What a week!

This was one of those weeks when you are so very amazed that you survived!

1. Dad is home! We had a rough week at the hospital. On Tuesday Dad's oxygen levels were not improving and he was becoming more and more despondent and depressed. We were very worried about him! On Wednesday morning they did some more tests and we got the horrible news that he has multiple blood clots in his legs and multiple blood clots in his lungs. We were appalled and terrified. No wonder he can't get enough oxygen. There is nothing more that they could do to break up the clots other than keep giving him the medicine that he was already taking. We decided that we (meaning Mom) could give him the medicines he needed at home so we finally brought him home on Thursday afternoon. He is so much happier and so are we. Hospitals are not fun places. He has been able to see his kids, some grandkids and the dogs (Hope and Walter). He has seen neighbors and friends and been able to visit with some of his brothers. We don't know what the future holds but at least he is home and happy!

2. 13 years! Dave and I have been married 13 years on the 16th! Where has the time gone? I had no idea at the time what a great husband and father Dave would become! I couldn't do this life without him!

1. He always helps out (in fact this week he did it all with no help from me!) with laundry, cooking, shopping, and cleaning.
2. He wrestles with the boys so I don't have to!
3. He makes me laugh sometimes even against my will.
4. He would do anything to make me happy.
5. He is a great provider and a hard worker.
6. He is still a good kisser. Much to the distress of the boys.
7. He enjoys serving others. He tries hard to choose the right. (He did choose me after all)
8. He has a great smile and it always makes me happy when I can get him to smile!
9. He is always willing to say he is sorry. He is also very quick to forgive.
10. He is my best friend. The person I want to talk to first. The person who I want to remember the joke for. The person who will have empathy even when he doesn't understand what I am talking about. The person who would never laugh at me unless he was supposed to be laughing. The person who would sacrifice almost everything for me. I am so lucky!

3. Sports for kids! I know there are many arguments pro and con for putting kids in sports but I must admit that I am a fan. They learn about winning and losing and being a good sport regardless. They learn about practicing, working hard, listening to a coach and ignoring the crowd. They learn about having good days and bad days, about playing for the good of the team and if that is not enough they come home tired and ready to sleep! So here we are ending basket ball and starting baseball and soccer. What fun!

Variety is the Spice....

Random memories for this week!

1) Painting class! I work for an artist, Sandra B. Rast, doing her accounting, invoicing, organizing, helping at her frame shop, and so forth and for Christmas we gave one of our buyers a free art class. Well, Sandra, being the nicest person ever, wanted me to come (am I sure it is because I am so very entertaining). So Wednesday I went to my first art class and I painted an original still life! It was the most amazing experience and I must say I loved it! I am so grateful that Sandy would let me have this experience. Take a look! They kind of even look like flowers! For more real art work check out www.sandra-rast-art.com.

2) Joseph is a climber. Not only fearless but quick. I went downstairs to change the laundry. Mind you not fold the batch just put 1 in the dryer and 1 in the washer. By the time I came upstairs he had climbed up on the counter and emptied about 6 cups of flour all over the kitchen. Notice how fuzzy the camera is? Guess what was on the counter under the flour! His favorite climbing spot is either on top of the microwave or on top of the piano. Punk child.

3) I bought a bra. In and of itself unremarkable and even a bit awkward to mention here. However, the whole family went to dinner on Saturday night and on the way home I had Dave drive through the Gatewall Mall so I could go to Bath and Body (soap on sale. love Kitchen Lemon) and Victoria's Secret. Well the boys heard me mention the word bra and the 3 older ones burst into giggles. So, I go in shoppin and leave Dave in the car with the boys. I finish in record time but when I get back in the car Dave says "Thanks a lot!" I then proceed to hear the story of how as soon as I leave that they start asking Dave what a bra is really all about. What is it for? After attempting to explain support and such they start asking why we don't wear them on our bottoms! I thought I was very lucky to miss out on such a informative conversation!

Dad Update

Dad has had his first 6 weeks of chemo and his first two week break. It hasn't been much of a break. He has been so shaky, weak, a little out of it as his mind is not as sharp as normal. He has been very nauseated and can't even drink water anymore without getting sick. Wednesday he was supposed to start his 2nd 6 weeks of chemo. Mom decided to take the day off and go with him. When they got to the Dr.'s they took his vitals and discovered that his oxygen was extremely low. They immediately put him on oxygen. They also discovered that his white blood count was high which indicated that he had an infection of some sort so they prescribed an antibiotic and sent him to have some x-rays of his lungs.

After they arranged with the home medical company to have a portable oxygen unit for him he was able to go home which was great news. He had been a little out of it and very nauseated for the 2 weeks between chemo.

Wednesday night he slept for the first time in days and woke up Thursday feeling encouraged. The home nurse came to check on him and discovered that his oxygen levels were getting worse instead of better. The Dr. was notified and he told him that he needed to go to LDS hospital. They were concerned because after looking at his lungs they didn't think that they looked bad enough for how low his oxygen levels are.

So Mom broke the news to Dad that he had to go back to the hospital and after a blessing for Dad and Mom from Andrew and Mitch they headed into LDS Hospital. They did tests last night and today including an EKG, CAT Scans, Barium swallow, Ultrasounds, MRI's and more x-rays. They were encouraged to see that his white blood cell count was already significantly lower which means the antibiotics were doing their job. They did notice some elevated liver enzymes and are going to take a closer look at his liver tomorrow when they do another CAT scan.

They found a blood clot but the Dr.'s seemed to think it was just the old one from after the surgery and not a new one. The nurse told Mom that they were really concerned about Dad's heart today as it was at 180 when they would ideally would like it below 100. They had a cardiac specialist looking after him today.

Mom finally called a little while ago with the days concluding notes. The blood clot they found is the same one as the one in November but it is huge again which is what is causing his 1) elevated heart rate, 2) breathing difficulties and 3) pnemonia. I had no idea that the clot never went all the way away the first time but apparently it just got really small but after he got home and off the really powerful blood thinner (Heparin) and onto the normal blood thinner (Cumadin) it started building back up! So it is back and risking his life again. They talked about going in to remove it but it would require opening up his chest (similar to open heart surgery) and he couldn't do that and going in through a vein is too risky. So they are rapidly getting him back on the Heparin and hoping that will once again help dissolve the clot.

Mom and I talked today a lot while I was at the hospital and we decided that Dad is really sick. Brilliant, I know. We have never been through this cancer, chemo, blood clot, thing before and we seem to be constantly reminded that it is a horrible thing that leaves the person feeling miserable and weak and tired and just plain sick. It isn't like a cold where you feel better by getting up and going on with life. It is as different for each person as the person is.
It is again another reminder of how grateful I am that I have siblings (both by birth and by marriage). I mentioned to Mom today that I am so glad that I am not an only child because when life happens I have people who I can turn too. Who love Mom and Dad as I do. Who understand how I feel. When the crisis's come they are who I want to talk to, to lean on and I love them for all their strengths.

Fabulous February!

What was fabulous about February?
1) Sledding at Soldier Hollow!

Dave's work had a winter party at Soldier Hollow. For those of you who don't know Soldier Hollow is a Olympic venue which has converted somewhat into a little resort. Part of the fun is several giant tubing runs complete with a couple of tow ropes. The party starts at 8:30 pm and when we got there it was a chilly 17 degrees! We were all bundled and had a fabulous time. The only tears came when Joe lost his mittens on the way up the tow rope and when Alex got taken out by the tuber behind him. We enjoyed the freezing cold snow blowing in our faces and the hot chocolate! What a great night!

2. Sam's Baby Blessing!
Mark and Brittney blessed little baby Sam this month. He is so darling and unlike most of the Rollins boys was very vocal during the blessing. We are so happy that he is here and healthy and we are equally happy that Brittney is doing better also. It is amazing what Mom's will do to get their little ones to the earth!

3. Valentines Day!
For the record Dave and I don't get into the whole Valentines thing. He says "Why would I let some commercialized holiday dictate how and when I should show my love for you?" So as far as the romance department goes this holiday isn't it! It however was a very stressful holiday for me. I had 2 Valentine parties at school and Josh had his 6th Grade Dance.
1:00 1st grade
It is amazing to me that I can find a craft that will take me about 2 minutes to do at home and I worry and worry about how it is not going to take the 15 minutes allotted to me at the 1st grade Valentines Party and then I end up finishing 24 projects because the kids took 10 minutes to decide which paper color to use!! Oh well, the point is to be there with Jonathan and have him answer questions like "Is your Mom the boss of the Principal?" (PTA President, remember) He thought that was so funny.

2:30 4th grade

I think I am doing so well getting 2 games, 1 craft and the treat all arranged so that I can just help (probably with the craft. see above) Only to have the treat person completely forget and doing a last minutes dash to Dick's Grocery Store to beg for 3 dozen Valentines Cookies (gotta have enough for the 8 kids after school) The only comment I get from the kids is "We only get Milk to drink!" Lucky for them the treat lady remembered that night and brought doughnuts the next day! She apologized and get this she was at the Doctors because she is having trouble remembering things!! I am not lying!

2:30 6th grade Valentines Dance
This is huge deal for these 11-12 yr old kids. They practice different dances all year long and then they get dance cards and all the boys have to ask the girls for dances and fill up their card. The Hokey Pokey and the Bunny Hop are the two favorites. The Swing and the Macarena are also up there. The Waltz and the Foxtrot not so much. Josh told me before that he was only going to ask girls who were shorter than him to dance. Then his teacher told him he had to ask at least 3 different girls. So that plan wasn't going to work. Poor short Josh. The dance was a huge success and it was absolutely hilarious! I kept running in during the party to take pictures and laugh. I am POSITIVE that Josh appreciated his mom that day! Josh is a lot like his Dad. He dances without ever actually looking at his partner and only talking to his friends near (or not so near) by.

4. Family Dinner!

Sara (Brad's wife) and Nate (Dave's brother) both had birthdays this month. We celebrated when Sara and Brad came to town on their winter break (another happy event in Feb.) We went out to dinner on Saturday to celebrate both of these birthdays! It was very fun to have both of my both my fun families represented at dinner. We missed Alli and Mitch and Haley and Bryan, Susan, Mark and Britt, Deb and Jason and Mom and Dad Rollins. It was one of those fun nights where we laughed a lot!

5. Nate and Sara!

It is a tradition in the Rencher and Rollins families to get together once a month for birthdays. Part of the Rencher tradition is telling the birthday girls and boys why we love them. I though I would do that once a month for my siblings and parents. So here goes.

I love Sara because she has a great laugh and a great outlook on life. She is positive and fun and is a support to everyone. She is good mom, wife, daughter-in-law and sister-in-law. I love how she makes family a priority. She is a great fit in our family and I am so excited that she will be closer to home soon!


I love Nate because he is generous and sensitive (it is true). He is funny (sometimes) and he likes to play games of any kind. He is smart and so it is fun to talk with him about different things. He has an incredible memory which is sometimes good and sometimes not so good. I am glad that I am a part of his family.