Convocation

Graduation ceremonies are streaming at:

aggiecast.usu.edu

on Friday at 1:30.

David recommends the Mormon Channel would be more entertaining and a better use of your time. :)

In the news...

http://english.usu.edu/htm/stay-connected/news/articleid=30977

Bee A Beekeeper Kid Round 2

Tonight was our family's second opportunity to share essays written by the children on why they'd like to be a beekeeper. The videos are unfortunately not uploading. So here's the written form:

Amirrah:

Flowers are really important to bees because then they can get the pollen from the flowers so that they can make honey for us to care for our allergies, our sore throats, and many other reasons. When I studied beekeeping, I figured out about the different flowers that help make edible honey. Some of the flowers in early spring are rosemary, thyme, coconut palm and clovers. Some of the late spring and summer flowers are blueberry, lavender, thistle, and tulip tree. Some of the plants for late flowering are fireweed, sunflowers, and ivy. I will be watching throughout the seasons the bees and which flowers in our yard they go to the most (we have planted many of the flowers mentioned above, as well as a wide variety of wildflowers). I will also watch to see if they go to our peach, cherry, apple, and pecan trees. I will then know which ones the bees most and I can encourage my neighbors to plant more of them so we can help the bees a lot. That is why I would like to be a BAB kid.

Timothy:

If I get a hive this year I will be doing an experiment about which of a variety of scented water works best. I learned from my research that I have to be keeping the water source full, I would have to have a landing pad for the bees, I can use distinctive scents, and if they can’t find it, I can use sugar water to bait them. For landing pads, in the past year of helping with beekeeping, I have found that the wood, even if it gets wet, can still work, even in the shallow feeder we had. With the buckets I use for the experiment, it may be good to use sponges or continue with wood chunks. Another possible way I could possibly bait them, and give the bees scented water was I can trickle the scented water over the hive frames so they look for the source. I will be putting: mint scented, lemon grass scented and various other scented water in buckets. I will be putting them all out at the same time over a period of one week to see which one they will go to most. After recording those results for a week, I will study the data and, for the rest of the year I will use the type of water that worked best. By using the things that help my bees, I think that they will likely survive better. If I see other bees there, I will possibly be helping them, I will leave that scented water out so I can be helping other native bees. Thank you for listening about what I will be doing this year to help honeybees and native bees by providing good water.

Both presented well and got high compliments from other parents. But the competition was stiff with only 7 awards available for the 28 contestants (last year, 60% of contestants were awarded!).

This year, Amirrah was one! We are so excited for her to have her own pet(s!). She is, too!

Cancer-free for 182 minutes and counting... or maybe 6 weeks...

I'm having David type this since I'm still slightly medicated (morphine is yummy), so expect spelling errors. Here is a bit of an update.

This year my immune system gave up. Threw in the towel. Called it quits. 18 years on immuno-suppressants can do that to a person. Since then I have had to limit my contact with those who are sick, and limit physical contact with people outside my immediate family. I don't even share drinks with my kids anymore.

About three months ago my energy dropped significantly. Exercise, eating well, and extra naps were not helping. I could not figure out what was wrong.

Then I got an infection that led me to visit my OB/GYN. That little infection turned out to be a major blessing and little miracle as the doctor found that the cyst on my right ovary had returned. She scheduled a ultrasound.

A couple days later, the ultrasound technician caught something out of place and did additional tests. We were contacted shortly thereafter and informed that I may have ovarian cancer. All the symptoms fit. Because of my other health adventures, they sent me to the top gynecologic oncologist in the State (though some claimed he is the best in the western U.S.).

Between these appointments, many of our closest friends and family fasted and prayed for me. Within days of their various fasts, I started to feel significantly better. My energy increased a bit, and things did not go as poorly.

When I visited with the oncologist, he ordered bloodwork. The new results indicated that the mass was now nothing more than a tumor. He gave us various options about how to deal with the situation, and we counselled with him, God, David, and my five other various specialist doctors. We opted for surgery.

This morning, I went into the hospital to have the problem and problem areas removed. The surgeon brought in four additional doctors to assist with the procedure. My hubby says it is because I'm special.

There were some slight difficulties in the procedure due to the scar tissue from my many other surgeries and to the physical anomaly of my blood vessals (3x the normal size). Once the doctors took care of those circumstances, they went to explore the area of the tumor. My oncologist became "extremely concerned" because (hopefully I explain this right) all of the tissue and tumor indicated that the cancer was malignant. They prepared to take everything, lymph nodes... etc.

They took out the tumor, and had the pathologist do a quick biopsy to see what it indicated before search out where it had spread, only to find out that it seems it was now a low-malignant-potential type of cancer tumor.

When explaining this afterwords, the Doctor seemed perplexed about the indicators, though he was very pleased with the results.

After some pondering and inquiring, here is what we believe happened: I had ovarian cancer. The faith, fasting, and prayers of family and friends stopped its progression and altered it to a non-dangerous state long enough for me to have a hysterectomy and remove the problem. That's how wee see it.

So, thank you to all those who have prayed for me, fasted for me, and keep up on the blog enough to know what's going on in our lives. Hugs from afar.

P.S. The doctor came in and just informed us that with how things are, they are going to do some additional tests, and they may send me back in to remove everything else in a couple months. But that is unlikely.

FYI: Aqua ribbons are for ovarian cancer awareness.

Milestone for Susanna

First loose tooth was keeping her awake. So I pulled it.

Here is a photo timeline of her emotions:

7:32:42 PM Freak out that the tooth is gone.

7:33:46 Smile for the camera.

7:33:53 Looks like happy but freaking again. Look at the wet eyes from tears.

7:33:59 Laughing at her milestone.

7:34:13 Slow the bleeding.

7:34:17 Thinking this might be a good thing.

7:34:27 Taking a look at the tooth.

7:34:40 Start to freak again.

7:35:03 Amirrah told her to put her tongue in the hole.

7:35:10 That's a funny feeling.

7:35:15 It doesn't hurt any more.

7:35:24 This could be alright.

7:35:46 Just when we thought all was well, freak out...I've never had a loose tooth before!

And now you don't have one again!

7:33:50 AM --Ah, tooth fairy dad delivered. 

A foot of snow on the ground makes for many more in the air.

The most fun on Christmas?

Presents?

Nope! Later on...

9 people.
8 helped.
7 whined.
6 hours.
5 pieces of plywood.
4 neighbor compliments.
3 three to five foot high snowball fight forts.
2 big storms.
1 awesome snowball fight.

(Only three people left in tears, that's an unqualified success!)

Broadcast in High Def

I was invited to speak at the Church Research Forum International Broadcast.

I always thought it would be something like speaking in Sacrament meeting or regular academic conference; to say I was surprised at the difference in feel and magnitude would be a significant understatement. Want to watch it? I start around 9 minutes in. 

http://bcove.me/gsdnt2xk

Here are some pictures taken from the broadcast. Voting for which to use to update my six year old social media pic allowed...

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2015 Family Update Open Christmas Letter

Another year passes, and we enjoy another 365 days witnessing God’s hand in our lives. We feel particularly grateful for you, our family and friends who season our lives with love, concern, kindness, faith, and positive moments together. Thank you for caring enough to read about us.

This season reminds us of the truth that God is our Father, Jesus Christ is His only begotten son in the flesh –our Savior, and all of us can be part of a happy eternal family together for eternity. We hope these truths help all of us to move forward in faith, overcoming our weaknesses, changing for the better, and finding greater unity with God and our fellowmen.

As we update you on our family experiences over the last 12 months, we would like to give special thanks for your prayers through some of our growth opportunities. Below are our 15 most memorable moments and achievements from 2015.

15. We got a state park all to ourselves for an entire day! Apparently, Snow Canyon was not so named because of its white, cool, climate, but after Lorenzo Snow. In August, we survived camping in 113 degree heat with only one park ranger and a campsite host hiding in their trailers, watching for buzzards and other predators to circle over our heat-stroked corpses. Their hopes were in vain due to water fights and copious iced beverages. Uncle Tom and Aunt Mary Lou provided an awesome respite after the camp to shower and enjoy great company.

14. All of the children earned sushi (their favorite reward) this year from their efforts at school, each earning high remarks for their grade. More importantly, their teachers touted their citizenship and kindness to their fellow students. 

13. Magdalyn skipped 7^th grade beginner band and earned 5^th chair flute in the intermediate band class at her school. She earned two flutes from her diligent practice and continues to enjoy music.

12. Tim discovered a new talent this summer. We purchased a membership to Momentum Climbing Gym and spent about three days a week developing our climbing strength and overcoming any concerns with falling onto mats from 15 feet above ground. By the end of the summer he was bouldering adult V4 climbs. Coaches invited him to join their junior team that competes nationally, but who can afford four grand per kid for just one hobby? It was lots of fun while it lasted.

11. We hosted two adventurous family reunions this year, one during the summer and one at Thanksgiving, with generally successful results! The food was excellent!

10. Susanna started learning piano and guitar this year, and continues to optimistically bring joy to the household!

9. In the realm of personal improvement, after years of diligent practice and study, David was granted the international honor and rank of Si Di (brother) in Shaolin Chuan Fa Wu Ling Xing. This has involved not only the study of the martial application of Kung Fu, (some prefer the term Wushu) but also the internal healing aspects of the arts and studies in Tai Chi Chuan. The process only took five concussions, a dislocated jaw, three broken toes, a bruised liver, and a fair amount of sweat. In this discipline, there are twenty-seven levels of mastery in six general mastery-level ranks {brother, older brother, younger uncle, father, older uncle, grandfather} which begin after the traditional belt/sash system of white, yellow, orange, green, green advanced, blue, purple, red, brown, brown advanced, and black. It is approximately the equivalent of a 2^nd Dan in other martial arts combined with Asian medical training—as this Chinese art emphasizes how one should be able to heal what damage is inflicted; a view not of self-defense as much as one of harmony and maintaining balance in the world.

8. David also completed all of his PhD. requirements, including comprehensive exams, research presentations, and proposal defenses, except for his dissertation. He is now ABD (all but dissertation).

7. My first year of beekeeping with Maggie resulted in a harvest of about 100 pounds of honey. Unfortunately, a wind storm blew over three of our four hives at the end of the season, and the midnight salvage operation resulted in many stings (which we avoided during the rest of the year). It is possible that we lost of some of the hives. We will not know until next spring.

6. This year we saw many excellent musicals, symphonies, operas, and concerts. This means we also endured some that were less than impressive (I’m looking at you Oklahoma and Wizarding Halloween). Our favorite musicals were Tuacahn’s When You Wish and Hale Center Theater’s Big Fish. Our favorite opera was The Pearl Fishers with The Rake’s Progress coming in a close second. Utah Symphony’s Sci-fi Spectacular shocked us with its entertainment value, brilliant interpretations, and flawless performance.

5. We finished putting in grass and sprinklers in our front yard!

4. Some friends invited us down to a ranch in Meadow, Utah, where we enjoyed an amazing vacation playing games, riding horses, playing spotlight, relaxing in hot pots, 4 wheeling, and hiking through lava tubes. If you are still reading, you must actually like us (or really dislike us and are looking for justification…)

3. After twenty years on immune-suppressants for Crohn’s disease and other accumulated illnesses, my immune system finally gave up this year. My six specialists worked together wonderfully to handle my many physical complications. Unfortunately, to keep me around, I had to switch from steroids, immune-suppressants, and NSAIDs to biologics. The first biologic did not take and caused me to make sure David knew my wishes (closed casket and who I want at the grave dedication!), update my will and power of attorney documents and so forth. The second biologic successfully mitigated the Crohn’s symptoms, but unfortunately has some significant side effects. First, my body cannot fight off the weakest of colds/flu viruses. Second, it warns that side effects may include increased risk of cancer, bleeding from all orifices, instant death, and emotional instability, to name a few. Fortunately, David followed promptings to hound me until I went to one of my specialists thus protecting me from seeing one of these illnesses bring about my youthful (just pretend I’m not middle-aged) expiration. The specialist found a tumor. The initial diagnosis is cancer, (though it may be pre-cancer). Since we caught it so early, surgery and a couple months of recovery is all that the doctors believe will be required. That will happen in a few weeks.

2. Melissa, Maggie, and Tim led our family history effort, with David and Ami providing support as we found well over six hundred ordinances needing completion among our relatives on my mother-in-law’s side. We indexed over a thousand names, and completed about three hundred ordinances with Maggie’s help.

1.  Amirrah’s baptism into the Savior’s restored church by her father and the subsequent bestowal of the Holy Ghost by her beloved father, uncles, and grandfather was the highlight of the year.