And so the adventure begins

Early this spring, Kim was on a business trip to California.  He called and told me that he had received a phone call.  A phone call that was a job offer.  Wait, we had a job.  A job that Kim was really good at.  He told them he wasn't looking for a job at this point, but thank you.  Well after a couple of months, multiple phone calls, a quick flight to Denver, a speedy scenic drive through Nevada and several intense prayers-----we moved our family of six to the middle of the Nevada desert.  No really middle of nowhere.  127 miles to church and Wal-mart.  That's two hours one way.  Oh the stories we have to tell.  But to begin with, this is the road sign at the beginning of our "driveway"  Thirteen miles down the road is where the adventure begins. The good, the bad and the ugly.  Not to mention the peacocks, wild donkeys and rattlesnakes. 

Our story at Knott Creek Ranch

Super Sneezer

Dakota has always had a loud sneeze. Like scare you right to death loud. Many times I will say,"Dakota!!! You have got to stop sneezing like that!!!". I am laying in bed and Dakota is down watching TV, when all of a sudden----you guessed it a loud 'Dakota sized' sneeze! But I have a reaction I have never had to his inappropriate sneezes. I cry. Crazy I know, but he won't be here much longer. He leaves in eight weeks. He is serving a mission for our church for two years. He will be serving in Salem, Oregon. I am so proud of him. Since he has been very small, I have been teaching him all sorts of things for his mission. I want him to go on a mission. And yet I save all his voice mails to the archives on my phone. I keep all the little notes he writes me. I serve him two desserts not one like everybody else. And yes I cry when he sneezes way too loud. This motherhood thing is so hard to figure out!

Like mother, like daughter...part 2

I had to meet with an oncologist (cancer doctor).  He was concerned with how much cancer I have in my family-on both my mom and my dads side.  He took some blood and sent it to salt lake city to test for a gene called the BRCA gene.  This gene actually slows down the growth of a tumor.  The test checks to see if the gene has mutated or doesn't slow down the tumor growth. If you don't have the mutated gene you have a 12% chance of getting breast cancer, if you do have the mutated gene you have a 87% chance of getting breast cancer.  It also raises your chances of getting ovarian cancer.  Anyway, I waited 2 weeks for those tests to come back.  During that time we had decided that if it came back positive we were going to have a double masectomy and remove the ovaries as well. I didn't want to give cancer a chance to ruin my life. I wanted to get rid of anything that raised my chances that much.  That may not be how everybody else would have seen it, but I wanted everything in question to be removed.  The test came back negative.  We still decided on the single masectomy.  My plastic surgeon told us that he thought we should do reconstruction at the same time as the masectomy.  It is a major surgery. They cut the stomach muscle and that takes a long time to recover from.  The surgeon said it would be six weeks before I would feel human again.  Not something you want to hear.    They scheduled surgery for April 23rd.

The surgery was supposed to take about 7 hours.  I think it took a bit longer than that, but I'm not sure.  The surgery went well. I was in the hospital for four days. I was on a lot of pain medicine for several weeks. Lots of incisions to heal and muscles to strengthen.  I am very blessed in that my recovery has been so much better than expected.  A blessing from Kim and my dad helped that along.    I have been so touched by all the help  from friends and family.  I didn't cook anything for three weeks.  People just kept bringing dinner for me and my family. Gifts, treats, books to read, pjs to wear and an extra stomach wrap from special sisters.  We were so blessed and taken care of.  After all the tests came back, I have no more cancer in me.  I don't have to have radiation or chemo.  I just have to heal up and I will be fine.  Things look different for me now. I think about things differently. In an instant my priorities became crystal clear.  My family and friends are much dearer to me.  And other foolish worldly things don't matter as much.  I'm still sore and healing .  And I do have one more surgery in the fall to "tweak" a couple of things.....that's what my plastic surgeon said.  But it will be an overnight stay and a lot faster recovery.  If you are a woman and if you are almost 40 years old or older,please go get your mammogram. Don't put it off.  It's not a fun thing, but I promise it's WAY funnier than what I've gone through.  My kids still have a mom. My husband still has his wife. My friends and family still have me around.  Because I had a mammogram.

Like mother, like daughter

My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.  They caught it very early.  She had a lumpectomy and 6 weeks of radiation.  I should add that she was a rock star about it.  She had her surgery, went back to work in less than a week and continued working all through her radiation.  She is so strong and amazing. Never complaining.  I have been blessed with her example my whole life.  She finished her radiation the end of January.  On February 14,  I had a mammogram.  My mom had told me I should get one, so I did.  The lady that gave me the test said she saw a large mass, but it didn't look like cancer.  I also had a wrestling tournament that day. It was a eventful day as I had to sneak out of the tournament to apply ice to my chest several times. After several weeks of waiting for the results, I met with my surgeon, Dr. C.  He said that the mass didn't look like cancer, but that it was quite large and wasn't there 2 1/2 years ago ( my last mammogram), so we should probably remove it.  The biopsy said negative for cancer, but it didn't look like what it did say.  Day surgery and home by supper is what he said.  Before I went into surgery they do an ultra-sound and place a wire into my breast that goes directly to the mass so the surgeon can find it quickly during surgery.  The Dr.that did the wire said that it didn't look like cancer....are u seeing a theme here?  Everybody said it didn't look like cancer.  The surgery went fine and I was home by supper. A couple days on the couch recovering. I was feeling pretty good. I was talking to my mom on the phone when another call,came in.  It was Dr. C.  I told mom I would call her back. The nurse said the Dr would like to see me to discuss the results of the biopsy of the mass they had removed.  I hung up and sat there in shock. The only reason he would have me come in was if I had cancer.  That was the most scary time of this whole story. I cried and cried. I called Kim and cried and cried. I called my mom back and cried an cried.  That was a bad day. Kim met me at Sage Junction and we went to the doctor.   The Dr said that I had some DCIS cells, which aren't cancer yet, but they will become cancer if we leave them alone.  He said we treat them just like they are cancer. I should mention that this the exact same thing my mom had. My choices were lumpectomy with radiation. Or masectomy without radiation.  When they do a lumpectomy, they remove the lump and then they take an area around the lump,called a margin.  Then they test at the edge of the margin for any cancer cells.  If it is clear of  all bad cells, they stop. If it is positive they take more of a margin and test again. They keep going until they get a clear test. So they could be taking just the lump or they may take most of the breast depending on what they find.  Because of this and the fact that I'm only 41, I decided to have a masectomy.  To be   continued......

Nobody told me!

When I was in church as a teenager, I remember lessons on motherhood. How it was a grand calling from on high. How we receive these precious spirits from heaven. How we are responsible for teaching these innocent pure gifts. Don't get me wrong, I totally believe all those things......I'm just saying that nobody told me the rest of the story. I feel a little duped. There was never a lesson in church about days like yesterday.

7:35 a.m. put the kids on the bus
7:36 a.m. happy dance at the glorious silence
7:40 a.m. call from Kassidy. she got punched in the nose on the bus. popped out both her lenses and she is in tears.
7:45 a.m. pull on jeans and a t-shirt pull hair back in pony go to the school

At this point in the story I feel obligated to say that Kassidy was punched in the nose by Kort. They seriously have a 3 and a half minute bus ride and they can't contain themselves?!? I go pull Kort out of class and ask him about the situation. Needless to say Kass had started it, but still. So I drag Kort down to the lunch room where Kass was finishing her breakfast. Apparently I was a tiny bit miffed because the lunch lady took one look at me and the death grip I had on Kort's neck and she said, " We will give you guys some privacy." The lunch lady and five other students file out into the hall. I tell Kort to apologize to Kass. He mutters a very insincere 'Sorry' . "What else do you have to say to Kass?", I ask. Kort looks at me, not knowing what I meant. I say, "Tell Kass that nothing deserves a punch in the nose." At this point with a gathering group of hungry children and a fabulous lunch lady waiting for us in the hall, Kort folds his arms and looks at me over the top of his glasses and mutters, " I ain't saying that!" Bascuse me? "Say it!", I reply. "No.", is the answer I get. For a split second I think, "Oh crap, I am not going to be able to make him say it!" I then mentally gather myself and hiss at him, "Oh yes you will!!!" A quiet hiss so that the growing audience in the hallway won't here me. Finally I was the winner, but now I have two children in tears in the school lunchroom. I take Kort out in the hallway and thank the lunch lady for the 'privacy'. I take him to a corner to talk him down. We wash his face and calm him for class. I send him back in and start to walk out the car. When I see the adorable lunch lady poke her head into the hallway and say, "You are a good mom, Penny!" I love lunch ladies!!!!!

So back to my original point. Never a motherhood lesson for this, but maybe there should be. Motherhood is not all flowers on the tables and love and sweetness. Sometimes its violence, embarrassment and no makeup in public. But I'm pretty sure that the ugly moments are just as important as the pretty ones. Well, I'm hoping!!!!

Check, check, check.....

I like lists. I do. I like to wake up and while still in my P.J.'s I make a nice long list. I love to check off each item as I finish it. It brings joy to my soul. I have been known to break up a medium to big job in to four or five items so I can 'check off' more things. Silly girl. Lately my life is not following my list theory. In fact I have had to change the whole list several times lately. Well, last night the whole list changed again! So this morning, here I am in my P.J.'s making a new list of my life.

When all of a sudden it hits me. It doesn't really matter where I sit to make my list. It doesn't really matter if it's not where I thought I would be making lists. It matters if my husband and kids are on there. It matters if I am happy and they are happy. Maybe I should make lists of the people and the things that make me happy!

1. The Gospel
2. Kim
3. Dakota
4. Kade
5. Kennedy
6. Kassidy
7. Kort

Now, if I do things for those reasons. If I can do something for each one of those things daily. Maybe this is the new list. Hmmmm......interesting. Let me think on this.

I blame Kim for this. We always tease each other by saying that Kim ALWAYS thinks outside the box. Like never puts one little toe in the box ever! I on the other hand would never even dream of getting outside the box. I do what I am supposed to and never even consider the other options. I am glad we make a good team and even each other out.

Here's to thinking outside the box! Maybe you need to make a new list too. ....just sayin :)

Funny 2 Times

Two points of humor in my day;

1.) Yesterday was the first time since 1989 that I got sunburned in 'the part' in my hair. My hair is almost long enough for a ponytail and yesterday during Field Day at the little kids' school I got sunburned! It really hurts when you blow dry a part sunburn. Just so you know.

2.) Not only did I get asked to help with Field Day, I was in charge of the very prestigious rubber chicken throw. I know the 'new' mom getting that much responsibility is pretty much unheard of, but whatever. When the third graders were at my station, I lined them all up to explain the rules. One little boy raised his hand and asked me if I was the lady that killed mice with spoons. Sadly, that is me. When Kim & I were first married that was what we did for entertainment. I did get pretty good at it. And I'm happy to say that during the first couple of weeks at our new home in Idaho I realized that it is like riding a bike. There were several mice that were pelted with my Excedrin bottle--direct hit might I add. How did that little boy know about that? Well let me just say----Congratulations Sister Scott, Your son was listening in Sacrament meeting when Brother Summers was speaking several weeks ago!