From Bristol to Boise with Faith

Original Map From Tom: It's supposed to be a narwhal surfacing out of the ocean  

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 ...