Love Songs

Last Wednesday we were told that my Mom has a brain tumor from which she will not recover.

On Thursday we gathered most of the family in my mom's hospital room. Mom had been asleep for nearly 72 hours and we all took turns kissing her and telling her we loved her. There were many tears shed. Then we quieted down so that Mom could receive a priesthood blessing. It was a lovely blessing that made us cry even more.

About 20 minutes later, a miracle occurred. Mom woke up and began talking to us! We spent several hours laughing, talking and singing together. We sang songs that my mom learned from her grandpa and other songs from our childhood. It was a beautiful time for our family and will always be a wonderful memory.

During her illness, my mom has continually expressed her love for our family. When we mention a particular family member, Mom repeats over and over how much she loves them. It has been especially sweet to hear her talk about my dad, whom she has taken to calling "Bobby", a nickname she hasn't used in over 50 years. She even began singing a little song to him. I asked her if it was a song from their dating years. She said, "Yes, but it was about a different boy and I can't say his name because I don't love him. I love Bobby!"

I did a little googling and came up with the original version of the song. It was actually written in answer to a song called "Tell Laura I Love Her" . The songs came out in 1960 when my mom was 18. So here's the link to "Tell Tommy I Miss Him"

Just be sure to substitute "Bobby" if you sing along.

Silver Linings

My mom is still in the hospital fighting for her life. We are so very grateful for the good wishes, prayers and fasting of many friends and family. Because of their great faith we have been blessed with miracles.

On Thursday night and Friday Mom was very weak and declining rapidly. She didn't even recognize me. On Friday evening after a difficult day of tests and procedures, Mom finally slept for a few hours. When she woke up she was very coherent and had a detailed conversation with my Dad and me. She even talked to her sister on the phone. We knew that we were witnessing a miracle on the evening of our special fast for Mom. Thank you for your part in a miracle!

More miracles:

*My sister and I have been granted great strength and endurance in caring for my mom.

*An anesthesiologist arrived 3 minutes after she was paged and performed a complicated procedure that the doctors had attempted unsuccessfully (this is a HUGE miracle at Kaiser where everything takes a really long time!)

*An estranged family member called to express concern about my mom and wants to re-establish a relationship.

* Hearts have been softened and much love shared.

The doctors still haven't determined the cause of the meningitis/encephalitis and Mom is still suffering greatly. We pray that God will continue to bless her and grant her the miracles she needs.

This is a sad and painful time, but I am grateful for the many miracles that are happening around me. Here is a powerful article about surviving the most difficult times in our lives. It is called "Silver Linings." It is an easy read that I think everyone can relate to.

Thank you for your continued prayers for my wonderful mother!

Deja Vu

My mom is in the hospital with meningitis. It is hard to believe that just last year I was in the hospital caring for Evan when he had meningitis. Unfortunately, the level of care for my mom is much lower than the care that Evan received. My sister and I are taking turns staying at the hospital so that my mom is never alone.

She was admitted Wednesday night and seemed to be improving on Thursday and Friday. Yesterday they gave her a sedative before an MRI and unfortunately she had a very bad reaction to the medication. We are waiting for her to get it out of her system and get back on track.

Please keep her in your prayers. Recovering from meningitis is a long, rocky road.

Evan said some very funny things during his illness and my mom is no different. Yesterday, Jenny asked her if she was hungry. She answered "Yes" and then in a very sad voice she said, "But I don't know how to get un-hungry!"

You can read about Evan's hospitalization HERE
You can learn more about meningitis HERE

I am very grateful that I experienced Evan's illness because it prepared me to help my Mom. They wanted to send her home from the emergency room, but I listed her symptoms and suggested a spinal tap to diagnose meningitis. Somehow that got the doctor's attention and he finally listened to us. More about gratitude and meningitis HERE.

Again, I would really appreciate your prayers for my parents at this time.

In the Mail . . .

We got the coolest thank you note ever!

We went outside and noticed a ball on our front porch. We were surprised when we realized it had been mailed to us! Our niece Jennifer and her family came for a visit earlier this month and the ball was their very creative way of saying thank you. They wrote us notes like "We had a ball!" and then mailed it. I wonder what the mail carrier thought of such an unusual package.

My long-awaited birthday present also finally arrived!

The red, lighted leather case (a gift from Marianne & Jenny) came first and sat waiting for a couple of days.


Finally, on Friday afternoon my Kindle arrived! It is one of the best gifts my husband has ever bought for me. I love the way it fits in my purse.


It is a dream come true to be able to carry an entire library around with me!


Now I just have to restrain myself from buying an entire library all at once. Fortunately there are many free books (most of them classics) available. I already have some Shakespeare, Webster's 1828 dictionary, the Scriptures, As A Man Thinketh and my newest non-fiction favorite The Talent Code . I'm trying to decide whether an old favorite or the Hunger Games trilogy will be my next purchase.

Awesome August

August started off with one of my least favorite events--
my birthday.
Thank goodness I have a sweet husband who took me on a quick overnight getaway,
a Mom who took me out for the world's most delicious soup
(Cheesecake Factory's Wild Mushroom)
and a sister who knows how to keep birthdays exciting!
(and yes, that is a real knife)
Plus, we got Red Velvet Nothing Bundt cake. YUM!

Later in the month, I headed to St. George for a reunion with 6 of my friends from Lancaster. I haven't seen some of them since we moved over 14 years ago. This is an amazing group of women and we had a blast catching up.

We even went to see Tarzan at Tuacahn.
Here we are with Kerchak, King of the Apes.
I don't usually stand this close to bare-chested, sweaty men, but we had to get a picture after this great show!

We finished up the month with a trip to Utah to take Aaron back to BYU.
On the way, we visited the Grand Canyon.
It was peaceful and beautiful and deserves a post of it's own.
For now, I'll show you just one picture--the view from our cabin.
Can you believe it?
I thought they were exagerating when the reservation said "Rim Side"

After the Grand Canyon, we caravanned with my mom and grandma the rest of the way to Provo.
Here is a 4 generation picture of "the girls".

Whew! It was a fun, busy month.