Any LDS women with BC?

Susan--10 years is a long time. Your daughter is a blessing indeed!

I was told I wouldn't be able to have any children. God had a different plan...four kids later. I'm so grateful. But I did have to have surgery in order to get pregnant with our second. She's the only "planned" kid and we didn't know if that would work either. Our daughter has Turner's Syndrome and will not be able to have children. She will need to adopt, but this actually pleases her because she loves, loves, loves other peoples' children. She was 11 when she found out. It caused her sadness and tears for about sixty seconds and then she decided that she was happy about it and why. I'm pretty sure she could find rainbows in a dung heap. Father in Heaven was good to send her to me. She teaches me a lot about finding the positive in the world.

That sounds fun to have something different for Easter each year. My DH convinced me that I am too tired and in pain to handle cooking for everyone this year. He's going to talk to his folks today and see if we can do it at their house. So I may be trying new things this year too. I am torn between disappointment and relief. Relief that I will be able to just rest and heal, but disappointed because I am anxious to make new and GOOD memories in this house. I got diagnosed the week we were moving in and most of my memories here are connected to being sick. I feel like I went on a very bad vacation and can't go home. OK, venting done. I know that I just have to be patient. The time for making memories and bonding with this home will come. Patience is not one of my strong points! haha Perhaps that is one of the lessons I'm supposed to get out of being sick. And I know there are others who have it far worse than me. These discussion threads have helped me find some perspective there.

Sitting in front of a fireplace sounds nice. I hope you have a cozy blanket and something good to watch or read too. We are hoping to install something like a fireplace sometime in the future. For one, there are lots of power outages here, so we need an alternate heat source. The previous owners removed what was here before. I don't know what they did for heat in the long power outages. Crazy.

I'm home in bed trying to let my skin have a break. Missing church. I sure enjoyed Women's Conference yesterday though.

Hello to Joanne and Ray! Happy Sunday to all.

Good evening Glad you liked the poem and such. Thanks.

Ray--WHOA! I'm glad you survived. That is a seriously packed day, but you should really pat yourself on the back for pulling all of that off! My DH's family plays hard like that. I love it. I'm sorry little guy is sick again--that seems like such a long wait to see the doc. What kind of specialist?

I have four boosts left--done on Thursday. Today I was airing out my skin while resting in bed. I had no idea that my arm was sticking to one of the open wounds.....not good. If you think about it, all of these clumsy things I keep doing are pretty funny. This stuff could be in a sitcom.

Susan--Where did you daughter go for that mission?

Well, I'm off to right my son in Mexico. I can't wait for his weekly email tomorrow. That's always the highlight of my week.

Pleasant dreams! Love, Sara

Happy Monday

Susan--I am definitely NOT healing yet. Things are getting worse. I'm living off of pain relievers. But I am on the final count of days (three left) and they gave me a prescription of Silvadene for all of the open, bleeding places. I know it will get better soon. We booked our flights to Hawaii last night. Knowing we took another step to making that trip a reality was very uplifting! Thanks for thinking of me and caring. That helps too.

I love your attitude about things. Surrendering control is a tough issue for me. I sometimes think that is part of what I have to learn too. I was anorexic for eleven years. While I don't practice the dangerous physical habits involved there, I still retain the struggles with control and perfectionism that exist with this illness. I appreciate your wisdom and meekness. I envy your calm and I'm actively seeking ways to achieve such inner peace as I study my scriptures and return to faithful daily prayer. I had pushed God away for a while--my guilty pattern when the going gets rough--and I even know better than to think that will work. I'm grateful that God is patient.

Guatemala--very cool. Was this also a proselyting mission? Or strictly a service in labor? Both are admirable, just curious.

How are you? Is the weather permitting you to get your running in? I can't run, but I wish I could. I have severe cartilage damage in my feet from ballet, so the impact of running is murder. Walking is trouble, but that's kind of necessary--LOL. I LOVE pilates. I'm going to start getting back into that next week--gently at first. I'm a human rubber band, so I'll have to be careful not to tear healing wounds in the beginning.

I envy that you knit. I would like to learn crochet. I used to say, "I'll learn that when the kids are grown." I would say it about many things. I'm done putting desired learning and enjoyments off to "later". I think I will get my friend to teach me crochet this year. Do you have pictures of the baby clothes you make? I think the things you are making will be such a treasure for those grandchildren.

Ray--How's little guy? Have you fully recovered from the big party? I hope you got some extra rest so you could re-energize. Thinking of you.

Joanne--Hello again.

My oldest son is serving a mission in Mexico. When he emails home each week, he sends another letter with a spiritual message that encompasses what he's been learning and he studies the scriptures and teaches and listens to his church leaders. This week he sent home a beautiful Easter message that I wanted to share with you. This could be shared with any Christian. I wanted to share it with you because the message is tied to adversity in our lives. I found it so uplifting.

Hmmm...I guess I don't know how to put a document in a post here. Well, no pressure, but if you decide you are interested in my son's message, PM me your email and I'll send it to you that way. Or suggest another solution. I'll understand if you want to pass too.

Good point Susan. I'm sorry you lost your friend. I am fiercely loyal and protective of my friends. It's sad that she wouldn't walk through the fire with you, as you put it. It really is hard for people to fully understand any of this. My sister came to take care of my family and I throughout chemo. She stayed for six months. Her help was an incredible blessing, but I often felt like I had to put on a show of strength, because she didn't understand what I was going through. When I was particularly down, her approach was "I can't handle you acting like this." I think it was her fear of losing me that made her act like that. But it made me the one who had to comfort her much of the time. Does that make sense?

ok I will try typing again..lol

Momz, sorry about all you had to go through with kids illnesses, very stressful I would bet

Great when our kids do mission trips. I hope he is getting a lot out of it. Every time claire and my hubby have gone on a mission trio, they come back having learned so mush from whom they went to help. Life is pretty cool like that sometimes.

Hope you r getting some rest Ray. Praying for Jacob....and praying for your counseling. Ours helped a lot !!!!

Sweet dreams all.

Little nauseous from chemo today . Might be a long night. It gives me headaches for the first few days to...go figure...actually please do, I can't ....lol. Just kidding, don't waste anytime on that . This ti shall pass.

Looking forward to seeing the kids this weekend. They are babysitting a hedgehog . She can't get him to unball, he is scared...but I am the animal whisperer, ha ha. So I will help her when I get up there..

God bless and prayers to all

Hello, ladies!

Fun to read all your posts and catch up on the latest. So glad Ray's big day for her hubby went well. What a huge effort and labor of love And Ray--I hope Jacob will get properly diagnosed soon so he can get some relief, poor baby. You're doing an awesome job, caring for him and the other children you have in your home.

Susan--that's cool that your family has done mission trips in other parts of the world! You can relate to us LDS sisters, too, as you've seen the character changing and humbling that happens when our children/family serve, fulltime. Please post pics of your knitting projects, too--how fun to make baby clothes! I crochet because I'm a terrible knitter--always dropped stitches.

Hope you're doing OK with the boosts, Momz. You're all most done!!! I liked your sweet poem--thanks for sharing it with us, and I'm glad you're blessed with wonderful letters from a son on a mission. We look forward to Mondays, too, as our son is serving in AZ. He sure loves the Spanish speaking people he's serving. He's still a fun-loving young man and writes about some of the humorous things that happen, but always tells us about the daily "miracles." I'm humbled by the way he listens to the spirit, directing him where to go and who to contact. It always seems to work out.

The Easter pageant at the Mesa Temple has been a huge help for our son and all the missionaries in the area to teach others about Jesus Christ and the resurrection. I'm so glad he's had lots of people attend that he and his companion have invited. It's worth going to AZ to see this beautiful pageant. We saw it many years ago with our 3 oldest children. It would've been nice to see it again when we pick up our son on April 24th--we'll miss it by a few weeks. We're looking forward to seeing him again and visiting the new Gilbert and Phoenix temples. I'm so excited! Our youngest daughter will be back at BYU-Idaho and miss seeing our son by 2 weeks, but they'll see each other this summer. It's going to be odd, having our son in his room again.

Another grandbaby is due April 6th, which will make 5 boys and 5 girls. I'll be in Texas the week of the 13th, helping my daughter with the 3 older children while my Son-in-law is away on business. It will be a joy to see them and spend uninterrupted time with them.

Ray knows how much I LOVE Fridays, but now I'm loving them more because it means one more day closer to General Conference weekend--yes! I'll be making (attempting) these bunny shaped pancakes to eat while we watch the conference in the comfort of our home. Love to all!

Glad your boosts are done, Momz!!!! Hope you make some great memories with your fam during Spring break--sounds like fun and a wise thing to do, keeping home as the base.

Susan--how are you doing? Hope you had a great weekend with the kids and the hedgehog?!?! OMGoodness! If you took pics, please post them! Hope your daughter got him to unball.

Ray--I need you to talk me out of keeping my Easter decorations up till June. It's SOOOOOO tempting!! And you know I'll do what I want, anyway, no matter what you tell me, so I guess it's a moot point Did you have a huge egg hunt with all the grand kids? i think it's so cool the way your family all live close enough to make holidays a big event.

I loved all the conference talks and can honestly say I can't choose a favorite--there were just too many wonderful talks that lifted and inspired me! Here are some of my favorite quotes I wrote down: "God cares more about who we are and who we are becoming more than who we were." "He refused to let me fall." "Keep practicing!!" "We can hush our own fears." "Take time away from social media and turn the pages of your scriptures." "When we enter the temple, we leave "us" behind..." "The church has never been stronger." "It's not about seeking new landscapes, but having new eyes." "Salvation cannot be bought by the currency of obedience, but purchased by the blood of Christ."

How grateful I am for church leaders that provide these timeless messages, all centering on our Savior, Jesus Christ. What a spiritual feast we had this weekend! Please share what you liked and learned from the talks. Thanks

OK--We made the bunny pancakes on Easter Sunday, just using a spoon and knife to shape the ears and feet. Here's the one that turned out best: (I added the cantalope and cilantro carrots

Hope everyone had a joyful Easter weekend! Love to all my sweet sisters

Hey Joanne--We had a nice Easter weekend. Your bunny pancakes are cute. I enjoyed conference too....well, as much of it as I could. LOL I was hit with a wall of fatigue over the weekend and I just couldn't stop sleeping! Everytime I sat down for a Conf. session, I ended up waking up in time to see the closing prayer. Guess I'm going to have to go back and watch the recordings. I did notice a lot of talk about the family and I heard Robert D Hale's message about respecting those from other faiths. Good message.

We are having our "low key" spring break. It's turning out pretty fun. We did decide to go for one night at our friend's beach cabin. I hope I can handle the trip. We will only be an hour and a half from home, so coming home early is totally an option. I am bringing books and my writing and a lot of pillows.

OK, I'm off. Have a great week all! Hugs

Susan--that's beautiful! You've reminded me that I want to learn to crochet. It's not very exciting, but I want to learn how to make leper bandages from my husband's Aunt first. She's been making them for years as a humanitarian service project. I thought it would give me something to do on my flight to Hawaii. I have a different friend that I want to ask if she will teach me to do more complicated things.

There's a sweet gal that my DH baptized during his mission in Chile, who makes lovely sweaters like yours. She also makes a kind of sweater out of a silky, thinner stuff (it's not yarn) and it's almost like tatting. They are so delicate. If I can find the one she made me I'll post a pic. (I still have moving boxes to unpack somewhere--lol)

I would love to see more Susan. Do you make more than sweaters?

that is so beautiful zombie.

And yes I make afghans, prayer shawls, crocheted animals and headbands. Started tatting to make a table cloth. I gave up. To much time. I have four coasters though..lol have done some quilting, but my daughter loves sewing, so I gave her all my stuff. She is good at it.

Thanks for your concern

you can make a prayer shawl anyway you want. I make them for specific people and pray into them while I am making them, for the person, their needs, strength to go through what their circumstances are. My one friend sleeps with hers..lol it is very comforting for people. I personally would rather be taken out for dinner....lol. But I like doing for people what makes them feel good.

Good luck Ray....keep checking in...or I will hunt you down...lol

Give jacob a hug for me

Beautiful sweater, Susan--wow! And I always thought prayer shawls were worn by Jews. I have some dolls from Jerusalem wearing them, but I like the idea of yours, knitting them with loving prayers for those who need comfort. Not sure what you're going through, but I Hope you feel better, soon!

So glad you've started your treatment, Ray. You've made me and a lot of others feel much better, knowing you're keeping dem bones strong!!!

Mombie--Crocheting leper bandages is pretty easy, but the trick is to keep the stitiches even so it doesn't become a zig-zaggy strip. The ladies at the Humanitarian Center in SLC told me that they still use them, though, no matter what they look like. Good luck!

Yep--my husband and I are going to AZ to pick up our son from his mission! We're leaving Thursday night and will attend sessions at the Gilbert and Phoenix temples with him, plus visit his favorite ward (church group) and some people he wants us to meet. I'm pretty excited to see him after 2 years

Love and prayers to all!

Yep, two years. Can't wait for my hug--coming soon!! So happy for you Joanne!

dont have pice of everything. The bunny sweater...never got a finished pic of it. But it did come out cute.