But our little family has been pretty busy.
I have had good intentions of posting on here,
but those good intentions never did get done.
So tonight, I am doing it!
There isn't a good way for me to express my love and appreciation for all our angels, friends,
and cheerleaders,
but know how much I love you.
How grateful I am for your love, concern, your selfless acts of kindness,
money contributions, meals, and thoughtful prayers.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
May was a busy, crazy, pull out your hair kind of a month.
It was the first week of May that Evalette started acting funny.
She would keep her food in her mouth for hours.
She was so picky and would only eat certain things.
She was cranky, ornery, and just so sensitive.
I just hoped it would pass...teething and you know normal two year old things.
But the next Saturday, she was worse.
I remember telling my brother that I was worried.
So worried that she had relapsed.
They say relapse starts exactly the way the cancer started.
The symptoms are exactly the same.
And she was acting just like she had almost one year before.
A couple of days before she was diagnosed with cancer.
I was trying to stay calm, but I didn't know what to do.
Evalette wasn't eating, literally she had a few bites of food a day.
She would sleep for hours.
She was so exhausted, so exhausted that when she was awake she would lay on the ground,
or in my arms,
or on the couch with her blankets.
She won't play, talk much, or interact.
She was on the warm side...not feverish, but slightly warm to the touch.
She looked horribly pale.
And she was losing weight fast.
And she had no extra weight to lose.
It was horrible to see her this way.
And she needed 24/7 care, so James and I took care of her round the clock.
We didn't know what to do.
So I asked for our family, friends, and all of her wonderful cheerleaders to pray for her
and for us.
We so desperately needed answers and miracles.
Thank you to all of you that aided us with your love, prayers, kind words, and positive energy.
They made a difference!
After much prayer, we decided to take her to an InstaCare, the third weekend in May.
They didn't know what was wrong.
They tried to get a blood draw for a CBC, but couldn't because she was too dehydrated.
They gave us two options,
go to the hospital now and get admitted,
or wait until tomorrow and take her in then.
So we waited.
I just couldn't admit her...she had seen too much of hospitals in her short life.
Monday came and James took her in.
Good news....her blood work looked normal.
It was good news, but I was still so worried.
She still was very sick.
It certainly seemed like relapse.
We still had no answers as to what was wrong.
More news came on Monday.
We had to move.
Now that is a long story and no need to rehash it here,
so it will do to say...we had until Thursday to move into our new place.
AHHHHH!
I remember thinking and wondering how I would do it all...
a very sick child,
a newborn baby,
three growing, active boys,
an entire house to pack up and then clean,
mail to be forwarded,
addresses to change,
wonderful friends to see and say goodbye to,
and just so much to do.
How could I do it all?
I am not sure how because I am pretty sure I didn't really tell anyone of our current struggles,
but somehow word got out.
Soon meals were being brought in for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday so I could pack and not cook.
What a blessing!
James took the rest of the week off and he became Evalette's personal nurse.
He was an angel for me that week and an angel for her.
He loving feed her every hour, held her, rocked her, and sang songs to her.
She needed his love and his one on one attention.
On Wednesday, James took Evalette to her doctor here in Springville.
She was extremely concerned.
She gave us an antibiotic, looked at her lab results, and worked with Primary's.
We talked feeding tubes, a possible hospital stay, and what we could do to get her better.
In light of our current situation, it was determined to wait and to see if she could get better on her own.
We were told to come back on Friday and have her reassessed.
While daddy watched over Evalette,
The boys and I packed, or well I did.
They unpacked everything I packed!!!
But we got it done.
Soon moving day came, I was so torn.
I need to help James get things loaded and ready to move, but I couldn't leave my Evalette.
And once again, so many sweet people offered their aid, but I decided she would be most comfortable at my sister's home.
Jessica, my older sister, has been my angel many times.
She took all of my children and reassured me that all would be well.
And I knew it would.
So James and I spent the morning finishing up some small things and starting to load up some things.
We wanted to take a load that afternoon and then one later that night.
As the afternoon went on, we realized it was taking us more time than we thought.
So I prayed for another miracle, that an angel would come and help us.
And an angel came.
A wonderful 18 year old boy in our ward came over.
He noticed the truck and wondered if we needed help.
We sure did.
He and James loaded up the truck in record time.
He made sure that James had someone to help him unload the truck at our new place
before he left after the truck was full.
He never complained even though the boxes and furniture he loaded were very heavy.
He was our angel.
McCabe, thank you.
Then James' brothers and dad showed up.
They helped us with unload that first load.
It wasn't easy and we were so grateful.
It was about this time, that I was wanted to set fire to the rest of our stuff....moving a family of seven isn't easy.
But they kept going.
We got back to the house and some wonderful men from our street showed up to help us with the last load.
They were wonderful.
Some were as young as 11 years old and some were as old as 70.
I couldn't believe it.
And then we took the next load to our new place and with the help with some wonderful family members by 11, we were done.
Jess kept the kids for the night and James and I crashed.
When we went to pick up the kids the next morning, I was surprised to hear that Evalette was doing a bit better.
She had ate some homemade yogurt that Jess had made.
She had played some and walked around a little bit.
I was grateful for my sisters loving care and that she loved my children like her own.
But the miracles didn't stop there.
Friday came and our new place was a wreck.
And I still had our old place to clean.
Evalette still needed lots of care.
And I was still slightly overwhelmed.
Jess watched the kids while I went back to clean.
James' sister, Shar came to help me.
I didn't think it would take long, but I was wrong it took most the day.
My wonderful neighbor and dear friend Maria came by.
She noticed the cleaning and had come to help.
She made the cleaning fun as we talked and reminisced about serving in the Primary Presidency together.
Oh how I love Maria.
She had so much to do but was there helping me.
Thank you Maria and Shar.
Soon the house sparkled and I said goodbye.
It was time to move on...
My parents called.
they had just gotten back from my dad's business trip the night before.
They were now on their way to Utah.
I told them to go home and to rest after their long trip,
but three hours later, they were at my door
and then I cried.
More angels, more miracles.
More help and love than I had ever imagined.
My parents got to work like they always do.
The boys felt loved,
Evalette had her "bompa" and "wamma".
I felt like a load had been taken of my shoulders.
They hung my pictures, put my kitchen together so we could at least eat,
helped make beds and hang clothes.
They watched Evalette on Sunday so we could go to church.
They made homemade yogurt for Evalette, which she gobbled up, so she could have something to eat.
And then they showed me how to make it.
They never complained even though I am sure they were dead tired.
Oh my wonderful angels.
My examples, my sweet parents.
How I hope to be like them someday.
I cried Sunday night, as we waved them goodbye as they drove away back to Idaho.
The month of May continued on and the last week came and went.
And I have to admit, I was not sad to say goodbye to May 2014.
But things were getting better by the end.
During the last week of May, Evalette finally starting eating more.
She began to play with her brothers again.
And her cheeks starting pinking up again.
She was getting better.
The doctors were not sure what had been wrong, but we were all so grateful!
Now in June,
we are settled.
New grass has been planted in the backyard,
a garden is beginning to sprout in the back,
weeds that were once in the front flower bed are now gone,
there are no boxes randomly hanging out in my house
(only a few in the garage!),
the drawers are organized (and will be in disarray soon I am sure),
the kids are growing and happy with our new place,
new friends are being made (although we miss our old ones),
we make yogurt twice a week as it is now Evalette's favorite snack,
Enoch is getting to be such a big boy,
the boys live in the swimming pool in the back yard and are becoming fish,
we are loving the country air ( I swear it is cleaner out here),
we have been camping twice, fishing once, and hiking a bunch of times,
and summer just keeps getting better.
I am still grateful for the miracles we experience
and for all the angels we have in our lives everyday.
And especially that this summer we are all together.
Doing normal summer things, together.
Just as a family should.
