How Do I Say This?

When you have something big to announce it can be fun to plan a big surprise if it's happy. But if it's bad news, you almost don't want to tell anyone because every time you say it, it becomes more real, it sinks in even more.

When we lost our first child, we made a general announcement on facebook after letting close family and friends know. But there were still people that we had to call because we knew they would want to know. I just couldn't make the phone calls, so my poor husband took the task. Every phone call was so hard.

Well, we have other big bad news. Our second daughter has neuroblastoma cancer and ataxia. It took about a month to officially diagnose from the first symptoms. It was a shock to hear the doctor say our daughter has cancer, but it was a little bit of a relief to finally know what the cause was, but still mostly a very depressing moment.

She's since had surgery to remove most of her tumor, and they'll be keeping a close eye on her to see if the remaining tumor grows again. We've also been treating her ataxia, helping her to walk better. She's at a point right now where her surgery wounds are healed enough, and her ataxia medication is working well enough that she's walking so fast. It's amazing to see her go from crawling because she couldn't walk anymore to almost running!

It has been really hard, but I've seen many people with worse problems. Every time I get too depressed, I hear about someone else's problems and I am thankful I'm not going through that trial. People fleeing from war and trying to make a new home as a refugee in another country, houses burning to the ground or being destroyed by earthquakes, deadly car accidents, and even people whose cancer is much more aggressive and advanced than our daughters.

If all goes well with our daughter, which the doctors are optimistic, then this could hopefully all be a bad memory. Not to say that there isn't a rough road ahead, because there still is much that needs to be done with our daughter, but the outlook is hopeful.

We don't know how strong we are until being strong is the only choice we have.

Faith Verses Logic

There are a lot of commandments that don't make sense: the conflicting commandments to Adam and Eve to not eat of the tree of knowledge but to multiply and replenish the earth, or Nephi being commanded to kill Laban and lie about being him when that would be breaking two of the ten big commandments. 

Commandment aren't about logic, they're about faith. Not blind faith, but conversing with God faith.

Andrew Whittle gave the following insight on a quote: "President Henry B. Eyring: 'Human judgment and logical thinking will not be enough to get answers to the questions that matter most in life. We need revelation from God.' This really spoke to me because I am a logical thinker and have struggled with certain things because it did not make logical sense. I have learned to increase my faith so I can one day understand things I may not know now. [Someone] asked ... what the opposite of faith was. ... The opposite of faith is logic."

My friend, Jackie wrote a blog post about it as well: Jackie's Post. She gave a great example of how sometimes your kids do something and you get mad at them without letting them explain what they were doing. Then later after you've calmed down, you go back and ask them what happened and they give a reasonable explanation that makes you feel bad for not listening before. You know your kids are good kids and next time something out of the ordinary happens, talking with them is probably the best solution.

When God, not a church and not some guys in charge, but when God decides to make a commandment, there's a good reason behind it which will only be found by talking to Him.

Faith is something that cannot be logically explained. It's something inside you which comes from an outside heavenly source. It's believing without seeing the whole picture, but knowing it's a good picture. It's opening up your heart and mind to something beyond yourself and the world you see around you. It starts small and grows. Faith defies logic.

Thanksgiving Leftovers Remade

Thanksgiving is full of wonderful foods: turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, rolls, veggies, and lots of pie. But the magic wears off after having the same dinner all week, so here are some Thanksgiving leftovers remade. (Pictures from BettyCrocker.com, thanks.)

 

 Cubed or shredded turkey + gravy + cook the carrots and celery from 

the veggie tray or any cooked veggies + pie crust = pot pie

Green beans or any other cooked veggies + can tomato soup + cooked ground beef + mashed potatoes on top (can sprinkle cheese on top of potatoes for more deliciousness) = shepherd's pie

 

 Turkey + cream of chicken + sour cream+ stuffing over the top = 

turkey casserole, can add green beans too

 

Mashed potatoes + hot dogs + cheese on top = hot dog surprise 

(also known as weenie boats if you do them in individual portions)

Leftover rolls can be turned into breadcrumbs. 

Turkey can be put in a roll for a sandwich (dip in gravy), put in salads, wraps, casseroles, 

soups, stir fry- pretty much any recipe that calls for chicken can be substituted with turkey.

Gobble gobble!

Good Book And Good Movie Day

Libraries are great for browsing, trying books and movies you don't necessarily want to pay for in case you don't like it. You can even browse your library's collection on ereaders too. 

I was looking in the comedy section for anything that looked remotely entertaining but that we could also watch in front of the kids. This movie, Mom's Night Out, caught my eye, and my husband and I actually watched it twice before we returned it.

 

It was fun and funny and very relatable if you have kids or take care of kids. The part where all she sees is salmonella all over the counter is totally me. Check it out and enjoy a fun movie night laughing about the follies of parenting and trying to get a night out.

If you're in the mood for a sweet story about being a parent through out your life, check out I Will Hold You 'Til You Sleep by Linda Zuckerman, illustrated by Jon J Muth.

My daughter picked it out at the library, and I'm glad she did because I might have looked right over it. She called it 'the mommy book'. I read it to her a couple times then decided I had to buy it. It's a sweet reminder that a parent's love lasts a lifetime.

To everyone who isn't a parent- you still make a big difference in the lives of everyone around you and are very loved and appreciated for just being who you are right now.

To all the parents out there reading this blog- hang in there! At the end of the day, the month, the year, what a child will cherish the most is every moment you loved them.

Blessings Part Two

If you have a blessing, if you have a miracle then appreciate it, hold it close, marvel that you were given it and do not take it for granted that it will always be around but enjoy the moment.

Blessings are things we have and appreciate. Usually something we have that others do not have, which makes it more special.

People say they are so blessed to have certain things. Why are they blessed to have it and not someone else? Did they earn it, win it, deserve it? I haven't figured out the rule for blessings yet.

Why are some blessed with sight while others are not? Why are some blessed with children when others are not? Why are some blessed to live in prosperity while others are not? Why are some children born into loving and safe homes while others are not? There seems to be no rhyme or reason other than God's will, pure luck, or random chance.

Miracles fall in the same category. It's a miracle he survived the car accident, survived the war, survived cancer, survived all sorts or tragedies. But why him? Why not her? It's almost more a miracle to have a miracle than the actual happenings.

So many lose their children, spouses, houses, jobs, pets, and health with no miracle. It's not a lack of faith or knowledge, a matter of choices or desire. It seems to be a matter of happenstance or unknown God's plan.


So if you have a miracle, if you have a blessing then appreciate it, hold it close, marvel that you were given it and do not take it for granted that it will always be around but enjoy the moment. Hug your children, your spouse, your cat, your car, or yourself because life is a gift.