From Bristol to Boise with Faith

  From Tom: Why haven’t aliens visited our solar system? They checked the reviews and saw it only had 1 star   From Jonathan  I bought an old used car that was made in Prague. The Czech engine light keeps coming on.

  From Doris: Our family has walked 1355.58 miles to Bristol. Even though the winter solstice was on December 21st, the sunrise in Eagle continues to be at 8:18 a.m. It will be 8:18 until January 9th. I am impatient for the sun to shine earlier in the morning. Tom’s family tied fleece blankets and gave them to us as Christmas gifts. Kyle helped Paul replace the toilet in our master bathroom. I have completed 38 English paper pieced flowers. When I finish my 40th one, I will post a picture. I finished making a spring themed wool door hanger. 

  From Doris: Sheri Dew from the podcast Two Point Conversion “When I think about the Savior and His Atonement, I think of it as a doctrine of healing. He can heal our hearts when our hearts are broken. He can heal us when we know we’ve goofed up and we didn’t handle something as well as we think we could have or should have. Certainly, He can heal us from sin if we’ll repent. “And I don’t even know the words I would use to try to explain the constant ways in which I feel like the Savior and His Atonement have healed my heart, healed me of weakness, helped me deal with weakness or weaknesses…and nothing else that I know of can do that.”

  From Doris: Ether 12:27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

  From Doris: Hark the Herald Angels Sing 1.       Hark! the herald angels sing         Glory to the newborn King!       Peace on earth and mercy mild,       God and sinners reconciled!      Joyful, all ye nations, rise;      Join the triumph of the skies;     With th’angelic host proclaim      Christ is born in Bethlehem!       Hark! the herald angels sing      Glory to the newborn King!   2.       Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Son of Righteousness! Light and life to all he brings, Ris’n with healing in his wings. Mild he lays his glory by, Born that man no more may die; Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth. Hark! the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King!

  From Doris: Christmas is a time when we celebrate our Savior Jesus Christ. I was able to spend time with all our children this week either virtually or in person. Scott, Andrew, and Kyle’s family were with us on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  We got to enjoy Christmas through the eyes of a child (Lachlan.) My sister, Julie, completed a book of ancestor stories which I began a few years ago. She did not want me to have an unfinished dream. I was able to give this book to each of our children as a Christmas gift. I only have one more infusion. I have more stamina than I did a few weeks ago. I am hopeful that when I stop having infusions, I will get even stronger.  I was blessed by the life and teachings of Jeffrey R. Holland. Paul never complains about helping me.

  From Doris: Today I know I need to eat something, but nothing sounds good. Do I risk eating something and have a negative reaction or go hungry and have stomach pain?

  From Doris: Heavenly Father gave me the added strength I prayed for. I knew I would need it on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day because we were hosts for the family gathering.

  From Paul: Cycle 7 week 3 This week has been a week of commemoration and celebration of the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ. As I reflect on the many years that I have been aware of this celebration, I recognize its meaning deepens with each passing year. I find greater joy, witness and comfort in the music and messages shared by others with respect to the Savior of the world. We enjoyed Christmas with our family, both those who live nearby, and those who are distant through the means of electronic video conferencing. What a great blessing that has been in our lives, and in particularly during this Christmas season. Even in football. Kalani Sitake said of his graduating seniors after the BYU victory at the Pop-Tarts Bowl, “These guys are great spiritual men, and they have a testimony and a belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We get to celebrate Christ’s birth around this time. So I am really thankful that I get to be around faithful men, and these guys have taught me a l...

  From Doris: Our family has walked 1252.1 miles to Bristol. Lachlan was at our house when a neighbor brought us some Christmas goodies. He went to the door with Paul, invited her in and thanked her for the treats. He is so grown up! Ewan has learned to roll over both ways. Our grandson James tried to share his pretzels with me via FaceTime. I may have discovered a pattern. On weeks when I have a lot of pain, my GI system is more calm. When my GI system is out of wack, I seem to have less pain.

  Original Map From Amy: Looks like a bird blowing a party favor to me. Original Map From Thomas: "Must've been a lovely walk. You can see the heart all the way from space!!

 From Doris' brother Stephen: From Jonathan: A while back I was in a hotel lobby and ran into a couple of chess enthusiasts bragging about their past wins.   They were chess nuts boasting in an open foyer.

  From Doris: O Little Town of Bethlehem 

  From Doris: 3 Nephi 9:22 Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved.

  From Doris: I am grateful for the knowledge that all healing comes from God. I am learning to pray with greater focus. We were able to go on an outside walk three times this week. Paul took me to a used bookstore and a fabric store, two of my favorite places. Jenny Oaks Baker has recorded beautiful Christmas music. I love to listen to her recordings. I also love listening to Handel’s Messiah. We were able to attend a portion of our sacrament meeting this week. We heard some beautiful music before we left. Jesus Christ came to earth to rescue all of God’s children, including me.  Christmas is this week!

  From Doris: I have lost some of my ability to be flexible. If I do not eat and/or rest at consistent times, I have to deal with significant negative consequences. My body takes a while to recover.

  From Doris: God has given me more blessings than challenges.

Elder Brik V. Eyre October 2025 General Conference From Doris: The greatest manifestation of Heavenly Father’s love for us as His children is the reality that He sent His Son, our own personal Savior, to help us come home. Therefore, we need to come to know Him.  

  From Paul:   Cycle 7 week 3   This is the Sunday before Christmas. We are settling into somewhat of a pattern. Doris enjoys some time away from home during the day, and morning hours are more conducive to those outings than afternoons. We have also been taking our walks typically in the mornings. As we contemplate the beautiful aspect of this Christmas season, the celebration and time with family, we find gratitude in that great gift that is represented by the birth of Jesus Christ and His mission of redeeming us to God.   We are reminded from time to time that this Christmas season we had expected to be in England as missionaries. Given the situation we have now, we are grateful that God has provided a time for treatment and healing.   There is great power and meaning in the plan of our Heavenly Father for our happiness and progression to being able to enjoy Eternal Life with our families. In the meanwhile, we experience the challenges of our ...

  Original Map From Amy: A whale! Original Map From Kyle: Deep Sea Diver

Gingerbread house from Doris' brother Steve  From Doris’ brother Stuart I've been told that if you are cold, you should be in a corner. It is usually 90 degrees there.

  From Doris: The first Noel

 From Doris: Our son, Matthew, was physically protected. Friday there was a police/citizen shooting at one of his bus stops. It happened shortly after he exited the bus. The flooding currently happening in Washington is not where Matthew lives. I am grateful for cancer researchers who discovered the targeted therapy I am receiving. Paul will be sharing his organ talents this evening. He has practiced diligently. I had fewer GI side effects this past week.  We were able to watch the Tabernacle Choir’s 2024 Christmas Concert via PBS. We had many sunny days this past week. It was warmer than normal as well.  My latest blood test showed that I am not diabetic.

  From Doris: Our family has walked 1208.67 miles to Bristol. Paul has a co-worker who told him that after he quit having infusions his joint pain went away.  We successfully made a sourdough starter this week. St. Luke’s Eagle Medical Campus has Disney themed face masks for children. “Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” We have two bonsai plants growing. One more seed has started to sprout so we may end up having three plants from the seeds Jeana gave us. Every piece of the Mama Says Nativity has a quote on the underside of it.

  From Doris: My joint and muscle pain have not subsided since my last infusion. 

  From Doris: We were able to serve together in the temple this week. 

  From Doris: 3 Nephi 11:10-11 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.

  From Doris: Elder David A. Bednar You and I in a moment of weakness may cry out, ‘No one understands [what I am going through]. …’ No human being, perhaps, knows. But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands.” And why? Because “He felt and bore our burdens before we ever did.”

  From Paul: Cycle 7 Week 2 This Christmas season has been a blessing to me personally. In previous years I prepared some Christmas music on the organ and provided a concert at our church in my efforts to light the world a little. The last time I did it was probably in 2019. This year, Doris expressed her support and encouragement for me to do it again. That means time that I would devote to practicing – at home at our church. Until the last couple of weeks I practiced at home. I used my headphones because I recognize that listening to somebody practice is tiring. I discovered something that I found useful in the course of my preparation. I have a metronome app on my phone, which I can use to ramp up the tempo on my music, as I used to during my college days. It works even with headphones, because while I am hearing the organ through the headphones, inside my right headphone I have my Beats Studio bud in my right ear. I can hear the metronome tick and work up the consistency in...

  From Doris: Jesus Christ knows and understands my pain. He knows how to support me, strengthen me and comfort me. Because of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice I will one day have a resurrected, perfect body. I will not have cancer. I only have one more infusion scheduled in my treatment. Kyle and Greer put up their Christmas tree in our front room. They do not have room for a tree in their apartment. Greer decorated it, and it is gorgeous. It adds a wonderful festive feeling to our house. Kyle and Greer's tree in our home Greer created another gallery wall for our house this week.  This time it has pictures of the following temples: Salt Lake, Mesa, Jordan River, Draper, Nauvoo and Meridian. We decorated simply for Christmas. We put up Christmas quilts and two nativities.  I was privileged to purchase the Mama Says Nativity years ago. It is one of the two we displayed. The other is our Fisher Price one for grandchildren to enjoy. Christmas music fills my heart wi...

  Original map From Amy: Fennec fox Original map From Paul Grumpy the Dwarf

  From Doris: From my brother Steve (Best appreciated if you know Spanish.) From Tom: What do you call a snowman with a six-pack? An abdominal snowman.

  From Doris: Silent Night

  From Doris: Our family has walked 1168.26 miles to Bristol. Lachlan let me read  The Little Ghost Quilt’s Christmas Surprise  to him. It is the second book in a series. For some reason, he never let me read the first book to him.  Lachlan was Paul’s shadow yesterday. He and Grandpa played with stuffed animals (Lachlan giving directions as to what each animal did) and raked some leaves. I have made 35 English paper pieced flowers. When we walk at Costco, I have three places I stop to rest…the furniture display, the chairs by the pharmacy and the food court bench.  Paul and I have played the piano duet  Sleigh Ride  every Christmas time since we got married forty-four years ago.

  From Doris: Elder B. Corey Cuvelier  October 2025 General Conference   Perhaps the greatest sermons are the ones we never hear but those we see in the quiet, unassuming actions and deeds observed in the lives of ordinary people who, trying to be like Jesus, go about doing good.

  From Doris: Isaiah 53:3-6   3   He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were  our  faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4  ¶ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5  But he  was  wounded for our transgressions,  he was  bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace  was  upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

  From Doris: Today I had to take Tylenol in addition to Celebrex due to what my primary care physician calls break through pain.

From Doris: I learned at my Thursday oncology appointment that I only need to have one more infusion. 

  From Paul: Cycle 7 Begins! Doris has officially completed 6 of the 24 cycles! As a small reminder, each cycle is 28 days, or four weeks. The first treatment day was May 29. She did take a break in her treatments because she was having side effects and the PPA (medical provider) at the time felt it was better to pause her dose increase of one of her oral medications for three weeks. The welcome news we received this week with the beginning of her seventh cycle is that there will be only one more infusion. That means that Cycle 8 will be the last one to include the infusion treatment. I looked back on my notes that I took during our initial “Chemo Teach”. I apparently started to write something about “After Cycle 8…” but I did not finish the sentence. I think it registered in my memory that infusions would be completed after Cycle 8, even though I did not document it fully at that time.   With that news, we can rejoice that we will pass another milestone of treatment. ...

 From Doris: Helaman 3:35 Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.

 From Doris: from a greeting card What ultimately matters is not the size of our mountains, but the strength of our mountain mover.

  Original Map; Matthew's interpretation: It looks like a rhinoceros head in profile!  Original map Andrew: That looks either like New York or Pride Rock

From Jonathan From Amy

  From Doris: Joy to the World 1.       Joy to the world, the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King! Let ev’ry heart prepare him room, And Saints and angels sing, And Saints and angels sing, And Saints, and Saints and angels sing. 2.       Rejoice! Rejoice when Jesus reigns, And Saints their songs employ, While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. 3.       No more will sin and sorrow grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He’ll come and make the blessings flow Far as the curse was found, Far as the curse was found, Far as, far as the curse was found. 4.       Rejoice! Rejoice in the Most High, While Israel spreads abroad Like stars that glitter in the sky, And ever worship God, And ever worship God, And ever, and ever worship God. From Paul: Do...

 From Doris: Our family has walked 1082.81 miles to Bristol. I have completed six of my twenty-four months of cancer treatments. Jonathan’s family was going to join us for Thanksgiving, but they got sick and did not come. The 2024 Tabernacle Choir Christmas program is now available to watch on PBS. Gratitude is an evidence of faith. Paul is giving a Christmas organ concert on December 14 at 6 p.m. MST.  Here is his YouTube channel where it will be live streamed and recorded for later viewing. @ https://youtube.com/@pborgan?si=DqLd4bJTdBOfzEnd

  From Doris: Christmas is not just a season. It is a celebration of the birth, life, resurrection and Atonement of Jesus Christ. Being able to sing Christmas music. Kyle’s family has returned. They visited Greer’s family for Thanksgiving. It will be fun to have our grandsons visit us again. I felt strong enough to attend the first part of today’s sacrament meeting. Our ward sends us a zoom link so we can watch sacrament meeting from home.  Once I reach a point where I hurt too much to stay, we go home and watch the rest of the meeting. We heard excellent talks about gratitude all month long. I am very grateful for technology! We were able to have contact with all of our children this past week. I was also able to join a zoom meeting with my siblings. The migraine I had on Wednesday was gone by Thanksgiving morning. Scott and Andrew joined us for Thanksgiving dinner.  I did not have GI issues after eating Thanksgiving dinner.  What a blessing! We ha...

 From Doris: I had quite a bit of pain in my shoulders and knees this week.

  From Doris: Thanking God for my cancer has helped me recognize more of His blessings.

  From Paul: Cycle 6 of 24 Finishing this week As we tick off these cycles (now up to number 6!) I find myself looking forward to the next cycle because numbers mean something to me, and this means to me that we will have completed one more step of the 24 steps on our way to full healing. We will also be meeting with Doris’ oncologist/hematologist who will be able to answer questions and give a clearer picture of what is ahead. The hardest things about this journey at this stage from my point of view, in watching over my sweetheart as she goes through this, is a) It seems like a long time, and b), Doris is not feeling better from week to week. She still deals with pain in her joints, unpredictable, yet not devastating gastrointestinal issues. Still, the blood work, the CT (Computed Tomography) Scan was very positive. Her blood work is positive, and we need to continue our diligence in physical activity. I credit Doris for her drive and dedication to her walks. She would not l...

  Original Map From Andrew: Oklahoma, on a diet Original map From Kyle: Someone doesn't like 8th notes and kicked them away.