this sort of thing in the last 2 years. Wish me luck!

Cody, you're killin me smalls!

Okay so I was going to blog about this yesterday but just didn't get around to it so posting for the 3rd time today. That is probably my record, but I promise I won't post another one today, ha!

So our little Cody is learning how to pee standing up. He has been potty trained for awhile but always sits on the toilet because he is so short he can't reach over the top yet. So he has decided in the last few weeks (with some encouragement) that it might be a good idea to be a big boy and try standing while going. So he has done this a few times. On Sunday night he decided he was going to be a big boy and try it again. So I waited with him for a min and he said "Mom, sometimes it just takes me a minute." so I told him I would go put Alex to bed and be back to check in a bit. After about a minute I heard the lid slam down and Cody just start screaming and crying. He couldn't even talk. He was just holding his little penis saying owie mommie. I looked and he had this huge bruise on one side and it was instantly purple. We sat with ice on it for about 30 min before he would finally go to bed. Poor kid. We took him to see the doctor on Monday and she said it looked more like he pinched it and had a blood blister there and not that it slammed down right on top of it. She said he would be fine since he wasn't experiencing any pain going to the bathroom or any soreness. OWCH is all I can say!

Then Tuesday morning we were all in a hurry to get out the door and to my MRI so I sent all the kids in to go to the bathroom while I was gathering up my purse and car keys. All of a sudden from the kitchen I hear Cody in the bathroom yell, "Mommy!", in that panicked voice. Then he started screaming and crying so I run in there and he is rubbing his eyes yelling something about his eyes. Well turns out he sprayed air freshener right into his eyes and had it on his hands so every time he went to rub his eyes it got worse. Being in a panic I just grabbed him and put his head under the facet and almost drowned him trying to wash it out of his eyes. Then he was screaming because the water was freezing and I had his whole head under the water trying to flush his eyes out. It was hard not to be mad. I kept saying "Why did you spray that in your eyes?" and he just kept saying "I don't know, I just wanted to smell it mommy". Awh, that was a crappy surprised getting your eyes doused instead of getting a little spray. After flushing his eyes I grabbed the bottle thinking, "Great now I am going to have to spend my morning in the emergency room getting his eyes irrigated instead of getting my MRI over with". Luckily it just said wash out with water and contact a physician if irritation persists rather than seek immediate medical advice. After a few times under the water and some saline spray he seemed much better so we headed out the door. The girls kept saying "Are his eyes going to break and fall out?" Where do they get this stuff?

The Cancer Rant

Okay so I came home from park day this morning with the kids and Jon had found this on "the best of craigs list". I found it highly amusing and thought what the heck I would share it with the readers of my blog. I agree with most of the the things said here and know many of you that I have shared some of my own "what the heck?" experiences with so I hope you find it as funny as I did. Here it is....

In February of this year I was diagnosed with advanced Hodgkins Lymphoma. I went through eight months of chemotherapy, everything looks really good, and now I am just waiting my post-chemo scans to indicate remission. I am finally done with chemo. Woop woop. This is very good news for me. I’m real happy about it and I am excited to get on with my life.
I was a good cancer patient…no, a great cancer patient. I was tough. I didn’t curl up in a ball and hide, I faced it, I sucked it up, and got through it. I’m not looking for a medal, I just want to preface what I am going to say with the fact that I am not whiny or self-pitying, and that I realize that I am not the only one who’s had to deal with this crap, and that there’s worse things that could have happened to me. I have a wonderful family and caring friends that have formed a very lovely support system for me. I cannot thank them enough for all their help and love.
That said, here’s my rant…This goes out to everyone I know – friends, family, co-workers, doctors, nurses, radiologists, technicians, friends of friends, exes, and others…

1. There is no “good” kind of cancer. Yes, this kind of cancer at my stage has an 80-85% survival rate. That’s great, I am happy about that – really, I am, but that doesn’t make it “good” or any “better” than any other kind of cancer. Cancer is a scary thing, the treatment is excruciating, and at the end of the day, if you happen to get “lucky” and be one of the 15-20% that don’t survive, that statistic turns from a “good” one to a not-so-great one. Really. That’s like one out of five. Can you think of five friends? Picture them. If one of them up and died would you consider it a “good” number of them? I didn’t think so. So please, don’t tell me I got the “good” kind of cancer – don’t even suggest it. Don’t even say, “Well, at least you didn’t get _________ cancer, that would really suck.” Uh, hello, this pretty much REALLY sucks. Next time you get cancer I’ll ask you if you think the kind you got is “good”.

2. Don’t tell me things I don’t want to hear. For some reason, it occurred several times that when I told someone what I was going through (which is kinda awkward anyway), they would say something to the effect of “OH, my (mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, insert any other relative or even remote acquaintance here) just died last year of cancer.” Or “Right, my (insert distant relative here) died of Hodgkin’s.” What the hell?? I have been diagnosed with a terrible disease and am undergoing intensive and debilitating treatment, and you’re going to tell me about someone dying? What? Seriously? It’s better just to not chime in here. Again, next time you get cancer, I’ll try this line out on you and you can let me know what you think.

3. DO NOT ask me about my hair. With the kind of chemo I had, my hair started falling out around treatment #3, slowly at first, then lots at a time until I finally, and very sadly, shaved my head. THAT WAS REALLY HARD TO DO. It’s about a lot of things…it’s about vanity and feeling ugly, it’s about the stigma of being sick and that being obvious to the world, it’s about knowing or not who you are without your hair/eyelashes/eyebrows, it’s complicated. And, I take ownership of the fact that some of that is really superficial stuff – but it’s very real and it’s emotional. So, comments like “How’s your hair doing?” “Wow, it’s really thinning out!” “So is your hair just coming out in handfuls?” and “Is that a wig?” are not helpful and WILL make me cry. If you think this is stupid or oversensitive, let me say it again: next time you get cancer let me know how this goes.

4. Don’t tell me it’s going to be ok. Bottom line is this – I know I want everything to be ok, and I know you want everything to be ok – you wouldn’t be my friend/involved family member if that weren’t the case. Unfortunately, we BOTH know that it just might not be ok. We BOTH know that there exists the possibility that it’s not going to be ok and that the disease isn’t going to respond, or is going to come back, and that even if I am tough and brave, it could kill me. I have had to deal with that idea since the word “cancer” came out of the doctor’s mouth. In that moment, and in the hours and days to come, I knew that it could happen that everything was not going to be ok. If I didn’t know that, cancer wouldn’t be such a big deal. If that weren’t a possibility, we wouldn’t have shed tears when we heard the news. So, for my sake, don’t say that line. I know it’s the first thing that comes to mind, and I know you mean it well, but try something else that actually means something, like: “Whenever you need anything I’ll be there” or “This is going to be rough but I’m here for you” or “I’m on my way over with a last season’s Top Model” or even just “Give ‘em hell, sista”. I know you may not get it, but next time you get cancer we’ll share profound understanding when I tell you that I know it may not be ok and that I know that’s real scary.

5. Don’t comment about my weight. Ok, here’s something that I didn’t know before I started this. Chemotherapy is NOT a weight loss plan – YES, they have indeed discontinued all the fringe benefits from the cancer card membership. Turns out, they give you steroids that make you hungry all the damned time. And, you feel like complete shit and don’t even have enough energy to walk up the stairs, much less to exercise. In the beginning when I was still trying to figure out how to deal with crappy side effects like constant vomiting, painful mouth sores, etc, I lost weight because I just literally couldn’t eat. But once I got that under control, the hunger would come on, and man, I can eat a lot. I was in pretty good shape (at the gym five days a week, healthy foods, etc) when all this started and now I have gained weight and am up a pants size. The once-muscle has turned into mushy fat and I’m not happy about it, but during treatment there was just no fix. So, the “wow, you’ve put a couple on, haven’t you?” or “I thought you lose weight on chemo” comments are not helpful and again, will make me cry. Next time you get cancer, see how you feel when I tell you to “hit the gym.”

6. Chemotherapy sucks. I think everyone knows that – I don’t know what the first thing is that pops into your head when you read that word, but I would venture to guess that it’s not something warm and smiley. It sucks, it really sucks. You vomit, are nauseated (which is so much worse than vomiting) all the time, you get terrible headaches, you can’t sleep, you get sores in your mouth and chronic yeast infections, you get seriously seriously constipated, your brain malfunctions and you can’t remember how to get to the bus stop or where you normally leave the toothpaste, your whole body hurts, your toenails fall off (really? Yeah) and now they give you shots to stimulate white blood cell production (at least in my case) that cause relentless, incapacitating pain that made you simply want to give up on living just to make it stop. Ok, I said it, chemotherapy sucks – and I am really good at being tough and not letting everyone know all the crappy stuff that’s happening to me at once, but you know it sucks. So, no, I am not interested in hearing you whine about a cold you think you’re getting, your scratchy throat, your eye/ear/sinus infection, your sleepiness, your headache, etc. I know you really don’t feel good, but c’mon man, suck it up – or at least go tell someone else who doesn’t have cancer. Next time you get it, you’ll drop kick the jerk that spends ten minutes talking about how bad their hangover is.

7. It’s a REALLY long road. Eight months is a long time to be sick. It just is, and I KNOW (I really know) that it gets old. In the beginning everyone called all the time, offered to go to chemo with me, sent lots of e-mails, came over to visit when I was sick….but after the months drag on it’s like people get sick of it. I understand that – ‘cause I got pretty sick of it too. I got sick of calling in to work, not doing anything fun, not seeing anyone….even just answering the damned “How are you feeling?” question….I felt like it was better to lie and say “fine” than to say how I really felt because people kind of don’t know how to react or don’t want to hear it. I have a wonderful husband and mother who took exceptional care of me, even when they needed a break, even when it got old, even when they got sick of hearing me say I felt like shit. They did that because they knew I needed them. I needed other people too, I needed girlfriends to just come over with a movie or a dvd of a funny tv show, or to call me on the days they knew I had treatment, or to just call when they hadn’t heard from me in days. Some did and some didn’t. You know who you are and why you didn’t. Maybe you didn’t feel comfortable or maybe you were too “busy.” Regardless, I love you, and I will do it for you the next time you get cancer.

I really, really hope you never get cancer. I mean that for everyone – even if you’re a jerk, even if you write to me and rant meaningless crap about my rant, even if you really deserve to have something nasty happen to you – I hope you don’t get cancer. It’s awful. I’m not one of those “I’m a survivor!” types, I’m not one of those in-your-face super tough post-cancer freaks, I’m really normal and I will get over this. That said, if you do get cancer or if your friend or (insert any relative here) gets cancer, you can bet your bottom dollar that if/when I hear about it I’ll be on your/their doorstep with a big teary welcome to the cancer club hug and a mop and bucket to clean the floors, or popcorn and a dvd for the kids, or dinner so you/they don’t have to make it, or whatever it takes, for as long as it takes – and you won’t have to ask for it, and you won’t have to say thanks, because we’ll both just know. It’s a special club and we take care of our own.

Tribute to the man I love.....

What a great Daddy. His babies love him so much.....and me too! Jon is always saying to me "Tell my why you love me". Which is cute the first 100 or so times and now I just am a smarty pants when he asks me and say no or roll my eyes or say because you're so hairy. Which I know irritates him but seriously. I am a busy lady, no time to tell my husband the million and one reasons why I love him every second of the day. So I decided that I was list out some of the "top" reasons why I love him.

• His beautiful green eyes



• His ability to get along with just about anyone from any walk of life, even if they aren't his favorite person



• He is pretty handy around the house with all the do-it-yourself stuff and all his knowledge of how things work. Saves us bunches of money by being able to repair things himself



• The way he spends time with our children and makes each of them feel special



• The way he takes care of our home and the things we own. I am a bit of a neat freak and am glad I married someone who like things neat and not messy. That would drive me crazy. :-)



• The way he tells me he loves me, and I know he means it



• The time he takes to stop and hug me and kiss me, even when I am in the middle of something (which I always am)



• The way he makes it a priority to have quality time together without the kids and go out and get me out of the monotonous day to day at home



• The way he waits on me hand and foot when I am sick (which I have been lots in the last 2 years)



• Since he works nights he switches his day/night routine every weekend so he is awake at the same time as me and the kids to spend time with us. I know that this is sometimes really hard and that he is often very tired.



• I fell in love with him at a country bar and one of the things I loved about him was that he could country swing dance and he still takes me when I am really lucky. I love to dance with him.



• I love that he could still look at me when I was sick as a dog green, bald, and felt uglier than I have ever in my life and still say "I think you are beautiful" and I know he meant it.



• I married my best friend and I love that I can tell him anything



• He was worthy to take me and our family to the temple to be sealed and become an eternal family



• He goes to a job that isn't his dream job everyday to support our family

Now seriously the list could go on for pages and pages but I won't put you all through that. I just wanted him to know how much I love and appreciate all he does for our family and for me. Sorry ladies but I got the best one of the bunch! I made this video with my video editing software. Man it takes forever but it is fun. Thanks Toni. I love you babe! (remember to turn off music at the bottom).

Missing video from yesterday's post

For some reason this video is not working on blogger or google so I am going to try and post it in another post. This was cody the chipmunk whisperer... (remember to pause music at the bottom)