Reunion, Facetimes, Blood, and Birds...

Here's a  little glimpse at the past week at our house: 

I tried to send a bunch of graduation cards out to graduating seniors and was thwarted when the post office decided that they were "non-machineable" and will cost extra postage.  I'm kind of feeling grumpy about it, but don't know that I have any options other than slapping on the extra 45 cents each.   Hope all the graduates appreciate how much I love them!  😊

Denali got groomed again this past Thursday and we are very much keeping Kiwi and Denali separated again.  We did a soft reintroduction a few days in, but Denali still seemed very nervous, so we are taking it slow and easy!  No more injuries!

Glen and I donated blood last Thursday.   It went very smoothly and it's fun to have someone to go with again now that having lived in England for the two years of his mission is no longer a hurdle to him donating!   I also appreciate not having to stress about my iron levels when donating anymore! 

On Friday, I took my Mom up to Rexburg for a Clarence Joshua & Rose Ellen Hepworth family reunion.  I mostly planned this same reunion a couple summers ago, so my interest was piqued to see another one in action. 

   We were the sole representatives of the Fay/Florize Hepworth family there and honestly the main reason why I made the effort to go was to see Ellie while we were in Rexburg.  Fay and Florize were my maternal grandparents and I have several aunts and uncles and over 60 first cousins that COULD have been there, so the fact we were the only ones was saying something. 

It was fun to spend some time with Ellie and to see some long lost relatives as well.  And when I say, "long-lost," I mean LONG LONG lost...in that I'd never met the vast majority  of them in my life before.  It was fun to be able to see my Mom interact with several of her first cousins there though.   Apparently Rexburg is a hub for other lines of the Hepworth family.  I had no idea. 

While we were gone,  Glen played golf with his brother, Alex, for his birthday and then disc golf with Spence...

Then we celebrated Father's Day on Sunday by looking through old photos and enjoying some yummy food!   I can't believe how little my kids look here!    What was probably 17ish years ago seems like yesterday!  How am I that old? 

I've been enjoying my Lucie Facetimes lately.  The previous few weeks for them have been a little extra crazy with a family reunion with Garrett's side of the family, several houseguests, a  road trip to Chicago where Garrett was giving a work presentation, and Cami back to working full-time.  Additionally, Cam was recently diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, which was a relief in one way to explain all the symptoms she was having, but also added an element of stress to their lives. In other words, for a few weeks they didn't have a ton of time for Facetimes, but just the past week or so, things have finally started to settle down for them and, I, once again, have been eagerly looking forward to my sweet Lucie conversations.  Usually the conversations involve at least one of the following requests:   1.  to see our umbrella, 2. to turn on the facetime filters, usually the octopus or giraffe,  3. to see the lollipops which she requested me save for her and Bear Friend for when they come in August, 4. to have me read her a book.  

 

She is currently obsessed with "Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?" by Eric Carle and "If You Find a Rock," by Peggy Christian... both of which make me super happy!  She is delightful to talk to and a little smarty pants too!   I can't wait to see them in August again! 

I got this awesome postcard from Belarus from my Postcrossing exchange.   It's a great spotted woodpecker and it totally made me smile. 

Speaking of birds, I found this photo of a very pretty bird in  Norway in the camera roll today...where Emma is currently on her public health study abroad.   I haven't kept track of how many countries she's been to, but she is traveling all over Europe and seemingly having a great time.   I hope to be able to talk her into writing a blogpost about it when she gets back. 

 

Here's a random photo of Ellie and her roommate, Claire, from the camera roll this week...

Also, last week was the first week Glen started working remotely from the home office.  I rather enjoyed having him around more...and I think Denali did too! 

This week, he's back to Saint George again. 😑   Only 4 more times (I think) and he will be fully working remotely from home!

So that's it.   A week in the life!    Hope you have an amazing week! 

January 2018--Coming Home!!!

The most exciting thing that happened in January was right at the end of the month, but since it eclipses everything else, I'll start with that.  

On January 30th, Cami returned home from serving for 18-months as a missionary in the France Lyon Mission.  We hadn't seen her at all in that time, had only been able to communicate by email once a week, and had only talked to her a couple of times, so this was a HUGE deal and we were very excited to be able to spend time with her in person again!    

Here's the video of the big moment when we saw her for the first time at the airport:   

We had made signs for the occasion...

And invited immediate family to join us for the occasion...

It was soooooooo wonderful to be reunited again and we would have loved to have kept her all to ourselves....  

but we invited a few close friends to meet us at Cafe Rio, so that they could talk with her too!

After Cafe Rio, we took her to meet with the stake president where she was officially released as a missionary and got to take her tag off.  It was an emotional moment for her.   

After that we took her out for dessert at Magnolia (a funky new bakery in town)...

And ate up every moment we could with her.   

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Okay!  Now that we got that big excitement taken care of....here's the recap of the rest of the month.

In December our stake president reminded us that the temple would be closing for two years starting in March and that our time with a temple nearby was fleeting, so Glen and I made it a goal to attend weekly until it closed.   This was definitely a stretch in our busy schedule for us, but it ended up being such a happy blessing and we loved those weekly reconnections with God!

January, six years ago, is the month Spencer was diagnosed with AML. It's been six years, but I still always get a restless anxiety that kicks in each January as memories of all of that time flood back to me.   It gets a little less with each passing year, but it's still something that plagues me, so  I've decided that one way to address this anxiety is to do something meaningful.  I can't remember when I started (last year maybe), but I've decided that I will donate blood every January in Spencer's honor.  I have to be careful to take my iron pills to make sure they'll let me do it, but it's officially a tradition now that I hope to keep up for the long term! 

This is the jug of milk that made me cry right in the middle of the grocery store. 

On the missionary mom Facebook page, it's a thing to look for milk jugs that expire on the day your child is returning from their mission.   I saw this milk a good couple weeks before she was coming home and it unexpectedly made me cry.   I was soooooo restless right before she came home!  

And here are some more random pictures from January...

We finally raked our backyard...haha! 

This was a missionary youth activity the kids participated in and I helped a little with...

Loved that Rocky tried to jump in the photo with us!

And that was a super fast recap of January 2018!

How to Donate Blood in Spencer's Name

Anyone who's been reading along with Spencer's updates here on the blog, knows that he has received numerous transfusions of whole blood and platelets through the course of his treatment.    During his first two rounds of chemo he was given the transfusions whenever he started experiencing any symptoms related to low blood counts.  During the third round however, the doctors suddenly seemed much more reluctant to give him blood or platelets until his numbers reached critically low levels, meaning that he would suffer with the fatigue and other symptoms for several days before being transfused.  At first we thought that it was a difference due to doctor ideology, but in time we learned that the true reason for the reticence was that INOVA hospitals are suffering a critical shortage of blood and platelets and they had placed very strict restrictions on dispensing their blood products. 

It got me to thinking how selfish I had been to expect other selfless donors  out there to donate blood so that my son could receive life-saving blood transfusions and yet I hadn't donated in about 18-years.  So today I decided that it was high time to change that.  I donated blood this morning and  have documented the process here so that you could see how easy it was!  If you are eligible, PLEASE consider donating at the INOVA blood donor center in Spencer's name (or to benefit patients in your own communities if you live far away).    Blood donated in Spencer's name will not go directly to Spencer, but would be credited to Spencer's "blood account" and would make it less likely for them to be stingy giving him future transfusions.   


HOW TO DONATE BLOOD IN SPENCER'S NAME: 

1.  Drive to the INOVA blood donor center at 3289 Woodburn Road Suite 010, Falls Church (at the corner of Gallows Road and Woodburn Road, right next to INOVA Fairfax Hospital).  Don't worry though--parking is free and much easier than at the hospital!   Walk-ins are welcome or make an appointment if you wish (see below for details)!



2.  Register--Bring your driver's license and register at the front desk, making sure you let them know that you're donating in Spencer's name.  Then fill out this eligibility questionnaire (check here for requirements).   If you've been unable to donate in the past, be sure to check the NEW REQUIREMENTS  that have eased up on a few restrictions, especially those involving travel to foreign countries.   

2.  Finger prick--This quick test just makes sure that you're not anemic.  I made it by the skin of my teeth with a hemoglobin level .1 above the minimum. 

3.  Donate--I donated whole blood, which took me all of 5 minutes and 39 seconds to donate.  Platelet donations take 1-2 hours and would make for a great time to catch up on some reading or tv shows on Hulu.  

4.  Rest, eat free food, and get yourself a cool bragging sticker. There was a whole table full of food and fridge full of water and juices to boost up your energy after donating.  I did not feel light-headed or dizzy at all, but still took advantage of a free snack while waiting the required 10 minutes before leaving the clinic!

5.  Go home knowing you just potentially just saved someone's life and that you're awesome! 

WORST EXCUSES NOT TO DONATE: 

I spent two years living in a foreign country as a child ( or as a missionary) and don't think I'm eligible. 
CHECK THE NEW REGS!!!  Most foreign missionaries would be fine to donate under the new eligibility requirements (the restrictions don't kick in until after spending 5-years in most countries)  The one exception is for travel over 3 months to the British Isles, which because of Glen's 2-years as a missionary there is why he served as official photographer today rather than donating as well. 

I don't have time.     I did not have an appointment and I was in and out of the door in about 45 minutes.  With an appointment I imagine it would have been even shorter.  Platelets take longer, but as mentioned above would be a great way to get caught up on some reading or tv watching. 

I just gave blood a month ago.  Way to go on being awesome!  While it's true that you can only give whole blood every 56 days, you can give platelets every 2 weeks.   Spencer has received platelet transfusions countless times during his treatment for leukemia and they are always in short supply. 

It will hurt too much.    On a scale of 1-10, the pain of giving blood was a miniscule .28, so stop being a wimp and just do it.   

I am too young.    16-year-olds will need a form filled out by their parents before donating, but anyone 17 and over can donate without parental consent.    If you're younger than 16, then thank you for showing interest and be sure to come back and donate when you're old enough. 

I don't weigh enough to donate (110-lbs).    For heaven's sake, EAT A COOKIE and stop complaining! 

I live far away from Virginia and cannot donate in Spencer's name.   First of all, let it be known that we love visitors and would happily house any stray blood donors who come our way, but if perhaps that's a bit of a longish trip for you, then please consider donating to your community's  blood banks in Spencer's honor.

I don't know what type of blood I have.  It doesn't matter a bit!  Donate and find out what type you have!

I work all day and won't have time to come.  Check it out!  They take donations until 8:00pm.

Check out the Facebook page my brother created, to invite others donate in Spencer's name as a birthday gift to him: 

The most critical shortages are for the following types of blood:

O+, O-, B+, B-, AB-, and platelets of all types

Other Important Info to Know:

• Check our eligibility requirements 
• Are you at least 16, but under 17 years of age? You must bring the signed parental consent form
• Call 1-866-BLOODSAVES (1-866-256-6372) for an appointment
• Schedule a blood donation now
• Walk in to any one of our four donor centers or come to a community blood drive. Donors with an appointment are given preference, but walk-ins are always welcome.

 
This location is right next to INOVA Fairfax hospital, but has much easier (and free) parking:

Woodburn Medical Park
3289 Woodburn Road, #010
Annandale, VA  22003
Map and interactive directions
Hours of operation
Monday through Friday — 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday — 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Closed Sunday