Flowers Blooming All Around Us

My long silence on this blog is not a sign that things have been going badly. Things have been going well! I just seem to have been very busy; the days are so full, and they are flying by. John and I are enjoying having so much time to spend together! We are loving it. He had always worked such long hours in his medical practice, and for over 15 years I'd had my bookstore in Appleton; our time together was always precious. But now the pace of life has changed, and it's wonderful to have so much time together. Yesterday we had a visit from our old friends, the Stoehrs, from our old Church ward in Appleton (including three generations of their family!). I told Deb I've been feeling guilty about not having posted on the blog for such a long time, and she encouraged me to do so. She pointed out that a long silence might lead people to think that things aren't going well. This has motivated me to post! (Thanks, Deb.)

So, an update: John is doing great! He continues on the Tarceva, a pill which he takes daily. He's tolerating it well. He'll be scanned again in late May to see if it's working. If it is, he can stay on the Tarceva indefinitely. The oncologist told us that one side effect is a rash on the face and trunk, kind of like teenage acne. He said a bad rash can be a sign that the Tarceva is working well; there's a correlation between the rash and response to the drug. After four days on the drug, John woke up with a rash all over his nose and cheeks! We were so happy and excited! Acne has never been celebrated like this by any teenager, or by anyone else! The rash has since spread to his chest and back. He does have an oral medication and a topical gel to control it.

He's still pretty tired, has a bit of trouble getting going in the mornings, and has lost all his hair and most of his eyebrows, but has been maintaining his weight, and his positive and cheerful attitude never fails. When we have our daily family prayers, he still prays for a miracle, and that we might be blessed to be able to grow old together. But at the same time we are realistic, and having honest and open and heartbreaking discussions.

We know we are in the Lord's hands, and we trust Him completely. We are so overjoyed to know that the First Presidency of the Church has approved John's going to the temple early, before the usual one year waiting period after baptism, so that we can be sealed to each other and to our children very soon! The gospel of Jesus Christ has brought so many blessings into our lives. We're so grateful to be members of our Church. Some might think living the gospel is hard, but it's not. Life can be hard, but living the gospel is easy. It brings us great comfort, especially at this time of trial.

And it's springtime, and we have flowers blooming all around us, and sweet birds singing! We're just having so much fun, and enjoying each other's company, and our friends and our family, and there's almost too much beauty for us to bear.