Miracles

My dad was sent home today after his second surgery. He had a few feet removed from his intestines. The Dr. said the large mass they found was 99% likely to be cancerous. After the lab tests, the Dr. "almost disappointed", told my parents it was not cancerous. They say they just can't explain it. . . But after traveling across the country and stopping by at family and friends' homes where prayers and fasting were offered, of course my family can explain it...it's a miracle! No chemo! No looking back. Thanks to everyone for your faith and support. Thanks to those sweet old ladies in my grandparent's small branch who put my dad's name on the prayer roll, thanks to my aunt in Germany for fasting each weekend, thanks to my in-laws, and neighbors and ward, thanks to my hubby for dropping everything to help with no complaints or martyrdom attitude. Mostly we thank thee Heavenly Father for giving us strength and comfort, love and hope. In a sometimes cruel and harsh world out there it is nice to be reminded that God is mindful of all His children, He hears our prayers. We just need the faith to wait for His answers.

Dear Hubby....

happy 6th anniversary!

thanks for teaching me how to love and to serve.

and for not getting too annoyed right now bc I'm on the computer and you're loading the kids up in the car.

Sorry this year was super super low key. I love you all the more for it!!!

thanks for putting my family first!

love ya!

-sabs

How do you drive 35 hrs in two days with 2 toddlers?

Good thing we had two dvd players. Who ever invented them....Thank you! We owe you big! And a little update.... my dad is healing like a champ. I came expecting him to be lying in bed on pain meds but being my dad of course he couldn't hold still that long and enjoys freaking my mom out by trying to do more than he really should. The kids are loving it here! and I can't help but sigh and be grateful that they can create more and more memories with my dad for years and years to come!

Mama Mia

The Saturday before we left for Seattle I got together with these lovely ladies and headed out to Austin to see...

Mama Mia

(for those without x-ray vision to read the sign behind us) We may have gotten a wee carried away with the boas. I can't help it i love cheesiness. Oh ya and we were mildly scolded for taken photos in the theatre, eventhough we were vain enough to only photograph ourselves and not the actors. We were scared as you can see.

After the show Holly's friend helped us find this little gem. It's Sandra Bullock's bistro, Bess. We enjoyed a private booth and delicious fried green tomatoes. What more could you ask for right?

I'm so grateful for my Texas in-laws . Seriously this outing was to celebrate Rosie and Ale's birthdays but I think a silly girls outing was just what I needed after last week's stress. I love these ladies and can't help getting teary-eyed knowing that they'd do anything for me. Can't wait for next year!

benign....

my new favorite word thanks for all the thoughts and prayers! my dad is recovering and will have surgery on his colon in a few weeks. Read this today: "...L'Chiam meant that no matter what difficulty life brings, no matter how hard or how painful or how unfair life is, life is holy and worthy of celebration". -My Grandfather's Blessings by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.

Rounding the Wagons

Its easier for me to write this than to hear it said aloud so I apologize if this suprises a few of you or seems too personal. I'm sorry if you didn't hear it from me in person first but really its hard for me to talk about. I debated whether or not to make this part of my life public. But since this blog is really my journal and most of you reading are such dear friends I decided to let it all come out. A few years ago my dad found out he had Prostate cancer. My siblings and I decided to all fly home for a weekend and support my dad. A friend of my mom's told us that we were "rounding the wagons". As the pioneers traveled west whenever danger arose the families would "round the wagons" to create a circle of safety and support. This weekend I feel that it may be time to round the wagons again. My dad will find out today if the likely cancer found in his colon has spread to his lungs. Ever since the word cancer entered our family's vocabulary I always convinced myself that I would not let my mind to think of the worst or to cry over things that may never happen. Somehow I tricked myself into thinking that only when death was certain would I allow myself to truly grieve. I have filled my life with distractions and kept most of my emotions locked inside for fear of not being able to retrieve them once I let go. I called my dad on Father's Day only to catch my breath as i heard him cry for possibly the 2nd time in his life. All of a sudden I felt so helpless. I had no idea what to say to my dad. Through my sobs all i could say was, "I'm sorry that you're sad". This past week I think I've cried a little each day. Mostly I cry for sympathy for my dad. I feel horrible that he has to go through all of this. I felt so aweful on Sunday that Daniel and I decided that the only thing we could think of that might offer some comfort to my dad would be to bring two little things that I'm most proud of in my life, my kids. Sunday we head off for the 35 hour drive to celebrate or comfort the news from today's surgery. When I told Kolby that papa was sick he looked at me with confidence and said, "I will pray for him and then he can get better". Today we pray and fast and just wait. I felt strongly in the temple yesterday that no matter the outcome , just as the pioneers declared, "all is well".

Girls camp was so fun and the perfect distraction for me right now. I had so many flashbacks to our good ol' YCL days :) These girls were freak'n hillarious and I feel so blessed to be able to work with these adorable beehives!

Even more amazing than our hair dos is that Daniel not only watched the kids while i was gone, he took them to the library, tried a new recipie, invited family over for dinner, set up a playdate for kolby, took them to chukycheese, folded laundry, and learned how to fix olivia's hair in pigtails! Be jealous...very jealous!