Chemo: Two Down, Two to Go!!

I just had my 2nd chemo treatment last Friday, the 12th. Before my treatment, our doctor made a few suggestions for how to mitigate some more of the side effects. He suggested Claritin. That made sense to me since I was sneezing a lot after the first treatment. He said it would help with some of my symptoms. He also said it would be important to exercise every day, especially when I didn't feel well those first few days. Who wants to exercise when you feel like you have the flu, but I have anyway and I do feel a lot better (it hasn't been much, 30 minutes with my exercise ball video, but it's been something). Let's hear it for exercise!


We made Friday a good day and went in the evening to hear Josh sing at Forgotten Carols with his HHS choir. The evening was amazing, especially since we knew Josh was part of that wonderful music. The Forgotten Carols is a great story. Hearing it has made each song much more meaningful. I'm looking forward to going again next year.


On Sunday, our stake held our annual music Choirside. Each ward choir is invited to sing one of their Christmas songs and in between those everyone gets to sing a Christmas hymn. The Stake President then shares a message and we finish the evening with Handel's Alleluiah Chorus. It really makes for a nice evening. Usually I stress about how our choir will do and if there will be enough of us there. This year was much more relaxing. I was so grateful to be feeling well enough to be there and to lead the choir. It was a great evening - more beautiful music!


Another nice thing that happened on Sunday is my friend, Laurie, fixed me up with a couple of wigs. One of them, Dixie, is my favorite and very comfortable to wear. I had it on tonight and a friend who hadn't seen me for a while said, "Oh, you changed your hair." A nephew said, "What, that's a wig?"

So, lots of choices. It can be at hair day, a hat day, a scarf day or any combination of the three. Cory thinks I look like Mother Teresa with a scarf on. I told Rob I'm just prepping for our mission to Africa with all those beautiful women and their scarves. I found a great quote in a book from Aunt Leona: "No matter how beautiful the scarf, no matter how I try to tie it, when I get it on my head, it still looks like a babushka." (Not sure I'm ready to be a babushka today, maybe later).


All in all this has been a very good week and I've been feeling fairly well. We have been blessed with friends who have brought in wonderful dinners, friends who have taken the kids and had fun with the kids and picked up kids so I could just rest, friends who have done ironing and dishes, and friends who have sent lots of love and prayers our way. Thank you for carrying us through these treatments. I know we wouldn't be in this good of shape without you. We love you and wish you a wonderful, joyful Christmas!