Mother's Day Surprises

Mother's Day was full of surprises this year. Andrew surprised me with breakfast in bed, complete with blueberry pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, strawberries and even a little chocolate (he knows me well). Jordan surprised me with this cute card he had made for me (with the help of Andrew). I was also surprised when Jordan went up with the primary children to sing during Sacrament meeting that he actually sang along with the other kids. Alison is the primary chorister and had told me that usually he's pretty quiet and doesn't sing much in primary.


I also drove to Spokane on Mother's Day to surprise Marianne who was recovering from a major surgery to treat her colon cancer. The 4.5 hour drive was heavenly...a quiet car all to myself, left alone to my thoughts, music and books on tape. It went by a lot faster than I was expecting. When I walked into her room, Marianne had a shocked look on her face and kept saying, "What? What? How did you get here? What is going on?" Then we both burst into tears and had a good cry. I could only stay for 24 hours but it was well worth the drive just to be able to spend some time with my sweet sister. I'm in awe of her strength, her optimism and faith. She's fighting for her life and handling her trial without complaining and with a smile on her face. She is absolutely amazing!!!!
You are probably not surpised that this was a Mother's Day I will never forget!!

Marianne's Make-A-Wish

When Marianne received her prognosis back in June I was talking to her on the phone and asked her, "Marianne, what do you want your Make-A-Wish to be?" Out of all the things she could have chosen to do and all the places she could have gone, what she wished for did not surprise me at all because it's probably what my wish would have been too. Her wish was to spend some time at the cabin with all of her siblings, their spouses and Mom and Dad.

This past weekend we made her wish come true and had a blast doing it. The weather wasn't the greatest but it really didn't matter because we were together and that's what it was all about. We played games, went on horseback rides, the girls went to breakfast at Whistlin' Jack (a tradition we've had as long as I can remember) we laughed, we cried and just enjoyed being together.

The highlight of the trip was we had a campfire on Friday night and shared our favorite memories of the cabin and our testimonies with each other. It was a tear-filled, spiritual night where many special words were spoken that I will always remember. We then watched a video that Jared had made of Marianne's life. We had to hook the projector and laptop up to the generator because of the lack of electricity at the cabin. At the very end of the video there was a touching song, "Please Remember," by LeAnn Rimes. It got us all crying and then the generator ran out of gas. We all just started laughing and took a brief intermission to fill up the generator and dry our eyes.

Thanks for the fun time everyone, thank you to Grandma Erin and Auntie Sarah for taking such great care of the kids while we were away, and thanks to Marianne for having such a fun Make-A-Wish that brought us all together.

Sister's Super Weekend

I just got back this morning from spending a fun-filled weekend with some of my most favorite people. It was so great seeing Marianne and spending time with her. We ate good food, went to see the play "Hello, Dolly" at the Hales Center Theatre, did a session at the Draper Temple, made beaded watch bracelets, got pedicures, played games, watched a fireworks show, got our pictures taken....the list goes on and on. I found myself reveling in every moment and just soaking it all in. We laughed together and cried together. It was a weekend I will never forget.

I LOVE YOU MARIANNE!

A Day of Mixed Emotions

This has been a very emotional day for me. Yesterday I got the news that you never imagine you will ever hear. My sister only has 1 to 2 years left to live. They are going to do another round of chemo to prolong her life as long as they can, but other than that, there is nothing more they can do. I've never felt saddness like this. I have never felt pain like this. I find myself wondering what to pray for now and I guess the only answer is.... time. More time. Please, just more time. You see, she's not only my sister, she's one of my very best friends...and always has been.

On another note, Megan celebrated her first birthday today. We had a barbecue with family. It was fun to get together and celebrate the life of this beautiful little girl who came into our family one year ago. She is a perfect delight and has no idea how incredibly cute she is.

Like I said, it's been a day of mixed emotions!

Prayers Needed

Most of my blog entries have been about what the kids are up to, but tonight I sit here at my computer with a very heavy heart. Many of you know that my dear sister Marianne has been battling colon cancer for the past year. Today they removed a large tumor from her ovary and did a complete hysterectomy. During the surgery, they also found that the cancer had spread to other areas of her body, including her liver. All I want to do right now is get in my car or hop on a plane and go be with her, but that is not feasible with 2 kids and Andrew having finals next week. I feel so far away and so helpless. I realize that the only thing I can do right now is pray, and so my dear friends, I ask you to do the same. Please pray for my sister, Marianne De Carlo.