From Bristol to Boise with Faith

  Original Map From Sophie (Age 5) Tom (her father): "What did you draw?" Sophie: "A map. The green is the grass, and the blue is the water." Original Map From Enna Jane

  From Tom: I found a recipe online for potato leek soup, but I thought I couldn ’ t make it because it asked for five potatoes cubed.   125 potatoes seemed excessive to me.   But then I realized my mistake…5 potatoes cubed still means just 5 potatoes, because potatoes are root vegetables.     From Amy: I went to the zoo last week The first exhibit was a ciabatta, the second a baguette and the third a brioche. They were all bread in captivity.   From Steve:

  From Doris:   Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing   1.     Come, Thou Fount of ev’ry blessing; Tune my heart to sing Thy grace. Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, Sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount; I’m fixed upon it: Mount of Thy redeeming love.   2.     Here I raise my Ebenezer; Hither by Thy help I’m come. And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wand’ring from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood.   3.                              Oh, to grace how great a debtor              Daily I’m constrained to be!              Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,...

From Doris:   Our family has walked 3546.14 of the 4830.09 miles to Bristol. When we were in Utah we went to an aquarium with our grandson, Todd. He was very excited to share one of his favorite places with us. My friend, Marilyn, came to Eagle for a week. She and her husband are serving a mission in Peru. Marilyn made time to visit me. It was wonderful to be with her. I am currently having more than my usual challenges with balance. I have balance setbacks at least once a year, but they are usually in January. I am also dealing with sciatica. I finished embroidering another garden quilt block. This was of queen Anne’s lace. I have completed 90 English paper pieced flowers. Paul is preparing to play another Christmas at the Organ concert in December.

  We were able to meet our youngest grandchild in September. Katie is our eighth grandchild and third granddaughter. Two grandchildren were born during the time we would have been on a mission in England. We were here to meet them both. God gave me the strength to make a trip to Utah. We were protected during our travels. On the day we drove to Utah there was a tornado that touched down in northern Utah. Our son warned us about the tornado warning, and we stopped in Tremonton and waited for the storm to pass. While in Utah we spent time with our son and his family, my siblings, and Paul’s sister and husband. We went to Temple Square, walked around it, toured the new visitor centers and listened to an organ recital at the Tabernacle. We did not get sick during our trip to Utah! My sister Janice sent us home with produce from her garden. I finished my acorn quilt, and it is now hanging in the basement stairwell. My cancer treatments continue to be effective, and I w...

From Doris:   My monthly blood draw was this past Thursday. For the second month in a row my CBC was completely normal!

  From Doris:   Alma 37:36-37 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.   Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

From Doris:   Aaron T. Hall April 2026 General Conference   I glory in our Deliverer. He has overcome the monsters of physical and spiritual death. No challenge in mortality lies beyond His matchless power. I rejoice that He can deliver us from pains, afflictions, and temptations of every kind. 

  From Paul:   This past Thursday (October 8, 2026) marks the end of Cycle 17 and the beginning of Cycle 18 of Doris’ 24 cycles of treatment. It was really encouraging to schedule her remaining appointments through April. Because of the 28-day cycle length, she will have the end of cycles 19 and 20 during the month of December.   For me it was a cause of celebration. It is more encouraging to me because I have seen Doris’ persistence and determination to triumph over this illness the only way she can – through submission. That submission comes in two forms: 1) Submission to the love of God, knowing that in His wisdom, he not only foresaw this occurrence in her, life, but also that He will help see her through. 2) Submission to the requisite medical procedures, including the initial and ominous diagnostic experiences, the eleven infusions that usually took anywhere from 6 ½ to 7 ½ hours at the hospital, and the recurrent blood draws that coincide with the end/begin...

  Original Map From Tom: It's supposed to be a Narwal surfacing out of the ocean Original map From Tom: A battery operated Command Module connected to its charger

Doris found on You Tube: From Scott: A priest, a pastor, and a rabbit walk into a blood donation clinic. The nurse asks the rabbit what their blood type was. "I'm not sure," said the rabbit, "I think I'm a Type O."

  From Doris: Our family has walked 3733.84 miles to Bristol. I have made 85 English paper pieced flowers. We finished Paul’s birthday shopping game at Walmart. He said choosing a gift from the laundry department (non-slip hangers) and cosmetics (Aveeno lotion) were the hardest choices. I am sure that is because his options were very limited in those departments. I made a quilt top for myself this month. Both Kyle and Scott make sourdough bread. We are blessed that they share with us. Because the dough is fermented, Paul can eat sourdough bread without any side effects. We have started making plans to travel to Europe in a year. My cancer treatments will be finished next spring, and I should be stronger by fall 2027. There are four towns within an hour’s drive of Tatiana’ house in England where my Grandpa Owens’ ancestors lived. I hope we can visit those towns when we visit England.

  From Doris:   The return of good air quality allowed us to begin walking outside again. For priesthood blessings. I received two this past month. I was given the strength I needed to speak in sacrament meeting. My talk was based on Elder Kearon’s general conference talk “All Who Have Endured Valiantly.” We will get to meet Katie in just a few days. We will get to spend time with my siblings as well as Paul’s sister and brother-in-law. We had a video chat with all of our children yesterday! Matthew’s work schedule has changed. He now has Saturday’s off work and was able to join us. Julie is healing from her cancer treatment. For the zoom link for both stake conference sessions. Autumn has come to Eagle. The leaves are changing colors and the air is cool in the mornings. For September. It is the month of my parents’ birthdays and their wedding anniversary. I was blessed to be born to wonderful parents.

  The Impossible Dream          To dream the impossible dream To fight the unbeatable foe To bear with unbearable sorrow To run where the brave dare not go To right the unrightable wrong To love pure and chaste from afar To try when your arms are too weary To reach the unreachable star This is my quest, to follow that star No matter how hopeless, no matter how far To fight for the right without question or pause To be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause And I know if I'll only be true To this glorious quest That my heart will lie peaceful and calm When I'm laid to my rest And the world will be better for this That one man scorned and covered with scars Still strove with his last ounce of courage To reach the unreachable star To reach the unreachable star This is my quest, to follow that star No matter how hopeless, no matter how far To fight for the right without question or pause To be willing to march int...

  From Doris: I had a blood draw Thursday morning. For the first time in over two years my CBC was completely normal. That means 25 tests of my blood were all in normal ranges. That is a miracle.

From Doris Proverbs 16:31 The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.           Translation:         The gray hair of the righteous person is a crown of glory.

  From Doris:   Dreams BY LANGSTON HUGHES Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly.   Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow.

  General post From Paul:   Cycle 17 of 24   This week Doris had her interim blood labs only, but it designates the beginning of a new cycle of her treatment. The treatment has not changed since January of this year when she received her last infusion.   There are 24 four-week cycles, after which we expect there will be some tests to determine how deeply her treatment has found success. The doctor has indicated that there may be a PET scan, CT Scan or a test for RMD (Remaining Minimal Disease). It is possible that she may undergo a repeat of biopsies for a lymph node and bone marrow. While those experiences are not much to look forward to, they will be much more promising at the end of her treatments, especially with what we hope will be positive results.   This week we had a couple of modified walks. They were modified because we spent less time in the green space and more on the streets. When Doris was diagnosed, the doctor encouraged her to ...