From Bristol to Boise with Faith

 From Doris: When Faith Endures | Tabernacle Choir I will not doubt, I will not fear; God’s love and strength are always near. His promised gift helps me to find An inner strength and peace of mind. I give the Father willingly My trust, my prayers, humility. His Spirit guides; his love assures That fear departs when faith endures.

 From Doris: Philippians. 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

From Doris: The sound of wind chimes is very soothing. Jonathan’s family gave me wind chimes for my birthday.  They hang on our pergola.  Every time I hear them I think of their sweet family. Tom’s family gave me a stuffed teddy bear wearing a shirt that says “cuddle buddy.” I can squeeze each of his four paws and get a message from each of Tom’s four children. Lachlan still won’t let me read him the ghost book. Our family has walked 472 miles to Bristol as the crow flies.  That would put us in Montana, just 4.41 miles southwest of the Canadian border.

  Original Map From Jonathan: It looks a bit like a pair of glasses that got accidentally stepped on. Original Map From Kyle: A giraffe with a reealllly long neck.

  From Andrew From Tom: I know why 6 is afraid of 7, but why is it that 7 ate 9? He was told to eat 3 square meals a day.

 From Doris: I celebrated my birthday this past week.  I received many gifts, cards, texts, emails, video calls and phone calls.  I felt very loved. I was born to wonderfully loving and supportive parents and have amazing parents. I was able to manage my pain without my prescription pain medication yesterday and also today.  I hope this trend continues. Autumn has arrived.  The leaves are turning colors.  The days have a nice cool breeze but are not yet cold. It is General Conference Weekend. The conference talks are available to watch as many times as I want to.  Soon the talks will be printed and I can read them. Our local family gathered today for a belated birthday dinner for me.  Paul who can’t eat gluten made me a carrot cake. Lachlan and Grandpa (Paul) went on a walk together.  They adore each other.

 From Doris: So far, I am not successful in controlling the gastrointestinal side effects of my 400 mg chemo pill.

 From Doris: Paul knelt on the floor in front of me and rubbed my sore knees.  It reminded me of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet.

  From Doris: Elder David A. Bednar to saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan:   “He gives us the strength from heaven to be able to deal with these kinds of hard situations and learn the lessons that can be learned,"    Elder Henry B. Eyring during Sunday morning General Conference: “I bear witness that these moments are not evidence that the Lord has abandoned you. Rather, they are evidence that He loves you enough to refine and strengthen you. He is making you strong enough to carry the weight of eternal life.”

 From Paul: Cycle Four (continued): We continue to navigate through Cycle Four with the 400 mg per day of chemo pill #2. There was a time when Doris really needed more help to deal with the pain associated with side effects of her treatments. We reached out to the Cancer Institute, and they responded quickly, and she benefited from that additional pain relief. We were talking on Thursday, and Doris had the impression that perhaps the added pain relief medication may have its own negative side effects in the form of persistent headache. She modified her approach to pain management. She has set that medication aside for now and seems to be managing well without it. She still uses acetaminophen, but that is it. The pain is not gone, but it is managed effectively it seems. This development brings more hope of managing all the side effects of the medication. The side effects of the medication are significant and unpredictable in gastrointestinal issues. We have implemented some mo...