No more feeling crappy!

Dave is officially done with radiation!!  We can't wait for him to have more energy again!!!  He will meet with the radiation oncologist again Nov. 18 for blood tests and than we are done with cancer, hopefully!!  For the next 2 years Dave will have CT scans every 3-6 months and then for 3 years after that, CT scans once a year.

MUST READ!!

I have been following the story of Stephanie and Christian Nielson from the beginning and just read this. . . . I do not even have words to explain how amazing this family is!  I know their strength comes from a very loving Heavenly Father and I know they recognize this and feel Him near!!  

You can follow Stephanie's sister's blog here.

Husband Tag!

Lisa tagged me some time ago and I never followed through because as you know I 'm not so good at keeping up on my blog, but I'm trying to be better! Also Lisa's tag was supposed to be all about husbands. . . . and I absolutely have been thinking a lot about Dave lately and remembering everything that has brought us to this point in our lives!!! So, here I go!

1. Where did we meet?

We originally met in Dr. Cullen's chemistry class my first semester at Ricks. The first time Dave tried to talk to me during chem lab he called me Alicia and I quickly snapped back, "my name's not Alicia, it's Ashley!" I don't know why he ever talked to me after that!

2. First date?
On our first date we picked up chinese food at Fong's (# 10 mandarin chicken with rice) and went to Dave's apartment to eat and watch the movie "Rudy". Not even half way into the movie I was fast asleep curled up on his couch. Again, I don't know why he ever talked to me after that!

3. First kiss?
Our first kiss was during Christmas break (about 4 months after we first met). And might I say, it was our best ever!!!!

4. When were "I love you's said"?
I don't remember when exactly on the timeline of our courtship I love you's were said, but I was the first to say it. I remember sitting with Dave, we were both very quiet, my stomach had the biggest butterflies flying around inside, and I leaned over to Dave and said, "I think I love you". I have no clue what he said at that point, don't even remember if he said anything back! He was probably thinking, how do I get outta here and fast!!

5 Long or short courtship
We met in the fall of 97, dated each other as well as others all through the next year and became great friends! In the fall of 98 Dave took off for USU and tried to leave me behind in Rexburg, but we couldn't seem to part our lives. We visited each other back and forth each weekend and started talking about getting married. So, . . . . in Oct. of 98 we were engaged and then married Jan. 2 1999.

6. Where did we get engaged?
I remember getting to the point in our dating when we knew we would get married. Dave took me ring browsing in Salt Lake one weekend trying to figure out about how much a ring was going to cost and what I liked. I can only imagine how he felt wondering how in the world he was going to afford a ring with absolutely no money and also be able to please me when I had no clue what I wanted. A few weeks later Dave and I took my mom ring shopping for her to pick out my ring and Dave's. Dave was able to put $150 dollars down and than set up a payment plan for $81 dollars a month. I will always remember how much it cost because I was the one to pay that $81 dollars a month with the money I earned working while he went to school full time! I tease him sometimes about that fact and tell him I really want another ring some day that he can buy me with his hard earned money!! But anyways. . . back to the question. Dave proposed to me after talking a walk around my hometown just before he was to drive back to Logan for school the next morning. We had stopped down by the river to sit all the while trying to postpone his leaving and in the middle of our conversation Dave slid off the bench onto one knee and just stared at me for a minute. I don't remember what exactly he said but he did ask me to marry him and then slipped the small part of my wedding band onto my finger thinking he'd be funny. And then he left me and went home to Logan, but not before I made him give me the bigger engagement part of my ring.

7. Where did we get married?
In the Idaho Falls, Idaho LDS temple and might I say I will forever be grateful for the covenants we made that day!

8. Where did we go on our honeymoon?
The first night we drove to SLC, Utah and stayed at the Little America Hotel and then off to Vegas! Where else could 2 very poor newly married people aford to go?!

9. Where was our first home?
The first place we settled in was of course an apartment in Logan, Utah. Our first "real", non rental home didn't come until many years later!

Well, I think that's all the questions from the tag, so I'll just end by saying that I love Dave more than I could ever express!! I am ever grateful Dave decided he could handle me and that we have the opportunity to be with each other forever! I think of how lonely I have been this week while Dave's been in Seattle and can't imagine not having him. I am thankful for the knowledge I have and the faith that I have that although at times Dave and I will be separated, we will always be reunited in this life and forever!!! What an amazing feeling to know this!

I have to say now why my thoughts have turned to Dave and why I think about him more now than I ever have since life became so busy with kids and meeting all their needs. . . . We found out about a week and a half ago that Dave has testicular cancer! (Never thought I'd have to say that) We knew something was not right about 2 or so months ago, but put off going to the doctor because we were in the process of getting more life insurance and then Dave started a busy rotation. About 3 weeks ago Dave finally decided he really needed to go and the soonest he could get in was 2 weeks ago today. So his appointment was started at 2:30 and by 6:30 he was being prepped for surgery. The tumor was removed that night and we were left to wonder what pathology would show. Long story short, we caught it early enough he is only in stage 1B. Like I said earlier he is Seattle right now! The urologist who did the surgery said as long as Dave felt okay he could go to his conference he'd been planning beacuse the radiation olcologist couldn't meet with us until next friday. I guess it's a good sign when you have cancer, but the doctors feel it's okay to wait 3 weeks before getting into the oncologist for the next step. As far as we know, low dose radiation will start sometime after the 26th and should be only 2-4 weeks and Dave should be able to work through most of the treatments. So things are looking great!

I've been taught that every trial we go through is to teach us something and is for our good. I have to say I've absolutely appreciated this specific trial because . . . .I have realized how amazing Dave is and . . . . how much I love him and . . . . how fast life can change and . . . .how I can never leave anything unsaid thinking I'll have time later. My testimony of the plan of salvation is stronger and I appreciate this great plan more than I have ever before!

But anyways. . . .I can't wait for Dave to come home! After the surgery he had to stay home from work for a little over a week and I have to say I didn't leave his side for most of that time. I really loved having him home and kept asking if he had some sort of retirement plan that could take effect now! And then Monday he up and left me for some long, boring conference!

1st day of school!!!

We did very good to get up early enough so we wouldn't be rushing and so we would have enough time to ride our bikes, but I forgot pictures before school so these are taken after we rode our bikes back home.  They both were VERY excited to get back!  They had a great summer and stayed busy, but they really enjoy school.  The week before they started back, they began playing school every day almost all day!  

Dallin and Haden's new paint job!

As you can see from the before pictures, not only did the boy's room get a fresh coat of paint, but also a rearrangement.  Dallin insisted on moving things around a bit. 



Haden really wanted to be in every picture I took and then quickly see how silly he looked in each one (aren't digital cameras so nice?!).  A couple times he came over to look before I even took the picture.

I have to say, I have a lot of fun with Haden and Harrison while Dallin and Hallie are at school!  Their personalities really come alive during the day!!  Haden gets to decide what he plays with and how he plays without anyone telling him what to do and Harrison gets to go anywhere he wants to without being put up in a (cage).  Ok so maybe I should explain. . . a couple weeks ago, Harry wanted to play downstairs with the kids, but they didn't want him to knock down their buildings so they barricaded Harry into a corner with random things from the basement.  Harrison didn't mind though and actually ended up have a great time when the older kids took turns playing with Harry in his cage! 

Updates in Hallie (and for now) Harrison's room!

Before. . .

After. . . 

Hallie loves her room!!  She is very good at keeping it clean and organized with everything hid away in her new baskets so I don't have to go crazy seeing all the junk she keeps!

I was a little worried at first about the green we choose, but now I really like it!  Mom also bought new bedding for Hal so our plans are to swap it out with the bedspread I made her.  I spent so much time on it I'm just not ready to send it to goodwill!

Finally, a little curb appeal!

This is our before picture taken last October.  
AND. . . here is our after picture!  After mom came and picked out all the plants, after we dug out a million tree roots from the tree we cut down in the front yard last year, and after we spent countless hours in the hot sun picture!  I can't wait to see how everything looks next year when it has time to grow out.
Here is our favorite new tree.  It is called a Tiger Eye tree.  Full grown it will be about 6 feet tall and during the fall it will be yellow, orange, and a brilliant scarlet red.  

Try not to look too close at the grass in the after pictures!  We have taken up new tenants in our yard who have a nasty habit of digging holes.  Fortunately they are not voles, but unfortunately they are skunks or raccoons looking for grubs or squirrels trying to burry their winter stash.  So we need to either kill the grubs in order to evict the skunks and raccoons for destruction of property or we need to buy a lot of bb's in order to get the squirrels to take their food and set up camp somewhere else.