Day to Day

I remember my mother reading a book by Louise Lake called 'Each Day a Bonus'!  Those words seem to ring pretty true these days.  Here Jim is with 8 of our 10 grandchildren on our recent jaunt to San Diego in May.  We missed our son Pat's family, but we had a real 'blast' with everyone else.  Three more of these darlings are on their way this fall and we're anxious to see what spark they add to the mix.  They are truly the sunshine in our lives lately and we make the most of those sunshine days!
Jim has continued to feel the affects of muscle loss; recently in his legs.  We are alarmed at the pace of his loss lately but he continues to muster that famous Jim smile, in spite of the difficulty it is to get around and the fear of what lies ahead.  No new news as far as medical treatments to try.  We continue to lean on the priesthood blessings he has that he will respond to some therapy and all this 'twitching' will stop.  We continue to ponder stem cell therapy - particularly a clinic in Mexico.  There seem to be many reasons to try this - or not  - but a decision has to be forthcoming, as time is of the essence.
So, off to Bear Lake this week for the 4th of July and then back home to the ALS clinic at the U.  We learn more about this disease every day and the many who are afflicted (it is as common now as MS).  When you go through this sort of thing, you realize how much suffering there is out there and realize their must be some purpose in all of it (hard to see and especially hard to experience).  We continue to hope our faith is strong enough to receive inspiration and have the courage and faith to implement and endure.  We rely on the strength, prayers and help of our family and friends to carry us - day to day and we've been the recipients of all of that in great abundance.  A special thanks to Jim's sister MaryEllen who has been a 'on call' wonder.  And to all of our children who, in their busy daily lives, finding extra time to visit and help in any way!  Hoping and carrying on - day to day!