Keeping an Eternal Perspective

Acceptance that the disease cannot be slowed has changed our focus.  We are about through with doctor appointments and now we are focusing on Dave's comfort.  His pain has increased rather dramatically recently but fortunately, it is not constant.  We have some good medications to control the pain and other symptoms,  Now we are addressing more directly the issue of his impending death.  Many more family and friends have visited or sent flowers or notes of love and concern.  What a joy and comfort that all brings to us both.  It just makes our hearts happy.

Doug and Amy with their dogs and Dave

On March 5th we had a great visit with Dave's only brother Doug and his wife Amy.  They brought a yummy lunch and visited for a couple of hours.  We were so happy to have had that chance to just sit and visit with them.  We see them at family functions but it is different when people come here and there are no other distractions.

March 6th was our annual Stake Choir Festival.  Each ward prepares a special number and then there is one number that we all sing together.  There are over 200 voices and it is thrilling.  This year the theme was on family and that was particularly tender for us.  We had a very big day with a practice in the morning, church, visitors in the afternoon and the festival.  It was a difficult day for Dave due to pain and fatigue but he wanted very badly to participate.  Afterwards we visited with many dear friends that we had not seen since returning home.  The hugs and kisses were strengthening.  Dave was choir director in our ward for 11 years a number of years ago and he loved that calling so much.  It is not likely that he will be able to participate in the ward choir any longer and that is a sorrow for him.  His heart loves music.

We had three family birthdays between the 7th and 10 of March.  Benji turned 6 and Owen turned the big 1 year old.  We were not able to visit either of them on their birthdays but we did later.  My mother turned 87 on the 10th.  We had arranged to have a dinner at the Golden Corral with all her children and their spouses.  However, from the 9-12th she was not doing well at all so we changed our plans and moved to her home.  Dave and I picked up enough takeout from the Chinese Gourmet to feed the 12 of us and we had a nice visit. We felt badly that Mom was not feeling better.

On the way up to Murray, we stopped in Murray for an appointment with Dr. Rich's Nurse Practioner.   Then we met our daughter Jill and four of her kids at a park there in Provo and she took about 78 photo shots of Dave and I with her nice camera.  We had had the more formal shots at Christmastime when we got the family photos but we wanted some warm and playful photos of Dave and I.  She did a great job and Dave tolerated the busy day quite well.

Geneal, Dave, Sunee, Lola and Stewart

On the 12th we had a wonderful visit from Dave's 94 year old Aunt Lola Folkman, her son Stewart, his wife Sunni and Dave's Mom.  They had so much fun talking about old times and the laughter was therapeutic.  We hated to see them go.  Dave's Mom stayed with us for several more days until we went up north again.  She and Dave were able to spend some special time together.




The next day, Sunday, Dave gave the Gospel Doctrine lesson.  It was a little bit of a struggle for him but he did a great job.  I had the impression that this would be his last teaching opportunity and it appears that this is correct.

Dave, Kathy, Geneal and Helen 

John's 8 year old son James had called and ask if his grandpa could go with him to the Grandparents Day at their school on the 15th.  Dave could not tell that cute little guy 'no'.  This then was the day to take Grandma Smith back home.  On the way up we stopped and picked up little Benji in Woodland Hills since we had not seen him for his birthday.  We had the privilege of having him for the rest of the day.  He had a great visit with his great-grandmother on the way up.



While driving we got a call from Dave's cousin Kathy Palmer.  She called about another matter but the condition of her mother, Helen Wright, came up.  Kathy has been Helen's caregiver for about two years.  She told us that Helen was failing quickly.  We made a decision to stop in Alpine on the way to Bountiful and Grantsville.  We are so happy that we did.  Dave's Mom had not seen her for a couple of months and there was a joyful reunion.  She was able to talk to us a little and her famous smile was still there.  Three days later she passed away quietly with Kathy holding her hand.


After dropping Mom off in Bountiful, we drove to Grantsville, dropped Benji off with his aunt and uncle and Dave and I went to meet Lyndee and James at their school.  There was a very nice activity at 4 pm for the kids and their grandparents.  They met us and got us refreshments and then they sat and read with us for an hour.  It was precious time.  We were thrilled that Dave had felt well enough to go.  We had a nice dinner with John and the kids afterwards and I helped John prune his fruit trees before we left.  John and Traci have ten new baby goats--how fun is that.

James gives Dave a hug at Grandparents Day

Dave reading with Lyndee at Grandparents Day

Dave had his last scan on the 17th at our hospital to see if the chemo received three weeks before had slowed anything down .  He was doing well enough so I drove back up to Grantsville in the afternoon to see Lyndee perform in Grantsville's Sociable with her violin group.  Then I drove to Murray to stay the night with my Mom.  The next day I took her to get her hair done and do a little shopping.  Then we went to lunch with four of her nieces and all of her daughters plus two of the nieces' daughters.  We had a great time.  We don't often get together and Mom wanted to get together so badly.  Her niece Darlene lives in Montana but spends winters in Arizona so we caught her on her way back to Montana and it worked out great.  Mom did well until the end of the luncheon and she had a little 'spell'and passed out briefly,  We got her on her oxygen and got her home and she perked up after a bit.  These episodes seem to be coming more frequently.  She is also having more angina.  We don't know how long she will be with us.  It is hard to have my Mom and my husband having such problems.   I stayed over to make sure she was doing okay and left for home on Saturday morning.  Dave had done well without me but his pain is certainly escalating in intensity.  He has pain and tingling down both arms from pressure on nerves due to masses in his chest.  He is also having sciatic pain down one leg.  We do not know if that is due to cancer or from his previous lumbar disc problems 10 years ago.  He hasn't been able to sleep in a bed since coming back from Hawaii in mid-February.  He does much better in his favorite recliner in our bedroom.

We had been asked to speak in Flowell ward's Sacrament Meeting in January but we had a conflict so it was rescheduled for March.  We prayed that Dave would feel up to it.  He had been Flowell's High Council representative for about three years and had grown to love the members so much.  Sunday he was a little queasy and had some pain but he made it and gave a very touching talk, straight from the heart.  So many people came up afterwards with tears of love to give us hugs and kisses.  It was a very significant and tender moment for both of us.  The love that that so many in this community have for Dave is so obvious and so touching.  We had received flowers three times in the last week from friends in the community which have brightened out home and reminded us of how much we love this place we chose to live in.

That afternoon, Brent Jackson and his wife Debbie came for a visit.  Brent and Dave were partners for over 20 years.  It was very meaningful for us and I think for the Jacksons also.   They had such a good time visiting that the visit last much longer than anticipated.  




Monday the 21st we saw Dr. Rich again and we knew before he told us that things had worsened.  Dave was feeling tumor growth and seeing new tumors, he is getting nauseous more frequently and we can just tell that the last chemo did not help.  The report bore that out--tumors had continued to grow in spite of the chemo.  Dr. Rich suggested an MRI to see if they could identify whether epidural medications would help the nerve pain he is having.  After the MRI we will go to Hospice.

Monday Dave shared with me the feeling he had that his time was much sorter than the doctor had estimated. He seemed to have a sense of urgency all of a sudden.  Tuesday he sat down and planned out his entire funeral including the musical numbers.  He even printed off the music for piano and violin  for the piece Meditation that he wanted performed.  Then he made an appointment to arrange for a headstone from Denny Brunson.

Wednesday we went and looked over the cemetary and picked out the area we like, went to the city building and bought us two lots.  Now we are working on designing our headstone.  It seems like we are in a dream that we should wake up from soon but reality is beginning to set it.  That being said, we really feel a great sense of peace and calm in all of this.  We know we are in the Lord's hands.

Thursday John and Paul and his family all came down to watch BYU play in the Sweet Sixteen.  We had a great time together but after the game Dave started with pain that increased and increased and required lots of medication to get him comfortable.  He didn't get to deep sleep until 3 am.

Friday Dave had an MRI.  It was quite the ordeal because he has been unable to lie flat.  He required a lot of medication to get him through it and he was drowsy on the drive home.  Starling away, he kept asking me if I was awake or if I needed to stop and sleep.  He slept until home teachers came ande then watched the news and went to bed for the night.

In the morning he was still sleeping very deeply and I did not disturb him.  He awoke about 11 am and came stumbling down the stairs, barely able to walk and unable to hear.  He seemed confused.  I checked his BP and it was extremely low.  I was frightened and did not know what to do.  I called Brent Jackson who came over and evaluated him and we made the decision to put him on hospice.  This was a good decision.  Soon I had lots of help which I needed desperately.  I was not prepared for this sudden change of events.  All of a sudden, we were very needy.  Dave was restless and confused.  He wanted to get up but was too weak.  Dr. Jackson ordered an IV to flush his kidneys which appeared to not be working well.  This raised his blood pressure.  Medication helped sedate him and make him more comfortable.  The kids were all called and soon started to arrive to help me.  A hospital bed and oxygen also helped and soon I was feeling like I could deal with what was happening--I didn't like it one bit was the fear was gone and reality was setting in.

For 12 days, Dave was in a semi-conscious state.  The children and grandchildren came for moral support and one of my boys stayed with me all the time to help move Dave.  We had some very tender and poignant moments and treasured the last few days we had with him.  Many friends and family came to visit and usually he would recognize them but have difficulty trying to talk with them.  Some of those special visits were from Susie Adams who worked with him at the hospital the entire time he worked, Fawn Hunter and Ella Christiansen who were office staff for many years, Stew and Marge Jacobsen,  students and faculty from CUNORI along with the Brackens, the Brown who replaced us in Chiquimula, the Lyons who served with us as misionaries in Chile, Dr. Grose and his wife, and many more.

This is one of my favorites--Dave kissing Eliza, Mic's second child

Ella and Fawn--long-time employees of Dave's in the clinic

Grandson Jordan, Jill's second boy

son Challis and several grandchildren spend time with Dave

Sunday, April 3rd was General Conference.  My parents, Brian and Gunn and Woody all came down for a visit and had dinner with us. On April 5th he talked with Challis on the phone for Challis's birthday.  For some reason, he was able to speak when the phone was to his ear.  He wished Challis a happy birthday and told him he was trying not to die on his birthday.  What a tender moment that was.  It was obvious that his brain was working but that he just was aphasic.

My Mom and others returned on Wed, his final day.  My sons John and Paul gave him a blessing of release and he returned home to his Heavenly Father about 2 hours later.  His mother and many of the family were here.  I feel sure that his father, whom he has not seen in 47 years, was there to great him with open arms!  What a marvelous day to die on--the birthday of the Savior and the anniversary of His resurrection and the birthday of our church.  I cannot express how much the love and support of family and friends meant to me at this moment.

Going to the funeral home and dressing him with my children was one of the most spiritual times I had during this grieving period.  It was a pleasure to gather memorabilia to display at the funeral and to reminisce about his life and the great memories we had.

There was a viewing on Monday night and we were overwhelmed by the number of visitors--young returned missionaries from Chile, our dear friend Jynnae Whelan and her sister, who tended for us, and friends and relative from everywhere.  They love they brought sustained me and made my heart full to the brim with appreciation for their kind words and love.  Jynnae brought a beautiful plaque with a photo of Dave from when we attended the temple with her for the first time and an original poem she had written.  Dave had had a great impact on her life.

Jynnae Whelen and I

                           




The funeral was held on April 12th.  The children all participated through speaking or prayers, and our good friend Kerry Watson spoke along with our Bishop.  Our ward choir sang a beautiful rendition of  'I Believe in Christ' which was so special and our grandchildren Stephen, Jordan and Tashi sang one of my favorite songs, 'Be Still My Soul'.  That was perfect and so beautifully done accapella.   Everything about the funeral was just what I needed.  I loved every minute of it.

My Mom was able to make it down again.  She was pretty weak that day and needed her oxygen but she came and gave me support.





Me and my Mom













Here are some photos from the cemetery.

All the family including our mothers

Micaela and grandkids

A new life is beginning for me but I have faith that the blessings of peace and comfort that were promised will continue with me on this journey.  I know we will be together again and that he is in a much better place.

Adventures in Paradise / Back to Reality

We were so happy to start a new year after the challenges of the last several months.  With the holidays and the four rounds of chemotherapy finished, we were able to focus on other things.  Dave was feeling good and his scans from late December were remarkably good.  The physician was very optimistic that Dave might have a number of really good months.

As soon as our granddaughter Lexi got back to college in Virginia, her boyfriend proposed marriage.  We were not surprised as she had spent many hours with him on Skype or the phone while she was visiting us.  We are very excited for her.  She decided that she wanted to wear my wedding dress if possible.  her mother had worn my mother's wedding dress so it is a bit of a tradition.  I dug out my dress which brought back very fond memories to us.  We have mailed it off to Nauvoo for her mother to evaluate.   Julie will take it to Lexi in late March, when they go to meet the fiancée, to see if it fits.  It does fit her sister Tashi, and they usually can wear the same clothes, so it is hopeful.

Here is a photo of Suz in her wedding dress which Lexi might wear when she marries in June.

Since the doctor felt that Dave would still be doing well by May, we decided to take a trip to Spain with our son and his family.  Paul got busy and got us a wonderful itinerary and purchased our plane tickets.  We spent fun times studying different cities and deciding on the ones we most wanted to visit.  I started reading Iberia by James E. Michener and found that Spain is really a remarkable country with amazing history dating back far before the Romans.  So much of what we have experienced in Guatemala and Chile has its roots in Spanish traditions that the country fascinates us.

We had a great January.  Dave's Mom came for an 8 day visit and we so enjoyed her.  She brought her cute dog, Tucker, whom our cat came to tolerate quite well.  We watched the series of The Winds of War while she was here and were reminded of the craziness of the world leading up to the US involvement in WWII following the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  We swapped photos and family history information, especially information on Dave's father, Paul Limburg.  We also took one day and took her to the Fremont Indian State Park which is 30 min. from our home.























The day we took Mom home, we stopped at the BYU Museum of Art to enjoy the Carl Bloch exhibit on the life of the Savior.  We met our daughter Jill there with four of her children and had such a good time.  Then Mom took us to lunch in the museum cafe.  It is hard not to feel the spirit of this great man's art.  Our hearts were touched and softened by scenes of the Savior with a child, healing the sick, being strengthened by an angel in the Garden of Gethsemane, etc.

The last week of January we had two wonderful experiences.  Our friends, Steve and Pat Boyden stopped to visit on their way to California.  Steve had been our son Paul's Mission President and when we got to Chile, he was the Executive Secretary to the Area Presidency.  These two did so much for us from the time before we reached Chile until they left in July.  For several hours we visited and enjoyed Chinese food.  Three days later, we attended the Manti Temple with our good friend Linda Rowley.  Her son had passed away and she had prepared her son's name to receive his endowment.  She invited Dave to be proxy for Preston and what a treat that was for all of us.  Dave felt so honored to stand in for a young man who had been a part of our lives and our kids' lives for many years.

We had experienced a fall and winter in Utah before leaving for Chile.  Since Chile is in the Southern Hemisphere, we went into fall and winter there.  We came home into the Northern Hemisphere where it was fall and then winter.  We were anxious to get a little sunshine and also visit Micaela and her family in Hawaii.  I had been in Hawaii for the birth of Andrew and had seen their home and community but Dave had not been able to go.  We left on Feb. 5th and spent 12 wonderful days in Hawaii.  First we spent several days with Micaela and her family and had so much fun.  Then we took four days to visit two of the other islands.

Grandpa gets a big hug from Eliza and Hannah







First we visited the Big Island and experienced a live volcano at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.  This volcano has been erupting since 1983, I think,  but it wasn't particularly active when we were there.  A few weeks later it had a major eruption, but what we saw was plenty spectacular for us.  We stayed in Hilo and rented a car and had a great time.  There is a Tsunami Museum in Hilo which we toured and learned a great deal about Tsunamis--we definitely have greater appreciation for their destructive power.

This smouldering crater is huge.  It was once a bubbling lake of lava until it erupted about 100 years ago.  At night, one can see the pink glow of the crater in the night sky and we were also able to see lava flowing down the side of a mountain.  Recent lava flows have covered much of the road.  We were at an area where the lava was only three weeks old.  Since then there has been a much bigger ereuption.

This is a coconut palm growing out of lava tube.  This is in a state park along the coast.  This park harbors many of the few remaining ironwood trees in Hawaii.  It was fascinating.  The waves were crashing about 40 feet high on the cliffs at the park.




This waterfall was at the end of a beautiful walk
through tropical rain forest that was just stunning.
I took about 50 photos along the way of flowers
and plants.

From there we flew to Maui, took The Road to Hana and spent a day in the Haleakala National Park.  We accidently got in on some whale watching and saw part of a gorgeous state park in a downpour.  Probably the best part was arising at 4 am and driving to the top of the inactive volcano cone and watching the sunrise.  The scenery was stunning and we came back with lots of appreciation of volcanoes and other things about Hawaii other than just its beaches.

Two scenes from the sunrise

These two photos are from the Road to Hana





Then we finished up the trip with several more days with family.  We took a two-hour hike to a lighthouse and Dave did well as long as we went slowly.  We also toured Plantation Village, a wonderful botanical garden, and also the Princess Beatrice Bishop Museum in Honolulu.  We finished up with a trip to the North Shore to see the Pipeline and then had the wonderful experience of attending the Laie Temple with Micaela and Travis.  Three members of her ward volunteered to tend the children while we were gone.  Baby-sitting is not so common there so we were so happy to get away with them for this special experience.  Wow, what a wonderful trip it all had been!

The Bishop Museum is a real treasure on Hawaiian history.  One could spend am entire day there and not finish.

Walk to the lighthouse

 Eliza at Plantation Village

    Dave checks out the old infirmary at Plantation Village
                          



Hannah and Eliza with a Filipino Eucalytpus Tree which has pink, blue and green bark









A few days after returning home, I attended a recital for the piano students of our grandson, Jordan Mulder.  Dave was ill with a cold and also he had a lot of aches and pains.  I was so impressed with these students of Jordan's.  Three of them were his siblings who have just blossomed in their ability since he became their teacher.

   Jordan conducting his first recital and  Kate and her Mom Jill after her voice and piano recital.

Our dear friend of many years, Charla Hays, came out to visit the next week.  Her family had been skiing in Colorado and when they returned to Virginia, she drove out to Utah to visit us.  She stayed with us for two days and nights and we just had a wonderful visit.  She had been a nurse at our little hospital years before and we became good friends with her and her family.  We have stayed in touch these many years.  We met them in Colorado twice to attend the Telluride Bluegrass Festival together, and we have visited with them at their permanent home in Texas.

From the time we returned to Utah, Dave had been having pain down his arms and also sciatica pain like he had experienced 10 years before.  He couldn't sleep in a bed and used the recliner instead.  He had a scan scheduled for 8 days after our return from Hawaii, and we were not surprised when the doctor told us that the cancer had grown rapidly since the scans in December.  We were so happy that we had made the trip to Hawaii when we did.  If we had waited even a week later, it couldn't have happened.  Dave decided to try a three day course of palliative chemo for symptom management and possible to slow down the tumor growth.  He received it Wed., Thurs. and Friday of that same week.

Dave and his chemo nurses







  Now, we are entering a new phase of our lives--a direction we would not choose to go but we accept that this is the will of the Lord.


.

Christmas and A New Year

Our Christmas holiday was so incredible.  We started the season by attending 'White Christmas with Dave's mother and all of his siblings and their spouses followed by a great dinner where we ended up sitting next to Kyle Whittingham, coach of U of U football. Dave got an autograph for his nephew and had a nice visit with Kyle while wearing his red knit U of U cap which he went to wearing after all his hair fell out due to the chemo.  

Dave with coach Kyle Whittingham

Dave and Suz with all Dave's siblings and their spouses and his Mom

 Next we attended our first performance of The Forgotten Carols which was touring in Richfield, Utah, only an hour from our home!  Now we were in the spirit.  The following week we took our older grandkids to the Hale Theater for a live version of  'A Christmas Carol' followed with pizza.

Our next treat was picking up our oldest granddaughter, Alexa, on Dec. 16th from the Salt Lake Airport.  She stayed with us almost the full time until she returned to college in Virginia on Jan 4th. What fun that was!   Dave's mother arranged to get us tickets to the Tabernacle Choir Christmas program and we were able to attend with Alexa and this was a great experience.  It was fun to hear David Archeleta and the entire program was just excellent.  We had a huge snowfall while she was here and she made her first snowman and helped me clear the walks with our new snowblower.

On the 20th we were thrilled with the birth of Zachary Limburg, the third grandson born this year.  We were so worried that he would be born late and miss out on the family photo but he came on time.  Here is Zach with his brothers and sister.  They are children of our second son, Paul.

 The 24th was our first Christmas party-- with all of my side of the family-- in Murray-- followed by picking up our daughter Micaela and her family who arrived from Hawaii.   This was Dave's first time to see their new little boy Andrew.  They also stayed with us for most of the holidays.  We arrived home late on Christmas Eve with all of our guests and also Challis' family who stayed with us for Christmas Day.

The family from Suz's Mom and Dad now number over 200.  We meet in the Cultural Hall of a church.  The nativity and pinata are traditional activities every year.

This is our little Hawaiian family (obviously taken in Hawaii)

What fun we had on Christmas morning with two families of little ones and Lexi!  Then about 10 AM our oldest daughter and her family arrived from Illinois.  This was a surprise as they had planned to spend Christmas day with Brock's parents and then drive to Utah.  However, a winter storm in Missouri interfered with their plans so they came straight to Utah.  What a great surprise!  Not much later, our daughter Jill called to see if she and her family could come down also and stay through Tuesday.  Of course they just added to the fun.  Christmas and Sunday were unstructured and just fun days of visiting.  Challis and his wife left Christmas night but their girls stayed to play with cousins.

I love this photo of many of the younger granddaughters standing in a line doing each other's hair.  I just happened to see them and thought it was so cute.

 Dave shares a quiet moment with Jordan

Relaxing Christmas afternoon


















           Noah colors in the BIG coloring book

Monday the other two boys and their families came.  Six people went to the condo, east of Beaver, for skiing and the rest stayed and went tubing in Fillmore where we still had most of the 20 inches of snow that fell shorty before Christmas. It was a great day.

Tuesday Challis and Nancy returned and we had activities and visiting much of the day.  Then we had a great talent show followed by our traditional Christmas buffet foods and a FHE.  Most of the families then headed north for the night.

Here some of the grandkids are helping to decorate the gingerbread house which is a tradition for us.

Julie and her niece Kate show off their decorated cookie

We had so much fun with the talent show.  All families participated and cousins teamed up with their violins.

Cuddling cousins

                                         Aleah shows off her artwork











Wed. we left early in a big snow storm to gather up small grandkids and take them to Jungle Jim's Playground in Midvale.  We had 14 grandkids and 5 adults and we all had a blast.  Our three year-old Eliza wanted me on every ride with her and that made for more fun.  Leaving from there we went to Dave's Mom's Christmas party in Farmington.  There families acted out scenes from Grandma's life, mostly comical, and we had a great time.  The weather coming home was terrible--a white out--so I stopped at my Mom's in Murray with Challis's two girls and stayed the night.  Dave and Challis were in the 4 wheel drive truck and they made it home but it took 5 hours rather than 2.






Dave's family put together a memory book for Dave with everyone writing up a special memory that they have of him.  This was a very special gift for him that he treasures.

Dave's Mom, Geneal, with four of Jill's boys the night of the party.

Friday was our last big day of playing.  We drove back north in snow again for family pictures in the Rotunda  of the Utah State Capitol Bldg. which is a beautiful marble area and just perfect for the kids to roam when they weren't in a photo shoot.  Then we drove out to my Mom's and about 50 of us had lunch and blessed our two newest arrivals--Andrew Hess, our Hawaiian baby, and Zachary Limburg who was born on Dec. 20th.  Zachary cooperated by being born before Christmas rather than in the middle of our Christmas activities, and we appreciated that immensely.  Then our immediate family all left and drove about 45 miles in another whiteout to Grantsville where we had our traditional New Years fondue feast and boy did we feast.  It was now time to say goodbye to most of the family.  

Suz's Mom, Verna, with baby Andrew and little Gracie at the baby blessing.

            Cousins get acquainted 

Gals and babies

   The guys play Who Wants to Be a

             Pirate       

When we returned home that night we only had Lexi with us--pretty quiet--but two families visited the next day on their way home.  Julie and Brock drove back to Illinois by the southern route of I-70 because of the weather, so we got to see them one more time. Mic and family flew back to Hawaii on the 3rd.

We took Lexi up to Salt Lake on the 3rd after Dave's appointment with his oncologist.  She stayed the night with an aunt and they put her on the plane back to Virginia the next day.  While she was with us there were nightly visits on Skype with a special boy from North Carolina that she seemed pretty excited about.  We thought something was coming of it and sure enough, the Sunday after she got back, she called to announce that she was engaged.  They have set a June 4th date.  He is also a student at Southern Virginia University and is on a baseball scholarship. She is thinking of wearing my wedding dress so we have shipped it off for her to make a decision.

Our visit with the oncologist was very positive.  He said that the tumors are small and he felt that having the surgery in Santiago had been a positive thing.  He feels that Dave will have several good months--maybe more--of good health.  We couldn't be happier.  Dave's hair is growing back in and he's pretty much over all the effects of the chemo and is feeling good.  We get out most days to walk and we continue to spend much time with our mothers, children and grandchildren.  We have been asked to co-teach the Gospel Doctrine Sunday School Class at church, we are Home Teachers and Visiting Teachers, and we try to visit the elderly in our ward as often as possible.  I've started working on Family History and pruning fruit trees when weather allows.   Dave is back at work putting our 3,000 + slides onto the computer and labeling them.  We are now planning trips to Hawaii this month, to Spain with our son Paul and his family in May and Nauvoo in June for the wedding.  It seems that we keep pretty busy and our life is great!  We feel so blessed and sustained.