From Bristol to Boise with Faith

  This week I read a quote given by Susan H. Porter, the General Primary President for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.     “The Lord loves a plodder. …I was walking slowly, but I knew in that moment that not only was the Savior perfectly aware of my situation, but He loved me. He was walking beside me. He recognized that I was not moving forward in great leaps and bounds, accomplishing amazing things, but that I was moving — and that for Him was enough. I had not given up but was plodding forward. And that, for Him, was enough.” I looked up the definition of plodder. “A person who walks doggedly and slowly with heavy steps.”  What is the definition of doggedly? “A manner that shows tenacity and grim persistence” I am definitely walking with heavy steps nowadays. I have to stop and catch my breath after ten minutes of walking. This is so different from a few months ago when I could walk forty minutes at a time without taking any breaks. But I am ...

  New hymn: Look Unto Christ

  The side effects of my chemo pills were not as uncomfortable this week as they were the previous two weeks.

On Friday we put away all the things we had collected to take on our mission to England. I ordered a three-ring binder in which to store our mission call and our letters of acceptance.

I do not have another medical procedure (blood draw, doctor appointment or infusion) until June 26th. I did not have a reaction to this week’s infusion. Paul and I went on walks every day except my infusion day. For some reason I was stronger this week. I did not get as short of breath. The nurses in the CIC have names similar to my siblings. I have been helped by Julie, Steve, Stewart, Kara, and Jenna. One nurse is nicknamed Janice. My siblings are named Julie, Steve, Stuart, Karen, Jeana and Janice. New hymns from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints were released online this week. Technology allowed me to have contact with our grandchildren. I got to watch Todd dance, “kiss” Lachlan’s sore foot, read books with Enna and Sophie and watch James get kissed by the family dog all via technology. I have friends who helped me give Father’s Day gifts to Paul. Rachel Bowden made gluten free/dairy free chocolate cupcakes. Lyle and Candace Erb checked out a wood working busine...

  Shared by David Blackham (Paul’s brother) My favorite anesthesiologist joke I ever heard was when a patient said on the surgical table “Hey! Does anyone need anything while I’m out?” ~Matthew Blackham (our son)

  We have two female mallard ducks nesting in our backyard.   Mallards usually lay their eggs at the beginning of spring. The female usually lays around 12 eggs in a clutch, laid at one- or two-day intervals. This an extremely tough time for her, laying over half her own body weight in eggs over the course of a few weeks.

  Russell M. Nelson When you reach up for the Lord’s power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours.

36 Look unto me in every thought⁠; doubt not, fear not. 37 Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Doctrine & Covenants 6:36-37

Cycle 1 (Continued) This week Doris received the final infusion treatment of Cycle 1. The oral chemotherapy pill continues daily through the end of treatment. We learned on Thursday - infusion day - that for Cycle 2 beginning on June 26, there will only be one infusion. We are so grateful that Doris had no reactions for this final infusion of Cycle 1. Combined with the news that there will be only one infusion during Cycle 2 and having no reactions to this latest infusion, we are feeling good about the prospects of the treatment. As a close-knit outsider to this treatment, it seems to me that Doris is tolerating everything well. Admittedly I did not know fully what we might see when we discussed treatment on May 23, and we still do not know. But I had expected something worse than what has happened. Doris has a consistent sense of heartburn and fatigue that we can manage. Because Doris does not feel miserable, we are still able to enjoy our time together. The times include unpacking f...