introduction

Many of you know how the Todd Family feels about journeys. We try to keep an eternal destination always in view, while focusing on finding joy in the way we choose to get there. We are so grateful for the knowledge we have about where we want to ultimately be... in the presence of a loving Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, who made it possible for us to achieve that destination. We have been sent to this earth to see if we can reach our potential, becoming all that Heavenly Father wants us to be. Sometimes the journey back to our Heavenly home takes us through wide, gentle paths and sometimes the road is treacherous and unknown. Regardless, we feel that with every step we take, we should be looking for the beauty around us... learning from our fellow sojourners and relying on the maps that were provided to us to get through. Sometimes it is easy to happily skip along, but often we struggle, wondering if we will make it, and recognizing in the end that we can do hard things that we would have not previously thought possible. These are often the stretches of road that bring the most joy... the difficult ones. We have recently found ourselves on “a road less traveled” and, since we can’t turn around, we have decided to find joy in the opportunity to go there... to become better for having trod this new path. We hope that none of you will have to take this route, and can instead experience the vistas through us as you follow this blog. Here we go... Remember to enjoy the journey!


Sunday, February 23, 2014

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Here we are, finishing up February already.. wow! We are still moving forward on some goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year... not quickly, but any progress is good, right? I have finally been finishing the touch-up paint in our basement and painting the 19 new doors that we put in a year and a half ago. It is a painstakingly slow process, but I am moving along. It feels good to finish up something that I have been ignoring for a long time. I am also still working on some digital scrapbooks and a denim blanket and trying to take walks as often as I can find a buddy to walk with me. I'm not very consistent, but I enjoy it when it happens. Other than that, I am just enjoying my fun kids!

Tanner is experiencing some serious Senior-itis, as he finishes up his last semester of school before he graduates. He will be submitting his mission papers this week, and I think getting a mission call will be really nice for him. It is something he has looked forward to for a really long time and once he knows when and where he is going, he will have a little more direction... exciting! Matthew did a little indoor track after finishing up cross country and while waiting for outdoor track to start. He, Tanner, and Austin will all be participating in Track this spring. Haddie has been keeping super busy. She is doing really well with her hard school schedule, while working, practicing her driving, volunteering and trying to still do things with friends. She is looking forward to an upcoming trip to Colorado to be with a good friend there. Austin and Matthew have been working on finishing up their scouting stuff so they can get their Eagle Scout Award. Both have made good progress lately toward this goal. Savannah and Normandy worked hard on their science fair projects and advanced to the district level. That was cool for them. Savannah even got an honorable mention ribbon there! They are hoping to get some good babysitting practice, now that they've turned 11, so they can be real babysitters soon. They are a going to be a good 2 for 1 deal someday!:)

After a few months of a weather imposed break with the shed building project, Derek has been able to get back outside again, absorbed into something therapeutic. I think he has been happy about that, even though he is entering into elements he hasn't done before. It has been nice to have some warmer weather and the shed is coming along nicely. At Derek's most recent appointment with his oncologist last week, we received good news again... another clear scan! This was particularly appreciated because the blood work that he does each month had been giving us cause for some concern lately. The tumor marker consistently climbed higher with the last 3 tests, which we've been told is not a good sign, but it is still in the normal range and the scan did not show any cancer growth at this time. The oncologist said that the climbing CEA count could indicate that cancer cells are growing again and there just isn't a mass big enough to show up on the scans, but it might not mean anything significant at all. He said to celebrate the clear scan and worry about the tumor marker later... so that is what we are doing! Yay! Derek feels great and we are so grateful.

We are all looking forward to some good family time between now and the time that Tanner leaves home, with many fun things planned for the summer. It has been nice to look ahead a little bit and come out of hibernation in many ways. Welcome, Spring! We hope you're all doing well. Love ya!
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