From Bristol to Boise with Faith

  Original Map From Amy: I see a chicken! From Tom: It looks like a funky anvil to me.

  From Tom: I encountered a questionably effect mnemonic device to remember the names of the Great Lakes: From Steve:

  From Doris: Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee Reverently 1.       Jesus, the very thought of thee With sweetness fills my breast; But sweeter far thy face to see And in thy presence rest. 2.       Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame, Nor can the mem’ry find A sweeter sound than thy blest name, O Savior of mankind! 3.       O hope of ev’ry contrite heart, O joy of all the meek, To those who fall, how kind thou art! How good to those who seek! 4.       Jesus, our only joy be thou, As thou our prize wilt be; Jesus, be thou our glory now, And thru eternity.

  From Doris: 40 English paper pieced flowers

  From Doris: Our family has walked 1434.87 miles to Bristol. Our daughter Amy has a dear friend (Amber) who we call our bonus daughter. She made me a lap quilt for Christmas. I received it this week. I love it! I am listening to the Audible recording of David Suchet reading the New International Translation of the Old Testament. We have lots of geese in Eagle. I wish they would go further south for the winter!  Our Eagle Family Search Center now has scanners available for patrons to use.   Paul and I enjoy walking at Guerber Park and Merrill Park in addition to walking on the paths in our neighborhood.

  From Doris: Paul and I were able to go to the temple this week. We went to our ward sacrament meeting today. I was able to stay long enough to hear the youth speaker and first adult speaker.  I am being given strength to endure my pain because I seek for that blessing. I used to pray for the pain to go away, but now I pray for the strength to endure it. Writing in this blog helps me to process my feelings. An electrician installed a ceiling fan/light fixture in our front room. I love having more light in that room on cloudy days and the fan will be a welcome addition in the summer. Greer designed February’s wool door hanger which I am currently making. Andrew was protected during his commute to work. An accident occurred right in front of him. Paul is one of Lachlan’s favorite people. I love watching them interact.  Kyle is willing to come and help us around the house.

  From Doris: There is no guarantee I will have less pain in the future even though I have finished my infusions. Last summer I had a temporary break from my infusions as my biopsy wound healed. During that break my pain actually intensified.

  From Doris: I am noticing an increase in my stamina.

 From Doris: 3 Nephi 29:3 And ye need not imagine in your hearts that the words which have been spoken are vain, for behold, the Lord will remember his covenant which he hath made unto his people of the house of Israel.

  From Doris: Patrick Kearon October 2025 General Conference   With every covenant we make and every effort we give to keep it, we can receive “a new heart” and a fuller measure of “a new spirit.” Little by little, the more we invite His goodness into our hearts and cast out the self-defeating voices in our heads, we become His people because we truly make Him our God. Jesus so keenly wants to be our King and our Shepherd and our Prince of Peace, and we can choose to make Him so in our own hearts and minds.

  From Paul: With this next stage of treatments, it is beginning to sink in that we will not have to plan for a infusion four weeks after the last one, which would be on January 29. We are trying to mix up our walk routes at different locations. There are some parks that are in proximity to our home. By proximity I mean that we don’t have to travel too far by car to get there. We watch the weather, and sometimes we choose to walk indoors because of the concern for Doris’ walking on potentially slippery surfaces. In our search for what the Lord would like us to learn from this experience, I am finding opportunities to enhance my communication skills. This is not without a symbol in our lives. I thought that we had really good communication skills. I often go back to a conversation that Doris and I had in 1989. I would typically call her each day during the lunch hour (before we had a cell phone). At that point in time, she would often ask me what time I would be coming home. T...