An Update on the Fam

WOW!  It's been an incredibly LONG time since I updated this blog.  Lately, I've been thinking about all of the changes that have happened in the last year, and realized that I haven't recorded any of those life-altering changes anywhere!  So, I remembered this blog, and thought I'd hop back on and do an update!

First of all - in the last year, I've had some amazing opportunities.  Last January, right after my last post, I went to a Lifting Hearts (breast cancer support) meeting, and met a woman named Jan Paxman.  She is an R.N. and a health and weight loss coach for a company called Take Shape for Life.  She came to teach us about that company, and show us what it could do for us health-wise.  I was blown away, and signed up that night.  The program has 3 components: a food plan, a health program, and free support.  I'll write all about it in a different post.  For right now, it's enough to say that, in the 28 weeks following that meeting, I lost 87 pounds and 93 inches!!!!!!!  Seriously, this is the most exciting things that happened to me in a long time.  I feel so much better - almost ALL of the side effects from chemo have disappeared.  It's just a miracle.  Simple as that.  I'm now a coach with Take Shape For Life as well.  Over the last 10 months, I've helped over 50 people to lose weight and improve their health.  Together we've lost over 600 pounds! More later...

Another exciting thing that has happened:  Alex got his mission call in December to the Chile, Concepcion South Mission.  He left in January.  He's been in the MTC for almost 4 weeks now.  He is one of those 18 year old missionaries who took advantage of the age requirement change, and turned his papers in as soon as he finished filling them out!  More on that later as well...

Michael has about 6 months left in his mission - the time has flown by.  Matthew is in his first year of high school at Lone Peak.  And Grant is finishing up his last semester in Architecture school at the UofU.  He will graduate in April.  He was just accepted to and Ivy League - UPenn.  He is waiting to hear back from Utah and Berkeley as well.  Who know where he'll end up for Grad school??

Rick is pretty much the same - still works at L-3 Communications, still bikes with his friends.  He just turned 50!

That's it for now.  Let's see if I can continue to update this blog now. ;)

2012 So Far... A Wild Ride For Grant

What a crazy couple of weeks! 2012 has started out with a bang in our family.

Grant, our oldest son, just about died! He was super sick for about a week and a half (around the time of my surgery and for the first little bit of my recovery). So, I didn't pay as much attention to his illness as I should have.

He kind of had a flu, and he was in a LOT of pain as well. He thought perhaps he had thrown up so much that he had pulled a muscle, or had a hernia, or something like that. He walked kind of doubled over. After staying at our house over the weekend (right before the semester started), he went back to his apartment Sunday morning. He watched a CES Fireside at his girlfriend, Aleisha's, house that night. By the time it was over, he could hardly move. He made it back home, and had a pretty bad night.

Monday morning he called Rick, just sobbing because he was so sick and in pain. I made an appointment with Dr. S-, hoping he would send him to get a scan. But, all he did was say that it wasn't a hernia, and took his urine and blood and sent it to the lab. I wasn't too happy about having to wait for the blood work (2-3 days). :(

Grant went back home to his first studio class that afternoon, and then to some other classes on Tuesday. Tuesday night, he called and he was shaking so badly, he could hardly talk - he had collapsed at the studio, and his friends were taking him home. He couldn't talk because he was throwing up over the car window. When he got home, he was freezing, shaking, sweating, etc. all at the same time. He called, and I had a feeling I should tell him to go to the ER, but I didn't. (Stupid, typical, me). He wrapped up in a blanket, and slept for 8 hours on the bathroom floor - with his roommates checking on him throughout the night.

The next morning, around noon, he called to ask me about the blood work. When I called the doctor's office, it still wasn't back, but I told them how sick he had been. A few hours later, the blood work came back - elevated white blood cells, and elevated liver function. They ordered a CT scan, and Rick picked him up and brought him to AF hospital for the scan. They did the scan at 5:00 pm, and called Dr. S- with the results - he called Grant, who was waiting in the waiting room at the hospital with Rick. Dr. S- said "Your appendix burst. We don't know when. It could have been a few days ago. There is an encapsulated pocket of infection - they'll have to operate right now. It's amazing you are even alive - I can't believe you busted through the pain like that - for days!"

So, the count now is APPENDIX = 2, MOM - 0! That's right, once again, the appendix won. (When Michael had an appendix attack a few years ago, I didn't take him to the ER for a few hours, and his almost burst!) My surgeon, Dr. T-, looked at the scan and said that she couldn't even see an appendix - that it had probably burst so hard, it disintegrated! So, they admitted him to the hospital and started IV antibiotics and other fluids. By the time I got to the hospital, he had a terrible headache. They tried lots of meds, even morphine, but nothing touched it. He was so upset - he said "I'm in a hospital, and they can't even stop my headache???!!!!!" Finally they found a pain med that got rid of it, and he slept.

The next morning they put a drain into the pocket of infection, and drained a ton out. He went into the hospital on Wednesday night and we brought him home on Sunday. It was a rough week - he's been in pain, sick to his stomach, etc. He's weak, and shaky, but alive! We figured that the appendix probably burst Sunday night, so he actually went 3 days with a burst appendix before we found it. He should have died. And, in fact, if the infection hadn't encapsulated, he would have died probably within the first 24 hours. Monday night, after studio, the professors told everyone that they had to move all of their stuff around to another area of the studio, so Grant even did that with a burst appendix! On his facebook post, he said: "Was so busy being manly last week, that when my appendix completely exploded all over my insides, I didn't even notice. I shouldn't be alive right now."

We've realized, as we've pieced together the events of the last week, that because of priesthood blessings (he got several - from Rick and his friends), but especially because his brother, Michael, is serving a mission, Grant was spared. We are SO grateful for Michael's service, and the blessings it brings to our family. Really, Grant could be gone right now, but because of his brother's faithful service, he is here. We thank Michael from the bottom of our hearts.

Grant is so happy to be home. (So am I - I stayed at the hospital, almost non-stop, for the whole week - it's was a little tough, since I was still recovering from my surgery.) The previous weekend, when I told Michael that everyone in the family was either recovering from surgery or sick, he wrote back saying: "I'll bet you're all super glad that I'm on a mission or you would all just be mostly dead. Yay for blessings!" That was the day that Grant's appendix burst. Michael had no idea for a week what had happened. YAY FOR BLESSINGSm indeed!

Missionary Moments - A Desire to be Baptized

Today we got an email from Michael. Michael is serving in the Mexico, Veracruz mission. He is proselyting in Posa Rica right now. It's going to be a busy month for him and his companion. They are working on 3-4 investigators who have all recently committed to baptism. The thing that frustrates Michael the most is that several of these people can't be baptized because they are waiting for someone else to do something first. For instance, one investigator isn't married to her partner. They've been living together for 20 years, but he is still married to his wife (in the temple!), and has been ex-communicated for years. All he needs to do is sign on the line of the divorce papers, and he refuses to do it. So, that is what's holding this woman back from her baptism. How do you even deal with something like that?

I feel Michael's frustration. Of course, he asked us to pray for her, and for all of his investigators. I know that Satan works extra hard against investigators and missionaries. I also know that prayers are powerful, and that Christ is stronger than Satan. I know that eventually these investigators will join the church and it will change their lives. Faith will be a big part of this process.

In 2 Nephi 26:13 we are reminded: "And that he manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their faith."

Hopefully Elder Herron will be able to teach these investigators to search the Book of Mormon to find the answers to the problems they are having. For now, they are in our prayers, and in the hands of some of the Lord's choicest servants.

Grant - Spreading His Wings

It's been a little over a week since Grant took a job in another part of the country. It always worries me a bit when one of my kids tries a new thing. Of course, Grant has lived in Japan for 2 years, so it's not like he's new at this. But, the past week has been kind of tough on him...

He was offered a job with a company that sells and installs security systems. The job is just for the summer, and he will be able to make quite a bit of money - between $10,000 and $30,000 - depending on how many installs he can do in 3 months. It took him awhile to decide whether or not to take the job. He really didn't want to move away by himself for the summer. When I suggested that he tell a few friends about the opportunity, and they were hired along with him, it became an adventure! At first, they were hired to go to Spokane, WA. Then, due to some circumstances with timing, they were told they would be going to Calgary, Canada. This required a student visa, which takes a little time. While waiting, they finished up finals, and got ready to go. A few days before they were scheduled to leave, a call came in from a supervisor - the visas weren't coming through. So, they needed to go to Texas for awhile. This is where it started getting annoying. They had to split up - Mike, by himself, and Grant and Jeff together. The day they left, Mike was told there wasn't room for him, and was put on hold. Grant and Jeff left, and drove 23 hours to Tyler Texas. Meanwhile, Mike got a call that sent him to California. He arrived there before the others arrived in Texas. Grant and Jeff were in Texas for 2 whole days, before another call came from a supervisor, saying the company had over-hired for that area, but there was room for them (and in fact, they were desperately needed) in Charlotte, NC! There was a catch though - this was late on Sunday, and they would have to get to Charlotte by Monday night, so that they could get licensed on Tuesday - the last day the license guy would be there. So, they got up at 4:00 am on Monday, and drove for 15 hours. The good news is that they made it to Charlotte. And Grant loves it there. He doesn't remember this, but he lived in No. Carolina for 3 years when he was young. He calls once every few days, to let us know how things are going. He is trying to get trained right now, so he hasn't done any solo installs. Today, he called, very frustrated (something that is becoming very common) - he took his car to get an oil change, and they charged him $60! Apparently, they replaced some brake lights without asking - he was on the phone, and they didn't want to bother him. So, instead of $4.00 for some bulbs (which he easily could he changed himself), he ended up paying $20, in addition to the oil change. Plus, today is payday, and the company owes him $500 for gas and training - they haven't paid him yet.

When Grant said he was going to have an adventure, none of us thought it would be quite like this. I know that once he does some installs by himself, and feels more confident, he'll do well. I know that once he gets paid, he'll feel a little bit better. Things will work out, and this summer really will be a great adventure. And, pretty soon, he'll be so busy, he'll stop calling so often, which makes me sad. I'm glad he has the opportunity to spread his wings a little bit, but, it's hard to hear about the growing pains, and not be able to do anything about it. I read posts on other blogs all the time, about how tough it is to raise little kids. It is. Been there, done that. Just wait until your little kids get bigger. The problems and challenges seem to grow as they do. And, as a mother, you never stop worrying, or wanting to put things right. But, part of growing up is learning to do things on your own.

I read a quote that said: "Until you spread your wings, you have no idea how high you can fly." This is one of the great lessons of growing up - learning to take chances, leave the nest, and spread your wings. And one of the lessons of parenthood is that you have to allow that to happen. Good luck, Grant!

In the Arms of a Mother

Thought I'd share a post I did for the breast cancer blog earlier this week...

This weekend was a momentous one for our family. We were all together for what will probably be the last time - at least for about 4 1/2 years. My oldest son, Grant (23), came home from college to spend some time with us. We spent Saturday as a family - it was Michael's 21st birthday. We had a great time together. Family pictures were in order. Even though it snowed in the morning, we were able to go in the afternoon and spend time at the Utah State Hospital grounds - what is referred to as "Provo Castle" - for pictures. This is a really old, rock amphitheater - we got some great pictures (I hope - I have yet to see them). We laughed, and laughed, as we tried to be serious for the pictures. Grant took them - he has started a photography business - and I saw just how hard and time-consuming it is to set a picture up that you, yourself, have to be in. But, I'm grateful I could have him do that. The kids played around on the grounds - even going so far as to have races rolling down the hill. You'd think they were all under 5! We went to lunch - something that doesn't happen very often because of the cost. And, then, that night, Michael, Grant, Rick, and I went to see the movie, Atlas Shrugged - something we'd been waiting to do for awhile. We've all read the book, and couldn't wait to see the movie. Anyone who hadn't read the book (Alex and Matthew), had to stay home! ;-)

All in all, it was a wonderful day - a special kind of day that we don't often get to have. And won't, again, for a long time. You see, Grant is leaving the country for a summer job, and he won't be back until the end of August. Michael is leaving on August 3rd for an LDS mission - we won't see him again for 2 years. He'll leave before Grant comes home. And then, Alex (who is almost 17), will most likely leave for his mission before Michael returns home. He, also, will be gone for 2 years. By the time he returns home, we will probably have more members of the family. So, this really is probably the last time we will be a family - together - just the way we are right now. My heart is breaking just a little bit at the thought.

Late Saturday night, Rick gave Grant a priesthood blessing - a father's blessing (something we do in our church) for his protection and safety. And then Grant spent some time giving Michael advice about his mission. It was very tender. There was a lot of weeping.

If you would have driven past our house on Saturday night - just a little bit after 10:00 pm - you would have seen what looked like a football huddle out on the lawn, next to Grant's car. It was actually a huddle hug. We all grabbed each other, and hugged tight - arms wrapped around bodies. It felt, to me, like something was ending. Some precious, special time. I can't adequately describe it. Of course, I was the only one who felt like my body was cracking apart. With a house full of boys, there is usually some confusion at to why Mom is crying at any given point! But, I'm so grateful for that time - for the huddle hug. A mother needs to have her arms around her children sometimes. Ah... those beautiful, beautiful boys of mine!

As I've been reflecting on my feelings this weekend, I've tried to pinpoint why I had to have that time - just the six of us. Why was it so important to me? 2.5 years ago, when I was diagnosed with cancer, that's all I wanted - to gather my kids and husband around me, and not let them out of my sight. My son, Grant, was on a mission in Japan, and I could physically feel that hole in my life. I remember not being able to sleep at night, and roaming my house - looking in on my children and watching them sleep. If I could just touch each of them each day, that was enough to get me through whatever the day held. Why is that? Why is it that at every momentous time in our lives, having family near is so important? As important as food or water, or even air.

As you can probably tell, I'm having a hard time with this changing time in my life. I don't want my kids to grow up and leave. As a mother, just the thought rips my heart to shreds. But... life goes on, doesn't it? We grow, we survive, we thrive. We look forward - not backward - and continue to find joy in simple things. Things like putting our arms around our children, or feeling gratitude for a sweet neighbor who serves us, or even just waking up to another beautiful day here on this earth.

I hope all of you can find something that will give you joy - no matter what you have to face in the future.

-Kara

Lots of things have been going on in our family. I haven't posted for quite awhile!

Recently, I worked with the Four of Hearts to have a sale to earn money that we can use to provide Christmas for 10 families. The sale didn't go as well as we'd hoped, but we are still going to try to help all 10 families.



I just had the Sister Survivors Breast Cancer group Christmas party at my house last Thursday. It was so much fun! Really enjoyed the evening.


Almost everyone in my family has been sick... me, Michael, Alex, and now Matthew. We've got this crazy cold/flu thing that's been going around. Wish we could just get better.

Grant was in an accident on Saturday! Someone rear-ended the car behind him, and they were too close to him, and slammed right into his car! Such a bummer. It's probably going to be totaled by the insurance company. I'm sad for him - he loves his car.


I've been reading the Pendragon books this last 2 months. There are 10 in the series. Amazing books! Michael was ready them too - he finished the last one just a few days before I did. I'll do a book review on them soon.


Rick got me a Nook from Barnes and Noble for Christmas. It's kind of like a Kindle - an electronic book reader. It's so cool!


We got our decorating done for Christmas. The 12 foot tree is up for the first time in 4 years. The kids helped, and that made things so much easier. I got 2 smaller trees to go in the arches leading into my family room. All in all, I decorated 5 trees in my house this year. I love Christmas.

Rick just got back from a business trip. He was originally scheduled to go from the 12th to the 23rd, but had to go somewhere else last week. So, his boss said he doesn't have to go for the rest of the month. This is a good thing! He would have missed our 25th anniversary on the 17th!

We finally got a new back door. The one we've had for 10 years has been falling apart for 3 or 4 years. So, now we have one that has blinds inside of the window. It's pretty cool.

Well, that's all for now. One of my goals for the coming year is to keep this blog updated. I've been spending time each day updating my Sister Survivors Breast Cancer Support group blog, so this one has kind of suffered. And my Incredible Women blog has suffered even more. I'm just trying to fit too much into my schedule.

Be Careful...

It seems like now that I'm a "stay at home mom" again - my kids have decided that they don't need to stay at school when their stomachs hurt, or they don't have to put their homework in their backpacks because Mom will bring it to them. (!)

So, the other day, my youngest called me from school - it was the stomach ache trick. I went over to the school to get him, and while I waited for him to get his "stuff" from the locker, I noticed a cool quote on the wall. Yep... I went through that whole explanation, just to lead up to this:

Be careful of your thoughts - for your thoughts become your words
Be careful of your words - for your words become your actions
Be careful of your actions - for your actions become your habits
Be careful of your habits - for your habits become your character
Be careful of your character - for your character becomes your destiny.

LOVE IT! Oh, and by the way, kids, I'm working from home - remember?! I do have a job... I'm not just sitting around, waiting for you to call with problems! Geez!

New Furniture!!

YAY!!!! We just got new furniture - we ordered it on the internet. I know - scary, right? We did a bunch of measurements of our old furniture, ordered swatches of some of the different leathers they offered, and made our decision. That was on April 11th. Yes. You read that right. APRIL 11th. It was made in Brazil, with a seating system from Italy, and shipped to Florida. Then shipped here. It took forever. But, it's HERE!!!!! We decided to replace only the sofa and loveseat. We kept the tapestry chair that is still it good shape. I think it looks fine. What do you think?

Happy 16th Birthday, Alexmeister!

Oh my word - I forgot to post this yesterday on Alex's birthday! How stupid of me. Well, Alex, my third rugrat, just turned 16! Wow, I just simply can't believe it. He promised Rick that he'd always stay 4, but each year he breaks that promise, and grow a little more, and then a lot more, until... now he's 16. It breaks my heart. But, as Grant pointed out, my kids are way cooler now that they are older. Cooler, as in, more knowledgeable, funnier, able to drive and go do my errands for me, etc. But, I will admit, that on Sunday, while watching the little primary children up on the stand at church singing Mother's Day songs, I got really sentimental and really wished hard that my kids could be little again. Because when they were little, they were dang CUTE! Which brings me back to Alex. Alex was the cutest. Sorry to my other fairly cute sons - really, I do think you are all adorable. But, seriously, Alex was the CUTEST little boy I've ever seen. He was cuddly, and soft, and oh my... just wait till you see the pictures below. But first, let me tell you what I love about Alex...

Alex is cute. Oh, I already said that - sorry. Alex is so very talented. He is an artist (drawing and photography). He is a musician (trombone and guitar - and now, the ukelele, because that's what he got for his birthday). In fact, I asked him last night to bring his guitar to the piano, and make up some music to a song I played. No problem - he did it! Alex is smart - he, like all of his brothers, GETS math. Seriously, where did these kids come from? Oh yeah, their dad is a math whiz. Well, lucky them, they got his math genes. Alex is hilarious. Really - when he was little, he wanted to be a comedian (or a football player) when he grew up. He jokes around all the time. I seriously think he could be the class clown if he really tried. In fact, I predict that he'll be voted "Most Likely To Go To Clown School" his senior year! One of my favorite stories of Alex is when we took the kids to Virginia Beach. We had never been to the beach with the kids, and when Alex saw the water (which was, by-the-way, extremely COLD!) coming up onto the beach, he thought it was after him. But, then it went back into the ocean, so he thought it was funny. Up it came again - to GET him, and he cried! Pretty soon he was laughing and crying and laughing and crying, and you couldn't tell which was which. Snot was running down his face and he was hiding behind me. Hilarious! I'll share that picture with you in a minute. Another story - we were riding the "Heber Creeper (a train in Utah, which does exactly what it's name says it does), and Alex had his best friend with him - his binky! I was standing at the rail with Alex, looking out at the landscape, when Alex pulled his binky out of his mouth and chucked it over the side. "Bye-bye binky!", he said, waving goodbye. It was so funny, but later, on the way home, it wasn't funny, as we tried to explain to a screaming 18 month old that it was HIS fault that his binky went bye-bye! We had to stop at the store and buy another one, just so we could make it back home. I remember almost losing Alex one day, when we lived in Pennsylvania. Grant and Michael went to play over at their friends' house. To get there, you had to either go through a corn field, or walk around the corn field - which put you on a main road. I told Alex he had to stay home - he wasn't old enough to follow his brothers. He was 3. A very determined 3, it turned out... a while later, it was pretty quiet. I thought he was watching tv. The doorbell rang, and when I answered it, some strange man was standing there with Alex! He had found Alex walking down the busy road by himself. He was pretty upset with me. He said, "You are very lucky that I'm a good person. You might not have ever seen him again if I wasn't." I think I waited YEARS before I admitted to Rick what had happened. It scared me to death. Alex is just a complete joy to have around. He's never made me disappointed. Well, maybe those times when he's mean to his little brother, but that happens between all brothers, I think. Alex towers over most of his brothers - he grew over a foot while Grant was away on his mission. I think Grant didn't recognize Alex when he came home! And, have I mentioned that Alex is adorable? Don't believe me? Just look at these...

















































Don't those eyes just melt your heart?! Alex, I love you to death, kid! Happy Birthday! Love, MOM