Gingerbread House Builders Unite!

We tried our hand at making a gingerbread house this year. Last year we lost the roof in a frosting slide and the house never did recover even with Tim and Jacob DRILLING into the roof to try to anchor it in place! This year was a better result perhaps only because the gingerbread house was already put together in the box! :)

With supplies ready we were up for the task.....

In the world of gingerbread houses

mess = progress

We made a LOT of progress!

Okay, so some of the marshmallow people resemble Tim Burton's character's from The Nightmare Before Christmas .....a tad scary, but a conversation piece!

This is Tim and I! :)

That is Ella on the right the corner of the igloo, with Jacob (on the left), Annah with the blue alien blue eyes, and Abigail with the blue hat. :)

This is Tim, Andrew and Jordan!

The finished gingerbread house...

We are having a MUCH better Christmas this year than last year....

Right down to the gingerbread house! :)

Ensure, DogSure...It's All the Same!

Six months ago we fell in love..with a puppy we named Ella.

Ella quickly found her way into our hearts and home, and life hasn't been quite the same since...in a good way.

Since her introduction into our lives I have discovered a whole new world called Pet Smart. Each time we go there it never ceases to amaze me to see the hundreds of things available to feed, carry, entertain, groom and clothe your pet!! I never knew...until now.

Being a Maltese, Ella needs to be groomed by someone with more capable skills than I possess so we made an appointment to get her first haircut, you know, in time for her first Christmas!

It was quite amusing that this little bundle of fur, who thinks she's way bigger than her nearly 6 pounds, was shaking -- visibly shaking -- when I walked into the pet salon at Pet Smart! I guess I should have known that might be the reaction when we were walking into the store. She made it across the parking lot and to the sidewalk before she went spread eagle on the ground and I had to pick her little body up and carry her in!

But she lived through the experience although she was uncharacteristically quiet (and lighter!) the rest of the day. I am convinced that she was being so careful not to repeat whatever she thinks she did to make us take her to that awful place! :)

That was on Wednesday. On Saturday we returned to Pet Smart again with Ella in tow to have her picture taken with Santa. Never did I think that even *I* would stoop to having a dog's picture taken with Santa, but when you fall in love you can do some unexplainable things...that, and two girls pleading for the opportunity to have a framed documentation of Ella's first Christmas!

Well, just few minutes waiting for Santa to be ready was enough to make us know that we were not going to spend $$$ on that opportunity. Santa was a little thin with clothes all askew, a mustache that was below his lip and a hat that wouldn't stay on his head. As Santa's assistant tried to help preserve Santa's true identity, it became obvious that Santa wasn't the jolly Mr. Claus but rather, a frustrated Mrs. Claus!

From that messed up scene we went on to look around the new and fascinating world of dog owners. I've never seen so many bones....

or books......

or clothes....

or treats! Amazing!

And even more amazing was seeing Tim's eyes light up when he saw something so familiar to him.....

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Welcome to the world of dog lovers!

*No we didn't buy the DogSure although we were tempted! :)

Beauty and the Beast...

Abigail has thoroughly enjoyed being involved in her latest middle school play, Beauty and the Beast.

She played two parts -- a spunky villager who swoons over Gaston and a beautiful animated vase for the song "Be Our Guest".

The costumes were wonderful but Abigail brought her costumes to life with her spectacular smile and charm!

This "Charlie's Angel's" pose when Gaston and his thugs are going to the castle to get the Beast made everyone laugh! The vases were ready for him! :)




I love this picture of Abigail!

"Don't make us have more kids..."

Several nights ago we tried to herd the kids into the living room for prayer...

They weren't exactly cooperative. Someone always has "something" that will take "just a minute" (said in a exasperated tone of voice!) and when one decides to say that, it is license for the others to follow. The thought process is, "Oh, he or she is not coming yet so *I* don't have to come either." And so it goes....most every night.

That night as Tim and I waited in the living room pleading with them to come for prayer Tim called out,

"Don't make us have to have more kids to try to get some obedient ones!"

BWHAHAHAHA!

He's a very funny man! I do love being married to that funny man!

Waiting For Tomorrow No More...

*I LOVE this picture done by Marissa Noe of Jordan and Tim! She did such a wonderful job! Thank you so much , Marissa!

I suppose that by now you know tomorrow has come and gone!

My last post, Waiting For Tomorrow, was the day before Tim was going for his CT scan. Tim did indeed have his scan on Tuesday, December 1st.

From first peeks at the scan it appeared that all was well and yesterday that was doubly confirmed by Tim's oncologist, Dr. Arnold. Can we ever begin to explain the joy and thankfulness that we feel? What a way to start "the most wonderful time of the year"!

The time leading up to the scan is like holding your breath...for a long time. It's a squeezing feeling of your heart and mind as you wait. When the news comes it's like being able to inhale deeply to restore your life. Indeed, in many ways, it has restored our life.

Tim will have another CT scan in 4 months. Then, providing all looks good, he will have a CT every 4 months for the next year. After that it is every 6 months for two more years, then once a year till year 5. With cancer 5 years is the magic number. At year 5, if all is well, they give you the boot! That is our dream right now.

We go into this Christmas season with a much different circumstance than last year. Almost a year ago now (on December 23) I sat in the waiting room of the hospital while Tim was having a biopsy that, in the end, confirmed he had cancer. In that waiting room I passed the time by writing out Christmas cards that were uncharacteristically late in being sent. Life as we knew it was turned upside down and Christmas cards were the last thing on my mind. And given our pending news, I didn't know what to write to people that hear from us each year with a cheerful update of the previous months.

But this year there is renewed hope and appreciation for our life, our family, and each other. Trials tend to show you what you are made of and I am here to tell you that Tim is made of some pretty hardy stuff! He continues to be a knight, as tough as they come and armed with the right amour -- faith, hope, a desire to do whatever is necessary to stand steadfast, firm and immovable.

Ephesians 6:13
"Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

Romans 8:31

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?"

Waiting for Tomorrow...

Back in July I wrote a post about being a clock watcher. Summer was winding down and I knew that the lazy days of summer were coming to an end much faster than I was ready for and it was soon going to be back to early mornings, set schedules, homework and earlier bedtimes. I knew that I was again going to be a clock watcher to make sure we were all where we needed to be, when we needed to be there. Summer freed us from being clock watchers but the start of school put us back in that role.

Here it is almost December and I am still very much in clock watcher mode (although I did escape it for 5 glorious days for Thanksgiving break!).

It recently occurred to me that not only am I a clock watcher but I am also now a Calendar Watcher.



I have closely watched the calendar as the days and months have gone by.

I can tell you that it is nearing a year ago that Tim had the diagnosis of cancer. I can tell you that it has been almost 11 months since his surgery.

I can tell you the date of his biopsy.

I can tell you the date of his surgery.

I can tell you the date his radiation began.

I can tell you the date he got his feeding tube put in and when he finished radiation.

I can tell you when he began to be able to work part time again and when he went back to full time.

I can also tell you now that Tim is nearing a milestone on the calendar -- the very calendar I have been watching. It has been almost a year since his diagnosis and 3 months since his last scan. That means that another scan is coming....tomorrow, in fact...December 1st.

So I have very much been a calendar watcher waiting for tomorrow to make an appearance.

Scan times are always riddled with anxiety as you wonder just what it will reveal. Will it show cancer successfully at bay or will it confess dreaded news? You just never know because the very nature of cancer is uncertainty.

But while uncertainty looms about some things, there are many other things that are certain and THAT is what we cling to. We cannot ever let uncertainty of things we don't know cloud our vision of the things we do know.

Psalm 118:24
"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

Thankful Hearts....

The day after Thanksgiving finds our family very thankful.

We had a nice Thanksgiving meal together that was quiet, calm and uneventful. We like quiet, calm and uneventful. :)

At about 10:30 last night Tim and Jacob were in the kitchen and Tim decided to have some leftovers from dinner. His bottle of water that accompanies him everywhere happened to be in the living room while he was in the kitchen. Mistake number one. After deciding he didn't need his water he took a bite of turkey. Mistake number two. Tim then had a major choking episode where, without the help of Jacob, may have turned out very differently. Jacob acted quickly and did the Heimlich method on him. Tim struggled for air and Jacob kept working with him while I called 9-1-1. Thankfully the 9-1-1 call was able to be cancelled because Tim's airway finally cleared. It was a very scary time for all of us but are so thankful that Tim was okay and that Jacob was there to help him.

Then today we got an email from Jordan. He is still in the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah until December 21st. At that point if he has his visa he will head to Brazil but if he doesn't he will be sent somewhere in the United States until his visa comes through. We hear from him regularly but today we got a very special letter from him. Here is some of what he wrote:



Hey family!
So it hit me Monday that I hadn't said much about Thanksgiving and I've missed it now but I still want to share a little with you all. Hopefully the spirit of Thanksgiving is still present with you all.

Thanksgiving morning Jeffrey R. Holland and his wife spoke to us. Their love for each other was so great that it made me want to share it with everyone. Sister Holland ended her talk by talking about her husband saying, "He took my breath away when I fell in love with him and now I can't breathe without him". Elder Holland opened his talk with a long silence, and then with tears coming to his eyes simply said, "you just saw the sweetest and most virtuous person I know". Being that he associates with the prophet almost daily, that hit me pretty hard. I am grateful for such love and also for the love of families.

Annah, I love how sweet and innocent you try to be and are. Nobody is perfect all the time but I see the little things you do to make others happy, I see you grow up which makes me sad, but unexplainably happy to watch because I see the happiness you bring to people already with the simple things you do.

Abigail, you're the big sister everyone should have. Its not easy to always be the example (or the one that gets blamed for everything) but I am so thankful for the things you do. I love to see how grown-up you are sometimes. I was so happy I got to see your play and band performance. School doesn't last long so do all that you can while you are there.

Jacob, I would be grateful if you could find it in you're heart to forgive me. Having a little brother should be the coolest thing ever and I don't feel that I ever realized that. You are probably the most interesting Valenta brother the family has (in a good way), I was amazed at what you could do with those computer programs before I left. School is just a passing thing, don't let anyone convince you that anything is more worthwhile than learning and being with your family.

Andrew, you are my brother. Every good childhood memory with family I have, you were present for. I'm thankful for the chance I had to be so close to you growing up, you were my role model. I watched you as I grew up, you were the example of everything I wanted to be. I loved you for what you were, and I love you for who you are. Every time someone comments on a similarity between us, I smile inside that at least a part of me lived up to my childhood dream to be like you. Please be that role model for everyone you meet.

Mom, I am thankful for everything you have given, continue to give, and will give. I didn't inherit all your traits, but I pray each day that I may have a portion of your love, and a fraction of your faith. I am slow to remember the promises of God, while you are slow to forget the blessings he has freely given. I am very grateful to have a mother who knows her Father and Savior so well. God builds us up through trials to fulfill his plans for our eternal joy.

Dad, it has been a long time since you have been absent in my prayers. I am grateful beyond words that I am your son. As I grew up I looked up to you, a man with all the answers, for reassurance in all things and comfort. Less than a year ago though, I looked down on you as you were in a wheel chair, and your body struggled through more than I will ever know, and I only wanted to be your strength and reassure you of all things and comfort you. I was powerless but God knew, as did I, that I could not do what was required of me without you. I am grateful that God has allowed me to bring this comfort of His mercy to more than just our family.

I love you all and hope you had a great Thanksgiving, I enjoyed the cookies (as did the rest of my district). Tchau! That means bye.

Our hearts are truly grateful....