SUMMER 2008
Wow, what a comparison I can make between the two summers, I am going to put up some pictures of last year and some of this year so I can see the physical changes.
The spiritual and emotional changes are things that cannot be seen, but they are there.
Do any of you remember that I asked you to give me a swift kick in the you-know-where if I ever got a little sassy? I am serious, I hope you will because I can see how easy it is to "Forget", and slip back to the "natural man". ( I will expound on this later)
Last July 2008. Kenya was born while I was still going through chemo.
Tara and Kenya would come sit with me at chemo to keep me company. 2008 
Maddux and I enjoying a nice summer evening on the trampoline (2008)
Kenya 2009,........ what a difference a year can make!
Tara threw me a surprise party for being offically finished with chemo Summer 2008
This year ,turning 51, May 15, 2009, my daughter Krystal, and sister Colleen
here at a very expensive restaurant in San Diego.
I had the most fun and silly trip that I have had in YEARS on my birthday this year. My sister can get buddy passes and discounts at hotels because she does reservations for Jet Blue (working from home from her own computer, cool, huh?). She made plans along with Krystal to go to San Diego. What a great trip. We laughed, and laughed, and laughed. Only a girl could understand our silliness. We missed Heather and Tara, but getting someone to tend their kids didn't work out. (Jeff tended for Krystal, THANK YOU JEFF, hope Krystal made it up to him :)
I told everyone (at Colleen's suggestion) that I was 60, instead of 51. I thought this was the best idea I've heard in a long time. When you say you are younger, actually people are thinking, "Wo, that's too bad, you look terrible for your age", but when you tell them you are older, people compliment you and say "Wow, you look great!!" I enjoyed it so much, from now on I am going to tell people that I am 175 and say "I feel like I am doing so great for my age!!!" It is so much more fun that way, and it makes me laugh a lot.
After my birthday trip, I went on 5 more trips before the summer was through, whew, I am REALLY tired, and I am not kidding.
1. I went to Vegas to tend my brother's 3 children for his anniversary (I took Kimmy to help me)
no pictures sorry2. I went to Provo/Orem for the 4th of July, and celebrated several family members' b-days.
This is 6 am, July 4th in Provo at the Hot Air Balloons, it's fun.....wow......
This is 6 am, July 4th in Provo at the Hot Air Balloons, it's fun.....wow......3. I went to Park City (a much needed break) with 9 other women my age for a girls' retreat.
(Boy, that place is BEAUTIFUL in July) again, no pics, camera on the blink
4. Then I took off to Vegas and on to San Diego for a week of fun with most all of my family. Eric took us back to visit his mission, along with Sea World, the beach, and the SAN DIEGO TEMPLE (ahhhhhhhhh) I came home to a completely NEW kitchen. (pictures down below)
5. After being shocked by how awesome my new kitchen was, I left 2 days later for a fun, but busy trip to Lake Powell on a house boat. (can you believe anyone could build me a new kitchen and new laundry room in 6, I said SIX days???) didn't want my camera to get wet, no pics
Finally, I am home and want to stay home for a while.
This is July of this year,the last time Dale and his brothers and sister and their spouses will be together with his mom and dad for a year or so. His older brother Larry and his wife Nancy have recently gone to Africa to serve a full time mission. The same place Larry served when he was 19.
The beach was a lot of fun. This is my 22 yr old and 15 yr old. You would have thought they were little kids again. It was a gorgeous day, and a beautiful beach. I think it was called LaJolla Cove
Of course, we HAD to go to Sea World to see "SHAMU", and we weren't disappointed. It was a lot more fun than I remembered it being when we took our little kids, 3 of them under 6 yrs old.
Tara driving around the "limo" as she calls it, at Seaworld!Can you count how many kids she's pushing? (not to mention the one in her belly!)lol
Here are a few of the members and Elders with us at their place. They treated us to a 3 foot in diameter pizza with jalapenos on it. Woo, it was unique. Latinos can eat some HOT stuff!
Eric"s mission president Lee Donaldsaon and his wife.
then, we got home at 2:30am Monday morning and saw this
This is what I came home to after my week in San Diego. If you have been in my house, you know this is VERY different!! I was overcome with gratitude. I have wanted more room in the kitchen for the last 20 years, (the first five we lived here, it didn't bother me much, maybe because the kids were so tiny, now they are so BIG)My sister's husband does this for a living, it's called "3-day Kitchen and Bath", but he had to knock out a wall and build a new laundry room, so it took him and 2 other workers 6 days.
Well, this is the end of this post, and I can't help but say that this was a pain. Eric and Tara practically made me do it all by myself, and it was HARD...................(whine, whine)
I really cannot believe what a contrast this summer was with last summer where every event was an extreme amount of effort, and an overwhelming amount of anxiety. I am SO very grateful that I am not hardly anxious at all this summer. It is truly a miracle to me.
One of the many priesthood blessings I had last year told me that the Lord was waiting to see my faith exhibited before He could, or would, heal me completely. When I heard the word "completely", I gulped because I not only wanted to be healed from the cancer, I REALLY wanted to be healed from this anxiety. I have suffered with it for 30 years. I have had many periods of relief from it, but it keeps coming back, and during the chemo, it was probably the WORST it has ever been.
Imagine having a knot in your stomach, and then times that by 10, then start breathing really fast, to the point of your chest moving up and down, then feel your muscles cramping up. Now you are feeling a little bit of what I was going through last summer. Not ALL of the time, but about in the middle of my chemo treatments, it was MELTDOWN time.....whew..........I am so thankful that part is over.
I want to remember to constantly work on overcoming this "natural man", so that I can have the Peace that I desire, and that the Lord has promised if we stay close to him.
I will try to be better about posting, and do some more often, and a little shorter so it doesn't take your whole lunch hour to read it. :)
I love you all for reading this, thanx. Love, Karen
