Easter…

RESURRECTION: Matthew 28:6 "He is not here: for he is risen" #realreason#easter #Christlives

 

Neal’s parents were able to come and visit for a few days and we got to decorate Easter Eggs, they hid eggs in our house for us to find (it was so fun and made me feel like a little kid again) and we got Jasper a dog pillow for Easter.

The miamaids in our ward donated 9 blankets for Calling All Angels and it warmed my <3 and made me cry!

My good friend Shonee made 2 blankets for Calling All Angel’s she so talented, I love the quilted one!

Cancer…

It’s such an ugly word isn’t it? You never really think about it until it touches someone you love. Well it did just that. This month has been filled with more than a few ups and downs. My dad has cancer. (I can finally type that without shedding a tear or two) First let me say THANK YOU to all of you who have sent us messages, texts, e-mails, phone calls, dropping by, so much service has been rendered on our behalf. We have been reminded over and over again how incredibly kind & good people are. My dad is really an amazing man (amazing is an understatement), and so many people love him. As a family we can’t keep up with updating everyone with what is going on- so we thought  this might be a good place to try.

My cute dad has been limping for a few months now and had some pain in his left knee. He had a family doctor check it out and they assumed it was probably tendonitis. He did acupuncture, he did cortisone shots, he tried a bunch of remedies but nothing was helping. So they went in to a specialist who thankfully saw what it really was.

Without going in to too much detail, he has high grade Osteosarcoma of the left distal femur. It is a type of bone cancer that is normally found in teenagers.  He had a biopsy 2 weeks ago,  that confirmed it. It has not spread- a huge blessing. He will start chemo this Sunday night. We are so lucky that he can do his Chemo treatments close to home, just up the road, in Rexburg. They have excellent doctors there that have been trained by the Huntsman clinic in Salt Lake City. He will do 3 day cycles of Chemo, so he will be in the hospital until Wednesday morning. He will most likely do two rounds of chemo then go in for surgery in Salt Lake to remove the tumor in his knee. Then a few months later he will start another chemo regiment when the Dr. feels that he is ready.

We have been praying for miracles, and we believe we will get them.

We have already seen SO many “tender mercies” from our Father in Heaven.  Two scriptures that have been of great comfort

Mosiah 23:27-28

Mosiah 24:14-16

Another sweet reminder that our Heavenly Father is walking along side of us. {Especially the 2nd & 3rd verse}

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said—
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

In every condition, In Sickness, in Health
In poverties veil, or abounding in wealth;
At home or abroad, on the Land or the Sea
As thy days may demand, So thy succor shall be

“Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.”

“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.”

“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not harm thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.”

“E’en down to old age, All my people shall prove
My sovereign, Eternal, Unchangeable Love;
And when hoary hairs, shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in my bosom be bourne.”

“The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,
I will not, I can not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!”

Even in trials the Lord is with us. We can do hard things. We love you dad!

{I decided to just copy this post from my sister Holly’s blog as she is really good with words and at explaining exactly how we all feel!}

If you’d like to keep updated on my dad, Holly will be keeping her blog updated : www.zachhollyd.blogspot.com

 

Easter

We had a potluck with some couples for Easter and it was wonderful, with great food and company. Thanks everyone for sharing Easter with us!

 

{Photos courtesy of Aubrey N.}

I also wanted to take this time to share my testimony that I know Jesus Christ Lives and  He is Risen! And because of this we will be with our sweet Jayden again! I am so grateful for the Resurrection and Atonement of my Savior. He truly is our advocate with the Father and I am full of love and gratitude for his selfless and most powerful gift to us all!  Here is a wonderful video that describes Easter Sunday perfectly!

I know it’s been forever since I posted! We’ve had a crazy fun month! Stay tuned…I’m working on my April Recap Posts :)

Love This…

{found on Our Blog Spot}

Jayden's Due Date

Today was Jayden's due date. I wasn't quite sure what to expect but I got through the day. It definitely wasn't as hard as I thought it might be and I can say I've had harder days.

Neal and I went to the 7 AM session at the Newport Beach Temple and when we got back, there were 4 beautiful roses laying on our doorstep. (Don't know who did it but it was truly so thoughtful, it made me cry...thank you). We also received a card from one of our labor and delivery nurses that had remembered Jayden's due date--I tell you those nurses were AMAZING! So grateful for such wonderful people! Thank you to everyone for your texts, emails, and phone calls. It meant so much that you would remember. You truly have been angels that have made this trial easier.

Flowers from the Bodily Family

Neal and I could feel Jayden with us at the temple, what a sweet tender mercy from our Father in Heaven. We love you Jayden and can't wait to be with you forever! You will always be remembered and loved by many.

After the temple, Neal had school and I went to work. Then I went to my photography class that just started and Neal studied for his test tomorrow. I truly believe that we were sustained through the day because of our sweet experience in the temple and from all the prayers said in our behalf.

Reflections of Christ: Another Testament

So the guy that did Reflections of Christ did another project about the Book of Mormon. He is a very talented photographer. Hope you enjoy! Here is the video...

Dear Jayden

It’s been 2 months today since our sweet little angel was born, and it’s been an emotional day. We miss him and love him so much! I just wanted to share with you this letter we wrote for Jayden.

Jayden,

Your dad and I just wanted you to know that we have a testimony of Jesus Christ, the Gospel, and of eternal families, although this one is written, we hope that as you watch us you will see we have a testimony. We love you so much and are so proud to be your parents. Even though your life was short here on Earth, you have had and will continue to have a huge impact on us. Through this amazing journey of bringing you here, we have learned and grown so much.

We learned patience and to trust in God’s will and timing when we were trying to have children. After 2 years He blessed us with you. We learned more love as we heard your first heartbeat, felt your first kick and got to hold you the first time. We never fully understood the power of prayer until we felt the faith, comfort and sustaining power of the spirit through the prayers of ward members, family and friends. Our faith was strengthened through this experience as you and I had priesthood blessings and we learned to trust in the Lord with all our hearts.

Heavenly Father loves each of us and knows us personally. We have felt Heavenly Father’s love through the service we have received from all of the people who have reached out a loving hand without any hesitation. We know service brings us closer to God and this is how we receive true happiness.

Your dad and I have come to more deeply appreciate our marriage in the temple and the blessing it brings. You have brought us closer together and we have truly come to know that families are eternal and are so grateful for the Plan of Salvation. This is something we had taken for granted up until now. What a wonderful Plan Heavenly Father has for each of us so we can return to Him and if we are faithful we can be together as a family forever.

We know Jesus Christ made all of this possible and because of his infinite sacrifice. His Atonement and Resurrection has taken on a whole new dimension and meaning through this experience. We are eternally grateful for our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ who has brought us this joy of knowing we can be with you again. Jayden, may you know, our greatest blessing was having you!

All our love,

Dad and Mom