Tag...not because someone tagged me. Because I don't feel like blogging about anything else!

Tag 1:

I am: cold
I think: I shouldn't have eaten that bowl of brownies and ice cream
I know: what I believe and stand for
I want: more creativity

I have: too much makeup
I wish: I would be more patient
I hate: unfairness (is that a word?)
I miss: playing outside in the summer when I was a kid
I fear: throwing up.  Really, I haven't thrown up in 6 years (even through a pregnancy!).
I feel: cold--believe me now?! :)
I hear: Chad typing
I smell: brownies I baked a while ago
I crave: a warm bath
I search: for some justice
I wonder: where we'll end up

I regret: not being as kind to people a I should be (even just in the way I think about them)
I love: quality time with family
I always: am hungry
I am not: dumb
I believe: people can change and be whatever kind of person they want to be
I dance: in my living room with Cameron.  I miss church dances.
I sing: in the ward choir sometimes
I don't always: love cleaning my house/doing dishes/being domestic
I fight: with Chad and Cameron--Cameron likes to hit things when he's mad...like the floor or the couch.  He knows better than to hit me!
I write: lots of emails
I lose: my Mac lipglosses ALL the time.  It never fails.  I buy one and then it's gone.  I know there's one around here somewhere...
I win: nothing....I've only sort of won one contest in my life.  It was in my ward at BYU.  I got 3rd place for a loaf of banana bread I made.  I was SO excited.
I never: complain.  Ha!  That was a joke.
I listen: to too much AM talk radio
I can usually be found: running errands or doing something to get out of the house
I am scared: of change
I need: to go to bed
I am happy about: having a great family and good friends that live close by


Tag 2:

The way this works is you go to your pictures file and post the fourth pic in the fourth file and this is what I found.

(This didn't work so well cause I have all of my old pic files on an external hard drive.  I didn't ever put the pics that are on the Mac in folders.  So, here's the 4th picture I have.)

Lovely

Trip to VA

Cameron and I hopped a plane last Saturday to VA for a little over a week. It's been really good to be home so far. I went to the rally (as you see in the following posts), visited my grandma and have just hung out.

Coming off the plane. Cameron's got his monkey backpack (my child leash) on. Surprisingly, Cameron did really well on both legs of the flight. He was actually a little scared of the inside of the plane. Maybe he's clausterphobic...?

Cameron and grandpa. Cameron's totally posing here.

He had to have his favorite spoon on the flight. I thought it would help him be a little more calm. I got weird looks. Whatever makes the kid happy!!

Cameron and aunt Katie

My mom got Cameron some beads. I think that sounds better than saying my mom got Cameron a necklace. The reason for it was that Cameron gets upset when I open my jewelry box and pull out a necklace (beaded) and don't let him play with it. So....there ya go.

Cameron with grandma Myrtle and Aunt Sharon (my gma and aunt). I love the look on his face--sort of reminds me of Katie's looks!

Grandpa blowing bubbles at Grandma Norma's house. Cameron's favorite word is bubbles. And it's pretty much the only word he says that we understand (well, I understand "Da" for dad and he does some signs, but the rest of his language is.... Greek to me! Ha! I had to say it.

Cameron and Grandma Norma

We're having lots of fun and will be sad to go, but excited to see Chad and our friends again. And we'll be back in VA for a month at Christmas, so we know there will be lots more fun to have!!

Palin Rally

Here are the pictures I promised from the Sarah Palin rally I went to on Monday. We were pretty far back from the podium, but luckily my mom's camera has a pretty good zoom.

Where we stood...on the front row of this section. Just glad we made it to the front row!

The gang. It was hot and I got sweaty. Niiiiice.

The only view I could get behind me to the left. I'm just not tall enough to get a better picture.

Former Gov. Gilmore. His son was in my math class in high school. He was a weirdo. Gov. Gilmore is running for the US Senate.

I got a little carried away singing "Proud to be an American." The speakers were right in front of us, so we were all a little deaf when we left.

See the guy in the sunglasses? Hee hee. That's a funny question. No, look at the guy in the sunglasses in the blue shirt near the bottom of the pic that is looking straight at you (well, I don't think he really meant to). That's my old boss, Delegate Bill Janis. Funny guy.

Backdrop to the stage

Former Lt. Governor, Jerry Kilgore. He ran for Governor a few years ago and lost. I met him when I went up to UVA to see Chad one day (well, I went to see Jerry, but Chad happened to be there! :)).

Sarah Palin's bus whizzing by. I can't be sure, but I think the guy in front is a reporter for CNN.

A lady next to us wore this t-shirt and my mom really liked it.

Sarah and Todd (this is a major zoom)

My view of the stage. Can you see it?

Hank Williams Jr. sang this hilarious song he made up.

*Well, I had another picture just before mom's camera died, but it won't go on here right, so I'll just let it be.

And there you have it. We waited for Sarah to show for over an hour in the

heat. I'm sure we would have had to wait longer if we wanted to get closer. But it was a fun day!

What I was doing on Monday...

http://media.gatewayva.com/photos/rtd/slideshows/20081014palin/index.html


If you pause on the last picture, you'll see the group of people on the right in the back. We were standing on the front row of that group. Yup...they had to change the venue because so many tickets were given away--we thought around 10,000. But later, we heard there were 20,000+ people there!! (And the picture doesn't show how the large group wrapped around to the right...there were many more people there) I'm so glad. I was getting pretty tired of feeling like I was the only person who thought the way I did/do. Also notice all the cars. It took us an HOUR to get out of the lot. A little ridiculous, but it was such a great rally anyway!

I took pictures there, but need to upload them from my mom's camera since I forgot mine.

Interesting article about media bias in the presidential election...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,433314,00.html

Last week

I know you've heard this before, but I'm working on a video to upload.  The problem is that a good version of it takes FOREVER to upload.  I'll see what I can do.

Until then, here are some pictures from last week...

In Chad's boots

Yikes

Hi Grandma and Grammy (aka Scranscraw)!

And, this is what happens when you try to walk in boots that are up to your thighs... Let that be a lesson, ladies!

My new blonde do...

I went apple picking last week for playgroup.  It was super cold and windy.  Cameron did well until the end when he got a little tired of sitting in the wagon.  BTW, any good apple recipes? Email me!

Charise in the orchard

Priesthood Power

I know many that are reading this have already heard the story, but for those that haven't, here's a post for you.

A few weeks ago, I found a lump in my breast.  Cameron had pushed up against me and I was more sore than usual because of it.  I called me OB a few days later and her nurse said to wait until my next period came to see if it went away (because of hormones).  Well, I waited through that week, but things got worse.  I called the OB's office again and got an apt.  When I went in, my doctor found the lump right away--I guess it was pretty big.  She figured it was a cyst and did a fine-needle biopsy to try to draw out any fluid.  She didn't get any (which meant it wasn't a cyst), so she referred me to a general surgeon and wanted me to get a sonogram and a mammogram.

Well, they couldn't get me in until almost 2 weeks later!  I had to think about this for that long!  But even at that time, I felt like things were going to be ok.  I felt good all through last week, but then over the weekend, I had some major doubts about what I had felt.  I was trying really hard to remember, but I felt like Satan was really working hard to discourage and scare me.  I knew that Heavenly Father doesn't give us a spirit of fear and I was trying to make that my motto for those few days.  But all I could do was think about how scary it would be if I had breast cancer...my mind raced through all the scenarios--what would happen to Cameron?Would Chad have to quit school?  Would we be able to have more kids?  Etc.  I had received a priesthood blessing around the time I had my apt. with my OB and felt pretty good then.  I even sort of felt like the lump was maybe getting smaller.  But then, maybe it was all wishful thinking...?

So, Monday night (just two days ago), I got another priesthood blessing.  I had been so up and down emotionally for the few days before that that I really  needed something to calm my nerves.  And the blessing was exactly what I needed.  I felt so much better after it and deep down, I knew that I would be ok and that I didn't have cancer.  In the blessing, it was mentioned that Heavenly Father was aware of the great test of faith and patience that it had been for me while I waited to find out the news.  Was it ever!

It turns out that everything is fine.  When I went to get my ultrasound, they couldn't find any lump.  I could still feel something, so I went ahead with the mammogram.  The x-rays looked good, too (although ladies under 40, you might not want to get one until you have to...a LOT of squishing involved!!).  Then I met with the general surgeon who showed me the sonogram and mammogram and then did a breast exam.  She said it was just thickened tissue.

Now, this might seem like a very anti-climactic story, but I KNOW that the lump got smaller over the week that I waited.  I know it.  I know that if I had gone to the surgeon the same day I saw my OB, there probably would have been a different outcome--at least a biopsy. Cause that's how scary and big it was.

When this whole thing started, I prayed that my experience would be useful for someone else.  And when I prayed that, the thought came that I should bear my testimony about it.  I was thinking that I would do it next month (after I knew the results and could talk about what I had learned, etc), but we had Fast Sunday a few days ago and the spirit was so strong in motivating me to get me up in front of everyone.  Now, I haven't born my testimony in over two years.  Yeah.  Pretty sad.  So, I was in no hurry to get up there on Sunday--I was too nervous.  And I didn't even know when I got up that I would say what I did.  But I found myself telling everyone about my experience; about how I had felt ok about things, but that I was scared but knew that Heavenly Father was aware of me and my needs and would comfort me.

I don't think Chad would have advised me to say something like that (so personal) to the whole congregation, but I can't tell you how many people have told me that they're glad I shared that with them.  Not sure what it might mean to each person individually, but I'm really glad that I listened to the Spirit.

I'm very humbled from this whole thing.  It only lasted a few weeks, but it really made me focus on my life and what I am doing and not doing to be the best person I can be.  Every few years, something scary like this happens to me (a lump in my neck when Chad and I were engaged, thinking that Cameron might have Downs when I was pregnant, and now this) and I truly think it's a way to get me to see what's important in life.  It seems to happen when I hit a spiritual plateau.

I'm also very humbled by the love I've been shown from friends and family and especially from people in my ward.  You don't really realize how much people care about you until you go through a difficult time and you see how much compassion people have.  So I want to thank everyone for the love and support I've been given.

Well, there it is.  Not a tragic tale, but such a learning and growing experience for me.  And I hope I'm a better person for having gone through it.