September 2013
Dear family,
Last week marked 25 years living in the great northwest. We have been blessed that gospel is in our lives and the same wherever we go. Our family has had many ups and downs but we are close and care about each other. We still aren't sure why we are here but it has been a growing experience - not all good but not all bad. I know we needed to be here for Travis's cancer doctor and Michael's ongoing treatment. I know that having Dr. Robertson as an OB for our grandchildren (she didn't deliver them all) has been a real blessing. It was really hard to leave St. George, our families and all we knew behind. We decided to give it two years no matter what happened and here we are 25 years later.
Michael had a cancer doctor appointment yesterday. His leukemia is in remission and undetectable but his blood counts are low and he is anemic and has a low resistance to infections right now. So the doctor is lowering his chemo treatment to five days a week. He has the weekends off. We hope this will work and it will help Mike feel better. The last time they lowered the dose the leukemia returned so we are cautious.
I begin a one-year service mission on 7 October 2013 (next week), I already have homework for it and was set apart on Sunday. I will have two months of an online training class then I will be answering phone calls at home 15 hours a week. These will be calls to SLC about FamilySearch, the Church's genealogy website. The calls will be rerouted to our phone. I'm excited about it. I've always wanted to serve a mission and if Mike gets feeling well enough we can roll it into a full-time mission. I won an award at the fair called the Pearl Hall award for the most blue ribbons in baking and canning. And also the Myrle award for the most blue ribbons in jellies and jams. I get my name added to a trophy for both. Both trophies stay at the fair. I did well but didn't get a ribbon in some other things I did last year. Mike is always happy when the fair is over.
Yesterday Adam hit a large puddle of water on the freeway and spun into the wall. He was able to drive away. He was lucky it was at noon because there wasn't as much traffic so he didn't hit any other cars. His car is not doing well though. He needed a new one but was planning to wait a few months.. He seems okay today, he just came to get our old pickup to drive to work.
A few things have happened since we checked in last year. Erin is working at a neurosurgeon's office after being out of work for nearly two years. She is moving in with Nikki for a year and Adam is moving into an apartment with a friend from work. Nikki is working hard, she has applied for a job in Wenatchee but I don't think she is going to the interviews. Her job here is going well; just taking all her time dealing with employees. She runs the call-in center for a national laser/lipo/body contouring place. They take the calls/emails and set-up appointments. She hires/fires etc. Dani and Travas and kids are doing okay. Travas had a device implanted in his spine for pain management I think it is working but time will tell. Tanner is attending a program at Bellevue College that is high school and college together. It is a block program with tutoring. He just started last week but it seems to be going well. Tiara fell down the ladder at girls camp and cracked her knee-cap she was healing well but was injured during physical therapy so is back in a leg brace with crutches. Chiana turned ten last summer (our youngest grandchild is ten!!) she made a doll with me for the fair and earned a blue ribbon. Dani isn't nannying anymore and has been able to be home this year. Travas's daughter, Kaitlyn got her GED and is attending college at age 16 so we don't see her as much. Travis and Cassie and family are well. One new doctor told Travis she wished she had treated it in the first 8 months not 4 years later. She gave him an injection that made the problem worse. He is enjoying his mini farm and took a "Livestock Advisor" course of study/program from the state. He has a lot of animals to keep him busy. He has goats and sheep (for fiber), rabbits, turkeys, chickens, ducks, guineas, a horse and now four calves. Mike has quail, pheasants and chickens so we have no shortage of farm animals here. As well as cats, dogs and Koi. Cassie is still working at the YMCA and doing insurance billing for a chiropractor. She was released from the Relief Society presidency and is in the nursery which is going from knowing everything to knowing nothing in the ward. Alex turned 16 in March. She had ankle surgery in the spring and had both knees scoped last week. And she is tired of crutches and her scooter. She is doing well now and back to school. Alex was accepted into the Chef program at Sno-Isle (a tech-type school run by two counties for juniors and seniors). So she buses to culinary school in the morning and back to high school in the afternoon. Emily is in high school this year and early morning seminary. She loves all animals and especially her horse. She and Alex are in FFA and showed dairy cows at the fair. Josie turned 12 and is now in YW and went to her first girls camp. She also made a doll for the fair with me and got a blue ribbon and best of class. They had a wonderful carnival party for her last weekend in the middle of a huge storm. Travis made a huge tent with tents and tarps. It was really nice inside, we all stayed out there after her friends went home.
And some dog updates... Adam's/our black labrador, Joy is 14 1/2 years old. She is deaf and going gray. She mostly sits on the deck by our back door and you have to step over her. She does still enjoy walking down with Michael to feed the quail/pheasants/chickens each morning. Nikki's chihuahua, Romeo is 12 and hasn't been doing well but she just found out that he has arthritis and he is doing better now with treatment. Travis and Cassie brought home a baby Yorkie from Georgia last spring to join their dog, Wallie. They named him Max, he is adorable and loves to run around the corrals, he thinks he is a farm dog. Dani and Travis have two dogs, Rygel and Dargo they are special house dogs and fun family pets. Erin's chihuahua, Lyrica is crazy. She was a rescue dog we think is bipolar but well-loved.
I didn't mention our whirlwind history trip where Mike and I drove 4000 miles in 12 days doing a loop from St. Louis to the east coast and back again visiting church history and family history sites as we went. It was really fun actually and changed our perspective on life in some ways. My aunt Carolyn died unexpectedly in June. She was only five years older than I am. We were able to fly down and drive my parents to Blanding for the funeral, we saw the Junction and Rinda. And got to see Lake Powell, Monument Valley and more that we hadn't seen for 25 years. It was another good but fast trip.
We are sorry we missed the family reunion. We heard it was great. Adam was in charge of our family reunion this year and we had it on our back acre. We pulled our little travel trailer out there and everyone else was in tents. We really had a good time including a midnight outdoor move on Travis's family screen/setup. All the dogs could come too. We had a good time together.
We love you. Take care. The Gospel is true.
Michael, Cindy and family
