“. . . the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives. When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation . . . and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him. He is the source of all joy⁠“

— Pres. Russell M. Nelson

Latest Posts


  • The Hardest and the Best

    One of the best things of the past few weeks, has been going for my morning walks. As soon as I started feeling stable enough after my brain surgery to walk, I have been having either Lily or Derek take… Continue reading

    The Hardest and the Best
  • Little Bits of Life

    In all the fog and bizarreness of our lives right now, things are continuing to move along – things like school for Arthur, work for Kevin, service assignments for Derek, Lily being home, and so much more. Although I am… Continue reading

    Little Bits of Life
  • After Twenty Years, a Change for my Blog.

    In early 2005, I started my blog. Derek was just a tiny baby, Lily was 2 years old, Kevin was in the Army, and I was living far away from home and family (with my parents living in Scotland for… Continue reading

    After Twenty Years, a Change for my Blog.
  • The End of August – The Month that Disappeared

    I am not quite sure but happened to the month of August, and it probably has to do with starting things out with emergency brain surgery at the end of July, but it seriously felt like the month that disappeared… Continue reading

  • Lifted from the Heavy

    Not gonna lie, it’s only Wednesday and it’s been a pretty heavy week. On Monday I had my surgery to insert my port for chemo. It was an outpatient surgery, and relatively simple, but Kevin and I were both still… Continue reading

    Lifted from the Heavy
  • Miracles Do Not Make Life Easy . . .

    “But miracles do not make life easy. Most often, miracles just make the next step possible.” – “A Girl Called Samson” by Amy Harmon. Next week, things are about to get very real as I move toward both my radiation… Continue reading

    Miracles Do Not Make Life Easy . . .
  • A Seventh Grader, a Birthday, and Other Bits of Life

    In all the chaos that my health has caused in our lives, things keep moving forward, and there have been wonderful things thrown in there. One of which, was Arthur beginning 7th Grade. How is our baby boy, not only… Continue reading

    A Seventh Grader, a Birthday, and Other Bits of Life
  • A Diagnosis . . .

    I have Stage Four Lung Cancer . As a healthy living nonsmoker, those are words were not even on my radar, let alone something I can even fathom getting as a diagnosis. We are so relieved to have more answers,… Continue reading

  • The Waiting and the Miracles

    Wednesday night, only 3 days after brain surgery, I was miraculously doing so well, that I was cleared to go home. What a blessing to be in my own bed, and get to cuddle with my baby boy. But we… Continue reading

  • He Fell Through a Ceiling . . .

    Remember that side story in our trip to Idaho where Kevin fell through a ceiling?? Hmm. So, somehow because of my emergency brain surgery and all the things, that side detail about what happened to Kevin sort of gets forgotten.… Continue reading

    He Fell Through a Ceiling . . .