ice ice baby

First things first. If, unlike me, your Facebook news feed was not plastered with videos of students skating to class, go watch some Youtube videos. Seriously. Just go search "BYU students skate to class." Right now. Then come back. I have been cursing the snow lately, but I don't think I've ever wished for snow more than I did today. Here's the deal. It rained. Usually the rain melts the snow and I am one very happy girl. Today it froze upon hitting the snow, turning all sidewalks and driveways into ice skating rinks. I literally skated all the way across campus to my first class. When I got there, I got an email from the university. Surely they were canceling classes because they care for the safety of their students. Nope. "Please use caution due to the slippery conditions today." In my next class, I got another email. I thought they had to be canceling for sure. There had already been so many injuries. "We encourage teachers to be accommodating today." I slipped and skated to all my classes that day, and managed not to fall even once. Others were not so lucky. There were so many broken bones on campus. Someone split their face open and someone else broke their back and tailbone upon walking out of their apartment. There were something like 88 wrecks in Salt Lake this morning. By the way, my teachers were so not accommodating. Unannounced homework and a really sucky pop quiz. Just in case you were wondering.

You could say I was less than pleased to see this after I survived 5 classes.

Good thing I had these babies today.

the post i never wanted to write

Oh dear. I don't even know where to begin. I guess this story starts on December 18th, my mom and dad's anniversary. I've started my mission papers, so I had to have a TB test read that morning. Within 10 minutes of getting home, my mom was diagnosed with cervical cancer. It wasn't a surprise, we had been expecting the phone call for a few days, but the definitiveness of getting the diagnosis was still hard. My dad's parents had come to stay with us the day before, on their own anniversary. My parents and my grandparents went to dinner that night and my dad told them what we had learned that day. My 2 oldest brothers were told that night with hopes that they would be able to step up around the house so my sisters didn't have to know before the break from school. We had a Christmas party with my dad's family that Saturday, and because my dad had told his siblings earlier in the week, my parents told my sisters that morning so they wouldn't find out at the party. Before the diagnosis, there was a possibility that surgery could be done before the end of the year and the cancer would be gone. We hoped that one surgery would be enough and to get it done while we were catastrophic would have been a blessing. When the biopsies came back, it was suspected that a more invasive surgery would need to occur, one that required seeing a different doctor. My mom had a CT/Pet-scan on the 29th. The results from that test showed that the cancer is localized and hasn't spread. We still don't know what stage the cancer is, but the results of that test mean it is 1 or 2. My mom met with an oncologist yesterday. She decided that a 2-stage surgery would be best. The purpose of the first surgery is to gather a larger biopsy to determine what the second surgery will be. Depending on the biopsy results, my mom will either have a traditional hysterectomy or a radical hysterectomy 2 days after the first surgery. There is only about a 15% chance a traditional hysterectomy will be enough, but a radical hysterectomy is so much more invasive that it is worth doing a biopsy to see what surgery is needed. The surgeries are tentatively scheduled for the 15th and 17th. At this point, we don't think chemo or radiation will be necessary, but they are still possibilities. The purpose of this post was not to draw attention or cause unnecessary concern, but to inform and give more people the opportunity to pray for us. Really that's what we need right now--your prayers and possibly a plate of brownies if you have time (: We are very optimistic and are already seeing countless blessings. This is a slow-growing cancer and it was caught very early. It has been nice to have everyone home during this time with the break from school and work. We haven't been "keeping this a secret," but it is difficult to tell people. I'll try to keep everyone updated, especially regarding the surgeries coming up.

trials.

There are times in my life where I've felt like I've really been prepared way ahead of time for big events or big news. We got some big news today that will definitely result in some hard times coming up, but we can retrospectively see what has taken place to prepare our family for the adjustments coming our way. We could certainly use your prayers though.

nothing sweeter

I'm really loving this break. This is the first time in years that I haven't had any homework to do during a break. I have needed these mornings meant for sleeping in. And I get to be with kiddos all day everyday. I've decided to go on a mission for the LDS Church this spring. Girls serve for 18 months so, depending on when I leave, I won't be home next Christmas, and possibly the one after that. So I've been soaking this up because it's going to come fast. It will be hard to miss major events like Finley's baptisms and the babies that are on their way, but mostly it will be hard not to be a part of little everyday moments. It will be so worth it though. I will get to spend a year and a half completely devoted to sharing what has made me so happy. I will get to teach people that families can be together forever. I will get to teach people that there is no mistake too big and that it is never too late to change. And I can't think of anything sweeter or more rewarding.

Lower Lights

Tonight, I went with my parents to the Lower Lights concert at the Masonic Temple in Salt Lake. I have been looking forward to this ever since I went to the Mindy Gledhill concert earlier this month. I am a small-comfy-cozy-concert kind of gal. They really do something wonderful for me. Like make me forget that it is practically zero degrees outside. And that is good, because I sure do complain about the cold a lot. The Lower Lights is a group made up of a whole bunch of artists who all have their own musical endeavors on the side. I think there are 42 people who play in the group and whoever is in town plays at the concerts. I counted 17 musicians on the stage at one time. That many people made for rich, complex, enveloping music. The last couple of years we have given my grandpa one of their CDs. We import it to our iTunes before he even gets a chance to open it. (:

we went to town.

Tonight we made our way downtown for some holiday festivities.

We stopped at Blickenstaff's to get some last-minute gift ideas. I love that place. Hence why I have gone twice in 2 days. Who knew so much fun could be had with a magnifying glass?

The Willy Wonka and glittery swirly glasses were favorites.

Every time we go, the kiddos make sure to ride the EZYRollers.

Candy ornament window displays we passed on the way to the Trax station.

Rita Skeeter glasses and a $70 hat/scarf/handwarmer.

The Grand America has a holiday scavenger hunt with their window displays. We went last year and fell in love. Last year was frigid, so it was the perfect indoor activity. Basically you walk around and look for clues in the amazing window displays, make a pit-stop in the toy store, and end up in the bakery to get a free shortbread cookie.

Lights at Temple Square

1: Owen got cold while waiting for the Trax and crawled up Sam's sweatshirt.

2: Enjoying shortbread cookies.

3: The candy piano at the toy store.