50 / 50

Nicole is excited to share that we are 50 days post transplant!!  We are 1/2 way done before we can go home.  Nicole had clinic yesterday (8-5-2014), she is doing great.  She will start next week with her 4 weeks of LP with methotrexate (LP, Lumbar Puncture, is where they put her under to administer chemotherapy into her spine).  I thought we were done with chemo but hopefully this will be her last 4 doses forever.

These first 50 days have been hard for me this time.  With Nicole's first bone marrow transplant we felt strongly to just pack up the kids and bring them to Salt Lake with us.  This time we have felt that they needed to spend more time in Hyrum.  It's hard to be separated from James and the girls. 

Even though I have days that I feel alone (and when I say this, my family is a great support and so are many friends with facebook messages or a text reminding me they are still here for me.  I am forever grateful to the nurses at PCMC and homecare that always have a listening ear)  It's an alone feeling that I can't really describe in words.  But I love this thought by President Monson: "As we seek our Heavenly Father through fervent, sincere prayer and earnest, dedicated scripture study, our testimonies will become strong and deeply rooted. We will know of God’s love for us. We will understand that we do not ever walk alone. I promise you that you will one day stand aside and look at your difficult times, and you will realize that He was always there beside you."  In the same talk he shares a quote by President Benson that reminds us that when you feel alone remember prayer:

“All through my life the counsel to depend on prayer has been prized above almost any other advice I have … received. It has become an integral part of me—an anchor, a constant source of strength, and the basis of my knowledge of things divine. …

“… Though reverses come, in prayer we can find reassurance, for God will speak peace to the soul. That peace, that spirit of serenity, is life’s greatest blessing.”  President Monson adds "Allied with prayer in helping us cope in our often difficult world is scripture study.... As we read and ponder the scriptures, we will experience the sweet whisperings of the Spirit to our souls. We can find answers to our questions." (https://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/11/general-relief-society-meeting/we-never-walk-alone.p1?)  In Doctrine and Covenants 90:24 "Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another."

I add my testimony of the power of prayer and scripture study.  They have brought peace to my mind and heart many times through out my life.  They have also brought answers to life challenges.  Our Father in Heaven didn't send us here in mortality to walk alone.  He gave us prayer to communicate with Him and scriptures where we can hear His voice.

Here are some pictures from Nicole clinic visit

Why is Kermit eating my new necklace!

Coloring in my new Minnie Mouse coloring book.

Look I am getting so big I can climb up in the chair by myself.