The Whitesides Family

January 2011

2011-02-04T10:32:00.000-08:00

Our beautiful mountain: the Tetons

Our amazing skier Brittany, everybody tries to beat her down the mountain, she only allows a select few and only for a a few times.

Nathan our Family Sherpa is always helping after a long day of skiing.

Cami in her first ski class, she had a great time and is defiantly ready for the chair lift. She has her pizza and french fries down perfectly-yea!

Dad is his ski buddies in the lodge getting ready to go skiing. We are so lucky to have such a fun dad who helps us fight off the monsters on the ski slopes by using our new ski skills of "pizzaing" and "airplane" turns:)

Our January has been filled with lots of skiing, I think we went 5 times this month. Sometimes just the big kids and Mike would go but most of the time it was a whole family adventure. One time it snowed while we were there and we couldn't get out of the parking lot. We had to have someone finally pull us up the mountain and then we were fine all the way home. We have also found a favorite after-ski-day pizza spot. The restaurant is called Tony's Pizza and Pasta, it is really yummy especially after a long day of skiing when no one takes time to eat much. It is really fun to sit and talk about our day on the mountain and who had the best crashes and who gets most ice cream scoops for crashing the most. The ice cream tradition was we started after watching the Disney movie, Meet the Robinsons, we wanted the kids to celebrate their failures knowing that you have to fail sometimes to move forward. Emily and Cami are skiing and loving it, it is so fun to see their smiles and hear their cute giggles of delight as they are going down the mountain and having fun with the big kids. Kayla got to take a ski trip with her high school ski club. She had a great time skiing at Snowbird and Brighton, she came back a totally different skier, our cautious, graceful Kayla is now a speed demon and not so cautious.

I (Jeni) also got to take a weekend trip to Phoenix. I went to help Aunt Holly move, see some old friends and to defrost. It was a great weekend, I got in my rental car and just sat in the sun for moment and screamed, I just couldn't believe how nice it could be somewhere else while we were freezing!! Next order of business was to find some where to have a snack outside:) I then went and visited my great friend Molly and then off to see some other very special people. It was great to see Aunt Holly. We got a lot done and it was so great to visit. She is a special aunt and I am lucky to have her. Saturday night, I had a girls night out with some old friends and on Sunday I went our old ward and saw our amazing friends. I/we love them so much and will always hold a special place for them in our hearts.

Fasting lesson.

2011-01-16T10:33:00.000-08:00

Today in Church I was asked to read and share my testimony about part of the lesson. The lesson is on Fasting, and the topic I am to talk about and share my feelings about it this paragraph: Fasting With A Purpose: Fasting can have many purposes. We can overcome weaknesses or problems by fasting and praying. Sometimes we may wish to fast and pray for help or guidance for others, such as a family member who is ill and needs a blessing (see Mosiah 27:22–23). Through fasting we can come to know the truth of things just as did the prophet Alma in the Book of Mormon. He said: “I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit” (Alma 5:46).

I was writing down my thoughts and thought that this belonged in our blog also. Here is my testimony on fasting with a purpose:

Fasting with a purpose allows me to put aside my carnal, physical needs and concentrate on more important matters. It is a way for me to show the Lord that I am putting all my physical needs on the "alter" and consecrating my heart to the Lord in all things, to do His will. When I have done this I have felt a peace and direction in my life that I can't find any other way.

I also have a testimony of the power of others fasting for you in your time of need. It is important that we allow others the opportunity be a window to our Heavenly Father's love and feel close to our Heavenly Father by allowing others to pray for you in your times of need. Two years ago this month I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I went through rigorous chemotherapy and radiation, surgeries and more doctors visits. It was a rough road but knowing that others were praying and fasting for me kept me going. The knowledge that others were giving up their food and water for me filled me with love and determination to keep going. There is a power in fasting and prayer and we can literally feel it as we have faith and act on this gospel principal and allow others to be apart of your lives good and the bad.

Christmas Parties 2010

2010-12-27T09:49:00.000-08:00

This year because we didn't make it to San Diego, we got to go to Rupert for the annual Whitesides Family Christmas Party. It is so fun to play with cousins, and see Aunts and Uncles. Santa even came!! We love our family!! Another fun Christmas party was our the annual Church Christmas party. It was very memorable with a visit from the Grinch, and Kayla and Britt singing, where are you Christmas. Both were fun memorable parties. Here are some pictures from the kids with the Grinch, and a video of Kayla and Britt singing.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T08:56:00.000-08:00

Well this year has been the year of the Christmas's like no other, we counted up how many times we opened presents and it was 5!!! Crazy, no one is complaining and we hope it continues!!!:) The season started out with the annual ski swap, we decided to buy ski passes this year and we need some supplies. Off we went and found some great ski boots for Emily, who said ski boots so cute that we couldn't resist; she is very excited to ski like the big kids. Britt got some new skies, and we got some other fun misc. like wool socks, hats and gloves and ski pants. Then our second Christmas took place before Thanksgiving when we decided it was time for some electronic upgrading, so we got some new TV's, blue ray players and gasp-satellite TV. The kids are asking what happened to their parents, but they aren't pushing the subject too much. The Third Christmas came with the grandparents when they came to Britt's baptism, (see grandparent Christmas blog posting). The fourth came on the Thursday before we were suppose to San Diego, instead of bringing presents we opened the presents leaving the stockings for San Diego. All the kids loved the xbox360 and kinetic from dad. The little girls loved their barbie castle, Britt loved her new chef outfit, Nathan loved this new games for the xbox and the Kayla loved her new clothes, (I know pretty original, but she is 15 and that is what she asked for). The Fifth Christmas came on Christmas morning. It was a good thing that people sent presents to us after we were suppose to be in San Diego so the kids felt like some what of a normal Christmas. The kids got to open their stockings from Santa and stockings from Grandpa & Grandma Mc Nett, and some presents from Aunts and Uncles. On Christmas Eve, the kids tracked Santa on the internet and were so excited for Santa to come that all we had to say was it was time for bed and the kids in their beds and a sleep in record time. Britt was a little anxious, any noise she heard was Santa coming. The funny thing is, is that last year she asked so some many times about Santa that we finally told her the fun story of Santa. So when she got so nervous I reminded her and she calmed down a bit, but was still very excited for Santa to come.

An Idaho Christmas

2010-12-27T08:35:00.000-08:00

This is a view of our beautiful Mountains on a beautiful day and up at the ski resort the girls asked me to bury them in the snow, I thought how ironic it was that I was burying them in the snow and not SAND!!

Laser tag and Miniature golf at one of favorite places in town.

We were suppose to go to San Diego for Christmas leaving on December 21st, but the snow was so bad this year that we had to cancel. We were all very sad, we looked forward to the museums and Science Center at Balboa park, the beach, Sea World, and the Sun! But all that will have to wait until another time. It was a hard decision not to go, but after we found out that on the morning we were suppose to leave it snowed 18!!! inches in Provo, UT. We were glad at that moment that we had made the decision to stay home. We have been enjoying ourselves by playing Laser Tag and miniature golf, playing with our new Christmas toys, enjoying some beautiful days of skiing, watching movies, and playing games. It has been nice to be home and relax and enjoy the season. After calculating we have been here for 5 Christmas's and we have only stayed home 1 other time so this has been a nice for a change.

Grandparent Christmas

2010-12-26T20:51:00.000-08:00

The weekend of Brittany's baptism, we decided that since our grandma's and grandpa's never get to see the kids open their Christmas presents we would have an early Christmas. It was a lot fun and the kids were of course very excited. Grandma wanted to savor the moment by having each child open one present at a time, well that lasted all of about 2 min.

Britt's Baptism Weekend December 4, 2010

2010-12-26T20:21:00.000-08:00

This weekend was very special for Brittany. She was baptized and confirmed by dad. Lots of people came ALONG ways just to be apart of her special day. Grandpa and Grandma Kelly, Aunt Laura and Uncle Joe and Grandpa Mc Nett. Casey and Rachel(Flynn) joined us at the church and after for brunch. It was a very special weekend for Brittany and a fun weekend visiting with family. We played games, bowled, swam, went out for pizza, and just caught up. We have great family- we love you!

Thanksgiving with the Whitesides Family 2010

2010-12-26T19:31:00.001-08:00

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving with the Whitesides in Grand Junction, CO. We had to leave a day late becuase of bad weather through the passes but we finally arrived and we had a great time. When we get together we always love visiting, eating, hiking and playing games. Uncle Justin and Aunt Jenni came all the way from Chicago and we got to find out the gender of their new baby ( A girl!!!). It was a great time and we are reminded all the time how much we love our family, and how many GIRLS there are in the Whitesides family now:)

Brittany's Baptism Invitation

2010-11-15T08:40:00.001-08:00

This digital invite generated with Smilebox

Nathan the 6th grade chess champion

2010-11-11T20:13:00.000-08:00

Today at 11:30a Nathan was crowned the 6th grade class chess champion of Madison Middle School. We are so proud of him and he is so excited. This morning he was very excited and a little nervous but I put some "liquid luck" in his cocoa and he was off never looking back. Dad was there to cheer him on to victory and according to dad and Nate he won pretty handily. We celebrated tonight with a black and white dinner, chicken fetticine alfredo with olives, salad with raisins and almonds, white cheese french bread and milk in black cups. Dinner was served on black plates and a white table cloth . We went to BRC's a favorite ice cream restaurant for desert.

We hail the king of chess, Nathan Whitesides!!!

Zeitgeist Half Marathon 2010

2010-11-08T09:51:00.000-08:00

Crossing the finish line

Nate and Me after the race

Mike ran a 1:29-Amazing!! It was fun to train and do an event together.

The crew: Grandpa Mc Nett, Robin, Mike, Me, Meredith, and Grady. This race didn't provide medals so I took care of the medals and of course they had pink ribbons:)

This past weekend Mike and I accomplished the Zeitgeist half marathon (13.1) in Boise Idaho. The race consisted of three major uphill climbs and some steep hill descents for the first 10miles. The last three miles consisted of some down hill or flat areas but also some crazy little steep climbs. The race directors must have been trying to make this race pretty challenging . I had a friend tell me that once you have completed Zeitgeist you are considered a "Zeitgeister" a term of great respect.Mike and I finished the race strong and feeling really good. Mikes time was 1:29 and my time was 2 hrs and 19min. Mike did amazing and place 19th overall. I feel really good about my race and my time. My goal time was between 2:15 and 2:30. I was really excited that it was closer to 2:15 with all the hills we did. Because this race was really considered a "a come back" race for me there were a few emotional moments for me on the course as I contemplated the last two years of my health and recovery. I wore my Livestrong shorts and running shirt with my "cancer sucks" pink socks. When I crossed the line I started to cry and the people around didn't know if I was going to pass out or if I was OK. I went through the "shut" and saws the kids run towards me the first thought I had was this is why I did what I did, then Mike met me at the end and gave me a big hug we were both in tears and I said " I did it" he said you kicked that cancer's but. We just savored the moment as our/personal victory. It was really great to cross the finish line feeling so good. Dad, Robin, Meredith and Grady ran with us. It was so great to have them all there and share in the fun day. Robin, dad, and Melinda were so great to come all that way and give up time and work days off to race a race that they weren't quite ready, for but did it with me as a support- I appreciate and love them so much! I love that we have gotten to know Meredith and Grady more the past couple of years. They are really great people and I feel very lucky to have them as family. Meredith was sick and Grady just ran his first half the weekend before.

We stayed at a hotel in Boise and played with Grandma and Grandpa and Robin for the weekend. The kids absolutely love playing with Grandma and Grandpa and crazy Aunt Robin. We swam and swam and swam. The first night we checked out the course and then went for Pizza of course. Saturday was race day, after the race we went for Grandpa and Robin's traditional ice cream and soda run at Iceberg a family favorite ice cream place ( I think I like that tradition! ). Then off to after race fiesta dinner with Meredith, Grady and Family at On the Border. Thanks to Alise we got to go have birthday cake at Grandma and Grandpa Sager's house. We really enjoyed our visit and laughed and shared fun memories. Sunday was said our goodbyes and made plans for next time hoping that the future plans would make the pain of saying goodbye a little less. After everyone left we took off for a little bit of shopping (We need some coats and fast!!) and then we went to our family favorite PF Changs for lunch and bought cheesecake from cheesecake factory for on the way home.

All in all we had a great weekend and made some great memories which is what life is all about:)

October 2010

2010-11-08T09:35:00.000-08:00

October 2010 was filled with lots of celebrations.

We celebrated three big birthdays: Emily turned 3 on the 3rd, her lucky birthday, and we went to our favorite ice cream shop-Sundeas in Idaho Falls.

It was like Christmas morning, the girls were so excited for Emily to open her presents.

Daddy got Emily a pretty princess dress.

The kids on Emily's birthday morning. (I think it is funny that almost all of the kids in this picture have on race shirts:) )

Emily wanted cupcakes for her birthday and she even helped decorate them.

A few days later was Britt's Bday. Brittany turned the big '8' and celebrated with a pajama birthday party. Her friends were so cute and all had a great time making their cake and playing games, especially the pillow fight at the end. Britt will be baptized on December 4th, she is very excited.

Girls just wanna have fun! Emma, Allie, Livia, Eliza, Lilly, Brittany, Cami, and Savannah

The best pillow fight ever!! We also played musical pillowcase (like musical chairs, and painted fingernails)

Brittany got a pinata for her birthday and she named it "Penny". It seemed funny to me that she named her and planned on waking her head off:)

The sleepover cake consisted of decorated Twinkies with vanilla wafers and marshmallows for pillows. The girls had a lot of fun decorating their little cakes.

Last but not least for sure!!

Mike turned 39, he's not very excited for the big '4-0'. I was able to surprise him with some wireless headphones that he loves, and I have to say are pretty cool. We had ribs for dinner and had the scouts over for cupcakes.

Swimming, swimming swimming. Nathan and Kayla participated in a swim meet in Idaho falls called the spook splash. They did great with times better than last year and a few DQ's but nothing that can't be fixed for next time. They have really come a long ways in their strokes it is fun to see their increased confidence and skills progressing. Nathan race the breaststroke and was thinking that he was going to be blown away by the rest of the kids in the heat since he was racing against some of the older, faster kids, but to his surprise he actually did really well and didn't let the kids get to far away from him. He went after it and did amazing, we were all so proud of him. Kayla swam her strokes and actually blew the whole crowed away with her butterfly stroke in the IM, she didn't know she could do that!! Britt is hoping to race in December in Pocatello.

Halloween was fun it lasted for a couple of days as we went to a school Halloween party and church party in the same night and then went trick-or-treating the next night on Saturday. We had a great time on Friday night, Brittany was Aubrey Hepburn, Nathan was a Ninja, Cami was a princess, and Emily was a ballerina. On Saturday that all changed as Mike came down with a pre-bronchial infection and Emily had a double ear infection. Mom took care of the sick kids while Kayla and Neighbors took the kids around trick or treating. I think the kids had fun and came home with too much candy:)

Nate and Football

2010-10-23T21:39:00.001-07:00

Nathan gave football a try this year, and we were so proud of him for trying something new and it wasn't easy either!! Nathan was pretty taken back on the first tackling practice but stuck with it. He really learned a lot and made some fun friends. It was really cute to watch him at the games get into the excitement of the game.

His team lost one game during regular season and then they lost their first game in single elimination to last years champions. The game was great, the boys fought so hard and played such an amazing game. Nathan didn't get to play at all but was so fun to watch and hear his commentary from the sidelines. The weather was absolutely foul. It was rainy and windy and very cold. I couldn't even imagine playing in that weather it was horrible enough just sitting in it. We had to call the game at one point for lightening and then resumed a few minutes later.

Here are some fun pictures from the season:

Seattle

2010-10-06T15:55:00.000-07:00

Mike and I were able to attend the wedding of Brad and Jen Mc Nett (that is right, you read that right). We have a new sister-in-law, Jen Slawson Mc Nett. She is absolutely amazing, and will be a great addition to the family. I love how she loves everybody for who they are and just is so accepting and caring. We first met her at Laura's wedding and instantly fell in love with her, I don't know who wouldn't. In fact, we told Brad that if something happens we are keeping her in family pictures and taking him out-lol!!

It was an adult only wedding, so Mike and I left a couple of days early to spend some time together before seeing the family for the big weekend. We treated this was a destination wedding (which means Jeni got to do some fun shopping) and we had a great time even the 12 hour dive was fun and driving into Seattle we saw Mount Rainier, sitting majestically over the city. It was so fun to be back on our old stomping grounds. We ate at the Seattle Pier on our first night and took a walk along the water front, very nice!! We walked around downtown Seattle and Pike Place Market. We took a amazing run along the Puget Sound. We met up with Robin, Julie, Laura and Joe on Friday eve for dinner and then met up with Brad, Jen and the rest of the family later on. We were so happy that Grandpa Waters came for the weekend. He is 87 now, and I know that this is really out of his comfort zone, but it meant alot to Brad and I am I grateful to him for making the trip. The story from Uncle Larry and Aunt Leslie is that he was the first one ready to go at 9a on Friday morning. He has always been there for us in our lives placing himself always behind us in importance. He is a great example of giving and caring. Brad and I had to make a pact that we wouldn't talk too much about Grandpa during the weekend, that we would both end of crying.

The wedding was simply elegant, I loved it. The winery was a beautiful back drop to a beautiful day. Brad and Jen were so happy and it was so great to see family and spend time making great memories.

The next day we got to to see and have breakfast at Robin's house, it was great!! My little sister owns her own house, I am so proud of you!! How fun!! We also got to see Grandma Kelly and Grandpa Kelly one more time on the way out.

The weekend was a great time and we are so glad that we got to go and thankful to our amazing babysitters, Rachel and Casey, wow they are truly amazing and will be amazing parents very soon:)

August 2010

2010-10-06T15:48:00.000-07:00

After grandpa's funeral we decided we needed to do something fun, so we headed to the Ocean. We had a great time playing in the sand in CA, at the Santa Cruz beach and had fun just being together.

We came back and got ready for the RUSH triathlon. Mike, Kayla and Nathan all particpate this year and all did an amazing job!! Kayla placed third in her age group and Mike took first overall in the sprint division and even broke his record time from last year.

Mike and Nathan were able to go hiking with the MC Nett clan in Yellowstone. They had so much fun, Nathan felt so good about his accomplishment and had such a great time with dad and the other kids/uncles. The pictures were beautiful.

The start of 10th, 6th and 2nd grade. The kids started school, I can't believe that we have a high schooler!! The kids are getting so big!!

Grandpa Paul Whitesides

2010-10-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

On the morning of July 27th, Grandpa died. We are so sad to loose him but we know that he is MUCH happier with Grandma Whitesides in heaven. We will miss him, the kids really loved grandpa and have many memories of their time together. We are so glad that we got to live close to him and make so many memories with him, even in the hard times. Mike, I and the kids were the primary care givers to Grandpa for two years here in Rexburg. At times it seemed like alot, but we would never change any part of it even when Jeni was sick. we are so grateful for his patience with us and hope we were able to help. We are so grateful to the care givers at Homestead Assisted living center and also Rexburg Rehab nurses, they were so senstive and caring as we went through this tough time.
The last night he was conscious, Sunday, we went to visit him and he just looked at me(Jeni) with those eyes that said help me... I just kissed his head and told him he had done good and to relax, it was okay. We each said our goodbyes and then left, the next morning we got the call that he was close to going.

Dad and I got very close, I really felt like I got to know an amazing person. We had a special connection, I could understand what he was saying and feeling without much spoken words. I will miss our conversations and lauging together. His family meant everything to him, especially his grandkids-sorry sons and daughter-in-laws.

This is what the kids said about grandpa:

Grandpa was a great, strong, and gentile person
• Grandpas was funny
• Wore a towel for a bib at the dinner table
• Enjoyed a good joke. Especially the one about a fly and a steak.
• Grandpa walked to our home in the cold weather without a gloves or a warm coat.
• I liked when he had the genie pig – Britt.
• I got to fly toy airplanes with him - Nathan
• Grandpa took me for rides in his yellow bug.- Kayla
• It was fun to see grandpa out riding his bicycle around town.
• It was sad to see grandpa riding his trike around town. Then, as I thought about it more, he was inspirational. Despite his inability to drive, he still got out and did stuff.
• Grandpa had fun trains that he pulled out at Christmas time.
• Brittany enjoyed making cookies for Grandpa.
• Brittany and Grandpa were Cowboys and Cowgirl together for Halloween.
• Brittany liked to hold Grandpa’s hand.
• While looking over the Rexburg valley at the rest home and really struggling, Grandpa said that the nurses were trying to kill him. Jeni and I told him that it was okay to die. He said, why would I want to do that? I responded that then he could go see Mom. He calmed down immediately and really until he died.
• Grandpa enjoyed playing tag with Cami. Then he would get me and carry me. We giggled together. It was fun.
• Grandpa and Kayla wrote notes back and forth to each other.
• Kayla was called McKurrla and Grandpa was Cookie Monster.
• Grandpa could always locate dessert with his radar senses.
• "The faster you go to sleep the faster morning comes".
• Families are the key priority.
• We support each other in our activities
• He came to our soccer games and events
• He sacrificed his own pursuits to be with us.
• Shortly after we moved to AZ, Grandpa and I crossed paths while commuting to work. Grandpa was very touched and grateful that we moved to AZ to be near them.
• He was really happy all the time - Kayla Whitesides
• I don’t remember him being sad – Kayla.
• I remember him trying to scare be (like boo!) – Kayla.
• He showed me that he cared for me by the way he greeted me – Nathan.
• I remember that he came to my baptism – he gave me a hymn book.-Kayla
• I remember him coming over for Sunday dinner in AZ and he brought the newspaper full of ads for mom.
• He wrote notes in the scriptures he got for us when we were 12 / 8. Kayla and Nathan.
• He got us all excited at Christmas and Birthdays and made us feel special.
• He dressed up like Santa Clause one year.
• He was really compassionate – he checked on Grandma Chugg frequently.
• He was an amazing listener and that he cared without judging.
• He tried to make everything fun.
• He liked to go out to eat and liked ice cream, hot cocoa.
• He always had mints and gum to share with us. He taught us to share and he felt bad when he didn’t have any, and he rode his bike in the cold to specifically get gum and mints.
• Kayla razed him when he missed Sunday dinner.
• One of his favorite parts of the scriptures was the beatitudes. He really tried to live those set of scriptures. We think that he did an amazing job and that they really are what grandpa was/is to us today.

Grandpa was buried in Rupert. We love going to Rupert and we love our family in Rupert. We love visiting with them and feeling their love and support, we have a great family we thank God for them. We got to see Jason Natalie and the twins, also Justin and Jenni made the trip to Idaho just for the funeral and to spend time with us. Bryan and Ashley came and it was great to catch up and make fun memories on the river water skiing. Kayla and Ashley played and sang at the funeral and did a very lovely job we know that Grandpa loved it.

July

2010-10-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

We spent our first 4th of July here in Rexburg becuase we are usually in Rupert for the 4th. It was fun to see the parade and BBQ with our family.

Kayla turned 15 and Nathan turned 11. They are turning into amazing wonderful people. For Kayla's Bday we went to Sundaes ice cream restaurant. Nathan's Bday was spent at Rigby lake playing with his new boat:) We really enjoyed our visit with =Grandpa on his 66th bday. We are glad that we could be here to celebrate with him.

We were busy taking care of Grandpa Whitesides, he has really not gotten much better. We had to admit him to the hospital and he is not eating or drinking. It seems like Parkinson's is kicking in and he is forgetting how to swallow. We pray for him constantly and are hoping for the best. Jason and Natalie have came to visit again and Justin too. Grandpa is just not responding well and while they were at the hospital Dad had a pulmonary embolism and had to be put in the ICU. He got better and was moved to the Rexburg Rehab center and is trying to recover. We have an appointment with the neurologist and hopefully he will have some answers, help, and a cure for us. But it really doesn't look good and it is really hard to see Grandpa this way.

Grandpa's 66th birthday! on July 8th we went and celebrated grandpa's birthday with him. He was asking us about what was going on and telling us how he is forgetting how to talk and eat. It was nice to visit with him as we wonder if this will be his last birthday with us.

Also this july we got to spend time with Julie, Jason and Baby Zoey. We had a great time adventuring through Yellowstone and playing at the lake. We had fun catching up and watching the kids play. It was great to have them visit, it is such a long ways and we really love it when people make the trek.

Jumping June

2010-10-03T10:53:00.000-07:00

June was a hard month. I went through my last procedure for breast reconstruction and Grandpa Whitesides started to not feel very good and required a little more attention. I also planned to do a "Kindergarten Boot Camp" for preschool. It was a hard month and I am surprised we made it through as well as we did. I just know that is was by the power of God that we got through this month. We got to visit with Jason, Natalie and the twins as they came to help and see Grandpa. We are so grateful to our family for all their love and support. One of the highlights of June was Father's Day. We love our Dad, he is really the best ever, we love playing and spending time with him. He make us smile and laugh.

Magnificent May

2010-10-03T10:28:00.000-07:00

May began with a trip to St George, UT for Ironman. Mike worked hard for this race. He began training for this race last October and has swam, biked and ran his heart out preparing. We visited St George three times for him to get on this brutal course and be ready for his big race. We arrived in St George on Wednesday and checked the course. Thursday we checked Mike in and went to the Manti Temple grounds. Friday we took it easy and helped mike with last minute preperations. The kids participated in the Ironman kids fun run. The kids got to run on the same course as dad and got to finish at the finish line that would be crossing. The kids were so fun to watch. Britt and Cami held hands all the way through the one mile run. After a sleepless night we took Mike to buses at 4am. Mom then went back and got the kids and Grandpa and headed to the buses to go out to the swim start at Sand Hallow Resivor. We met up with Aunt Robin and Uncle Kenny. It was chilly morning. Many swimmers had on their neoprene caps and wetsuits to keep warm. The participants were all lined up and some in the water prepared to start the race of their lives. Just as the sun rose over the mountain, the start gun went off. Mike did amazing in the water getting out right at his goal time and quickly transitioned to his bike. It was so much fun to see him take off, we then got back on the bus and went to see him on the bike with Grady, Meredith and family and Bryan and Kelly and family. It was really great to have them all their to help cheer mike on and share this special day with us. We saw mike on his bike and then went to finish line to see him transition to his run. After we saw him take off on the fun we tried to find some great places to see him on the run. The night before we took a drive around the running course and got to write on the course to cheer dad on. Dad also shared with us "our mile". Mike decided that the last miles of the run would be dedicated to each of us by taking one mile and thinking of us individually as he ran "our mile". We were excited to be able to see dad a few times on the run and then we headed to the finish line anticipating his finish. As Mike crossed the finish line, we all gave him big hugs and knew this would be a day that we would never forget. We are so grateful to all those who came and all those how cheered us on from far away. We felt your prayers and you support.

Mike Whitesides you are and IRONMAN!!!

Amazing April

2010-10-03T09:58:00.000-07:00

We had a great April filled with lots of amazing adventures. We started this April off a great easter weekend. We had fun looking for eggs and eating easter dinner with Grandpa Whitesides.

We made trip to Los Angeles to see Aunt Laura and Uncle Joe get married. We had a great time visiting with family and we loved celebrating with Laura and Joe. It was wonderful to see them so happy and ready to conquor the world together. This weekend was actually filled with many other activities that the kids were suppose to participate in, after awhile it began to be a joke and we just had to laugh. Kayla had a ballroom recital, an EFY area activity, a piano recital and piano festival. Nathan had a piano festival and recital. Brittany, Cami, and Emily all had a Gymnastic "Olympics". It was a hard weekend for them all to break away and give up some of the things they were excited to do and had worked hard at but they were all so great about giving up these activities to be with family and celebrate with Aunt Laura and Uncle Joe.

We pulled out our summer clothes from the storage room and left for LA on Wednesday. we picked up Mike who went down for one last practice before the Ironman in St George. We got into LA and stayed with one of Laura's friends, Trina, our new adopted aunt. She was amazing and we were so grateful to her and her roommates for allowing us to stay in their condo in the amazingly beautiful Rancho Del Ray, CA. We stopped off at temple and got to see Aunt Holly, Grandpa and Grandma Kelly who were staying at some apartments at the LA Temple. We then proceeded to Trina's apartment for some much needed sleep. The next day we met up with all of mom's family at the Santa Monica Pier for some fun on the beach. We had a great time playing the beach and just being together. Afterwards, the girls said goodbye and went to bachlorette party for Aunt Laura. Waking up the next day we got ready for the wedding and headed to the Temple. It was wonderful to be with family, the people the mean the most to us on such a special day. It was a beautiful day and laura and Joe looked amazing, but more importantly they were so happy that I swear they glowed and couldn't stop smiling.

At the reception we had a great dinner and then had fun celebrating and dancing with our family. Brittany caught the bridal bouquet and held it all the way home. We had so much fun in LA and being with family.

Derek Redmond, Dad Help Son to finish the race (complete)

2010-05-11T10:22:00.000-07:00

Easter 2010

2010-04-07T16:10:00.000-07:00

This year Easter 2010 was filled with snow, spring break, LDS General Conference, Easter egg hunt, and yummy Easter Day food and fun. The kids, Kayla, 14, Nathan, 10, Britt, 7, Cami 4,a nd Emily 2, were excited for Easter. I think Kayla was even abit excited. The Easter Bunny hid their eggs the ones we decorated and their certain color, Kayla-purple, Nathan, Green, Brittany, blue, Cami, Pink, and Emily orange. The Easter Bunny left 5 clues for the kids to find thier Easter present, a trampoloine. The sad part was, is that it has been snowing for about 5 days straight!!! The kids are so sad that they can't put up the tramp and play on it. The rest of the day was filled with General Conference and playing with family. We made Easter cupcakes and we all enjoyed frosting and decorating the cupcakes, especially Emily who probably frosted and decorated over half of them and loved every minute of it! Saturday night everyone took a part of the Easter Day Meals and made it for us. Britt had Breakfast and made her favorite-Baked French Toast. Nathan made our 7 layer salad and Kayla made rolls. Cami helped make strawberry short cake desert and fruit salsa for snack on Sunday. It was a fun time in the kitchen and we enjoyed our Easter Sunday with all the yummy food and fun time together.

March Madness Continued

2010-03-23T08:22:00.001-07:00

So more on our March Madness...

I have started a preschool, the Learning Express. I have always wanted to do this, and Cami and Emily are at the perfect age to participate and I don't have to pay for preschool. We started in February and I along the way we have added two kids. My original plan was to go Monday thru Thursday allowing for one day where only Pre-K kids would come. I did this for alittle while but I didn't get more kids and only had one pre-k'r so I just switched over to three days, Mon-Wed. This is really nice I feel like I can keep up alittle more on things that I need to do as a mom as well. We have been learning all kinds of fun things, even I have been enjoying them. I have loved the time to focus in on the kids. I love the feel of satisfaction when Emily comes and tells me her shapes or starts counting, or Cami starts telling me about the Artic or is so excited because she can write her letters. I have a feeling I will be doing this for awhile since both my girls have preschool coming up, so I look forward to this fun time with them.

Along with preschool, I have started reconstructive surgery. I felt it was time and I look forward to finishing completely my recovery from breast cancer. It has not been an easy process, I really didn't know what to expect but I guess any time you are trying to expand skin it probably will be a little painful. Mike has been great about it and tries to help where he can. I had an expander put in and the doctor will fill the expander a little at at time to expand the area until the desired size, I am thinking DD's-ha ha! My doctor is in Idaho Falls and I go down once a week. When the process is done the doctor will put in the implant and fix the other side to match. It is hard to know how long the process will take because we are moving very slowly since I have radiated skin, we are taking our time to make sure the skin has time to heal in between fillings. I do hope that I can wear a swim suit this year that looks symmetrical.

As you can see our March is really madness, but we are muddling through and having a great time anticipating spring and hopefully some warm sunshine soon.

Our Own March Madness

2010-03-20T03:35:00.000-07:00

So it's not basketball but it's still madness:) We have been busy, with Mike's training, my preschool, the kids activities and starting my reconstructive surgery.

Mike is about ready for his Ironman in St George on May 1st. It is great to see him training so hard for something so big, he is amazing!! With only about 6 weeks away, we are gearing up for a great weekend. Mike has now swam for over an hour straight, biked 130mi. and ran 20mi. He will have one more big push before the big event and then he will start tapering his training about two weeks out. Amazing, he has really fought the elements and been determined in being prepared for this. Mike has been great about trying to plan his practicing around the time when the kids aren't home. He gets up at 5a to swim and then runs during lunch. He bike's his long rides on Friday's while the kids are at school. During the next big push we are going to get the kids a little bit more involved. I really want them to see dad pushing and working his way to his goal. Mike does these triathlons for himself, but also so the kids can see dad reaching and accomplishing his goals. I think I will wake them up at 5a some morning when Mike goes for a swim and then we will go ride our bikes with dad the last few miles of this big bike ride and go meet him on his next big run. Mike participates in these crazy races not just for himself but we are hoping it will inspire them someday to work for their dreams and achieve great things.

Along with Mike's training, the kids have had a great winter inside. They have been involved in a number of fun actvities. Emily is a monkey by nature, she is always climbing and wants to be cuddled. We get to participate in a mom & me class at our local gym and she LOVES it she is doing front rolls and handstands, flips on the couch and "table tops". She loves the tramp and yesturday in gym was trying to do a tornado turn on the tramp and the coach and I just started laughing. This turn is where you put your arms up in the air looking kinda like a rocket and then you are suppose to jump and turn all the way around at the same time. Emily actually did it- especially with her head!! When ever she tried to do it she would turn her head in circles hoping her body would follow, it was so cute and so hilarious but it worked and she did her little tornado jumps all the way down the tramp head turning and everything. Cami is also in this class and is loving all the jumping and climbing and swinging. She loves being active and loves the creativity. Brittany is in her element in gym. She loves the mix of dance and tumbling. It is fun to watch her progress and feel good about her efforts. Nathan has been in karate, he has always wanted to take karate lessons, but for some reason I had always been a little weary of it. He has loved every minute and is trying to figure out how to fit it in the schedule between soccer and swim team and pay for it himself by mowing lawns and snow removal. Nathan is still taking piano and has really gotten into playing some classical pieces, he started trumpet this year and loves the friends and music he is making in band. Kayla has been dancing her heart out in ballroom this year and has started swim team again. She has missed swim and is looking forward to getting back in the water. We finally found a piano teacher for Kayla who is just perfect for her, Kayla is really loving the music and her time on the piano, she sounds AMAZING!

As you can tell, we have tried to stay active this winter and stay warm inside having fun.

The heart of the shamrock

2010-03-02T14:28:00.000-08:00

Today I did a first.

This month is muscular dystrophy month and Albertsons is selling shamrocks in "support" of the cause. I have NEVER bought any such thing before, to me is seemed like such a waste of money. I always thought why should I, the money just goes to peoples "corporate non-profit" wallets and hardly goes to the people. Today while I was at the store I was overcome with emotion as I read about 2 boys with a type of muscular dystrophy who were fighting the disease here our area. All of a sudden I wanted to buy every single one the shamrocks, it hit me like a ton a bricks, these shamrocks are not just for the money to help the disease, but to show them that people care and support them in their fight. I bought two and put my kids names on them that are their same age. I tried to tell Cami about her shamrock, I think she understood a little bit, and I plan on telling Nathan about his tonight at dinner. I hope that my kids will understand not only the importance of thinking about someone with a serious disease, but the action of showing support to someone who probably has fought and will fight for awhile.

What We Have Been Up To

2009-10-23T20:22:00.000-07:00

It has been a little while since I last wrote. All my treatments are done and I have a nice head of hair back. My hair is still pretty short and straight!! but it is kinda cute. Brittany told me one sunday shortly after I decided to stop wearing my wig that she wouldn't go to church unless I put it on, she even went and got it for me. I love that girl, I am sure it is weird having a mom that looks like a boy. Brittany is my girl that would care. Kayla has been great about my short/no hair. She has tried many times to talk me into going "naked", which surprises me for a teenager. The only side effects that I feel like I am still dealing with is that I forget short term things or get confused really easy when I have to think quick. I have done some research into this it is called, chemo brain and in time it will get better. In the mean time I have learned to really try to watch were I put my keys, etc. I can go see a occupational therapist if I want to if it still bothers me in December. I also have a hard time sleeping at nights but we just have to get through that one. My treatment plan from here on out is to take daily a medicine called Tamoxifen. Tamoxifen keeps my body from producing estrogen. My tumor needed estrogen to grow so the theory is that no estrogen, no tumor and then after awhile if there is any cancer left it will die. There are no tests to test for reacourance, the tests they do have sometimes come back false positive which just causes stress. The doctor prefers to just have me come in every 3months for the first year and watch for any signs of reacourance. I figure that if there is a reacourance that is not a good thing no matter what test I take so I am fine with just watching for signs to catch it early so we can take steps to survive the disease, which would require me to be on chemo for the rest of my life to keep the cancer from growing. With all the procedures that I have gone through the doctor estimates that I am in the upper 90th percentile of being cured, so that is reassuring and I know personally that I have done all that I can so now I just move forward with faith. There have been a couple of days that I have worried about an reacourance but for the most part I have felt amazing. I am running, I am up to about 4 miles I am very please with my progress.

The thing that has been most difficult recently for me has been to trying to find a balance in life and to get organized. I am surprised at how hard it has been, I finally figured it out what might be contributing. It has been three years since we have moved here; the first year we were getting settled and worried about our house selling in AZ, the second year we had Emily, and the third year I have had cancer. So it really is no wonder that I feel a little behind. I have been thinking about how I should share my journey of finding balance in my life. It has been fun to see it develop over the past few months, but I do wish I could just figure it out. I decided to look at it as a journey not just trip with an end point. There will be uphills and down hills and easy roads. In the end hopefully I will have something good figured out. I know that some of you are probably saying "just stop doing too much" and "pick wiser priorities". Well that is probably the case, but it feels so good to be able to things again that I just want to do everything and I feel like everything is important. I have done a lot of thinking trying to figure out what my priorities are and what they really should be. I made a list of what I felt where the most important and I also figured that I have 5 hours (9a-2p)a day to do everything a mom/wife is suppose to do. In that 5 hours I have to do the "daily to-do's" like, cook, clean, put kids down for naps, and play with the kids. Amongst all the "daily to-do's" we have our "daily extra things", the things that you don't have to do everyday but still are my job like, paying bills, menu planning or grocery shop. I finally got to the point where I scheduled what I felt were my priorities. We all know that a mom's life can't be that scheduled but it gave me an idea of us of my time. I figured that if I got up at 5:30a that would allow me to exercise, read my scriptures and shower before breakfast at 7:30a. I also figured that if I put out breakfast and made lunches the night before that I would get in my "me" things in the morning. This would open up more time in my "crazy 5". We actually have started a pretty good assembly line with one child taking a portion of the lunch and making it and then each child just goes through the different lunch item piles and fills their lunch it seems to work pretty good. My plan has been working pretty good So far. I have felt better about getting all the priorities in each day and I feel like I am getting organized and being able to spend time with the kids and Mike plus take care of me. I don't remember life being this hard before cancer, maybe I am just realizing I want to use my time more efficiently and effectively than before not taking any day for granted.

Since the last blog we have done a lot of fun things, here is a short summary of events at the "Wacky Whitesides" and I will elaborate on them later.

Mike took first place overall at the Rexburg RUSH triathlon in the sprint division.

Nathan participated in the scouts pinewood derby and had a great time building his car with dad. They don't keep track of the winners here, but we think that he did very well and of course loved every minute of it.

We actually got to go camping. We thought this summer was one that we would have to pass by without a camp out, but we got to spend a fun filled couple of days in beautiful Island Park, ID.

August 26th first day of school. Kayla 9th grade, Nathan 5th grade, Brittany 1st grade, and Cami Preschool.

August 27th last day of Radiation and celebration party.

September 3rd-8th Mike and Jeni had a fun filled weekend in Boise.

Kayla tried out high school cross country this fall and loved it. She did so great!!

Jeni has been the canning queen with her friend Sunny.

Mike participated in a relay run that ran from the Idaho Falls LDS temple to the Rexburg LDS temple.

Nathan and Brittany participated in a kids tri that was amazing!

Emily turned 2, Brittany turned 7 and Mike turned 29 again.

We traveled to St. George, UT to let Mike travel the ironman course and the meet up with Grandpa and Grandma Mc Nett. On the way back home, the fun and nice Mc Nett clan in Salt Lake had lunch ready for us to eat and visit.

Coming up, we can't wait until Halloween. The little girls plan on being lady bugs, Kayla plans on being an 80's girl and Nathan is tentatively planning on being Eragon from the Eragon series. Kayla is planning a fun Halloween party and the other kids are excited to go trick-n-treating. I just hope the weather holds out.

Radiation

2009-07-27T15:48:00.000-07:00

I am sorry I haven't had time to blog. We have been pretty busy here with radiation everyday and the kids home from school.

I am feeling great!! better than I expected. I am very pleased with my progress of recovery and my hair is even staring to grow back :). I have had good energy and have really been able to enjoy the summer and the kids being home. I was able to take a trip to Salt Lake last week to spend time with family. This was a trip that I planned while I was on Chemo and it felt so far away when I was planning it, but I knew that it would come and when it did then I would be done with Chemo!!! When the time came to go I was very excited to see family and to know that I had made it through chemo.:) We had a great time and I even felt good enough to enjoy myself.

The summer has been fun, a couple of fun things we have done so far are: go to Rupert for the 4th and the Whitesides family reunion, play in Salt Lake, and swimming lessons. We are looking forward to camping this weekend, Cami's birthday, school starting and to a Mike & Jeni trip (I think we deserve one, how about you?).

I began radiation on July 14th. I know have 10 sessions done, almost a third, of the 33. I will end on August 27th, the day the kids start back to school. I was pretty bummed for awhile about starting later than expected and thus finishing later, but at least we are on the road to being done with all of this. The only side effects for my kind of radiation are fatigue towards the end and that my radiated skin will turn pink or red, like a sunburn, but if this is all for the side effects-I will take it. I have to goto Idaho Falls -I.F.-(about 30 min. away), everyday (Monday-Friday). My appointment takes about 15 minutes including parking the car and backing out of the parking lot. My "zapping" takes only about 5 minutes at the most. I walk right in to the office change into a cape and then wait my turn in a little semi-private room. The radiologists walk me back to the machine and I lay on a metal table draped with a sheet. I position myself into this mold type thing to help me position my upper body right for the machine The doctors wrap my feet with the end of the sheet and wrap a rubber band around the balls of my feet (I know kinda weird- they say it helps with the line up of the machine). Then they match up these marks that I have on my body with the machine to make sure I am in correct position. The nurses wanted to give me these tatoo dots but I opted not, just because I really don't want any mementoes of this fabulous time, so they just used permanent marker and clear stickers to protect the marks from fading too fast . I put my arms up over my head and hold onto these bars positioned right above my head. This allows for a open field to zap my chest, under arms, and neck. The machine is pretty big and rotates around to where it needs to zap. I don't feel or see anything at all.

The doctors have been great about scheduling my sessions to match my crazy summer schedule

with the kids home and taking trips, etc. I decided to sign the kids up for swim lessons in I.F. on my way to session. It has been really easy and has allowed me to feel better about driving down to I.F. everyday, I also am not leaving the kids behind everyday. I was thinking that I would have friends drive me a couple times a week just to make the trip more fun and hopefully not so tiring, but I am glad we can swim- at least for now.

More next time...

Happy Port- Out Day

2009-07-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

Happy Port-Out Day!!!

Today I got my port out. My port is a central line or internal IV that was inserted into my chest right below my collar bone on my left side. It protrudes just a little and looks pretty weird under the skin. This is where the nurses inject the chemo for my sessions. There were times after chemo that I couldn't even look at it because it would make me nausea.

Today was a big day I felt like I came full circle. The surgeon who took it out also was the one who told us that I had cancer. A rush of emotions came over me as I prepared for my doctors visit and then after when it was all done. We have come a very long ways in the past few months.

As we were coming home from the surgeon Mike took the road that leads to the oncologist's office, and when we came to the street that would take us either home or to the office Mike said "oh no not today, today we are going home." I love that guy, he is amazing! He is my strength and I am so happy that I have him as a part of my life. This has been a tough road for both of us, but he has been the one who has held us together as I laid in bed or not felt good. He has been a single dad, taking care of 5 kids and a sick wife at the same time. This is not only a big day for me but for him and for all of us.

Happy Port-Out Day!!!

Chemo Graduation and Scrapbook

2009-06-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

This is my Chemo Graduation Scrapbook. It isn't very long, but I think it does a good job of capturing the past few months. We wish we could capture every single prayer, act of service, hugs, and listening ears, of the past few months because they are all very important to us; we could not have done this without all of you!!!

I will be starting radiation the week of July 6th. I will go 33 times and hopefully end around August 21. After all this is said and done, I will be able to say that I have done all I could to make me healthy. I will have the "go" from my doctors and the probability that I will be cured will be in the up ninety percentile. I firmly believe that modern medicine is a modern day miracle.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

First day of the rest of my life

2009-06-18T07:52:00.000-07:00

Today I have declared the first day of the rest of my life. Today I went for my first walk after my last session of chemo. It felt great!!! I am not running yet, but I feel like I am now officially on the road to recovery. I want to challenge everyone to join with me in making this the first day of the rest of your lives. Some ideas might be to do something you have always wanted, or make a goal to change something for the better in your life, or to take time tell those you love that you love them.

You don't have to go through cancer to realize that life is short and to make it grand!

May recap

2009-06-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

May was a fun month with all the recitals, soccer games ,choir concerts, plays and reports. We enjoyed beautiful weather which made for a fun month. here is a few pictures to recap the fun.

Make a Smilebox postcard

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox greeting

chemo recap 4 and 5

2009-06-11T11:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't taken time to blog but here is a recap of sessions four and five. I was so tired after session 4 that I took a lot of naps. The month of May was busy with all the kids activities the last month of school. I was tired and didn't really recover from round 4. Usually by day 10 after chemo I feel pretty good, but round 4 was just brutal; I couldn't even run well.

When I got to session 5, the doctor saw me not doing as well and decided to cut back a little on the chemo by 10% (they call it "chemo stacking" and usually by the end of sessions the doctor's tend to cut back) and the nurse hydrated me with 2 bags of water. All together, the cut back and water made the 6th session one of the easiest. It was such a blessing because I wondered how I was going to finish all 6 sessions but after session 5, I felt like I could make it through number 6.

Beautiful Butterfly Fun

2009-05-30T03:12:00.000-07:00

We had a fun May Science experiment. Brittany was asked to give a report on butterflies in kingergaten and we thought it would be really fun to watch the whole process. I got a kit that came with five painted lady caterpillars (buglore.clom). We watch and journaled every move they made and then let them go on a beautiful day in the BYUI gardens. Britt named her caterpillars: Scoobers, Cubs, Ellie, Kristy, and Sally. We really enjoyed watching the whole process, it took about threes weeks from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. All the Kids really loved watching and playing with the butterflies, even Emily who surprised us all by saying "butterfly" many times throughout the weeks. Britt did an amazing job on her report and loved sharing with all her classmates her beautiful butterflies.

Spring 2009 slideshow

2009-05-25T06:41:00.000-07:00

Here are some fun pictures of what we have been up to. I have put the link to download them under "my favorite links" or you can click on the Picasa icon in the right hand corner, then click on "spring 2009" and the album will open. Click on a picture and then click "download" at the top of the page. Save your computer and forever enjoy:)

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

"We Can Do Hard Things"

2009-04-30T05:22:00.000-07:00

I write this blog on the morning of my 4th chemo session. I am not very excited about going in today but I am excited about the progress we are making. This past session was not as hard as the past ones, I had a really long spell of feeling good. I even ran 7 miles on Saturday and have been able to run almost everyday. I don't look forward to the time down again, but I pray that it will be short like the last one. As I was running I decided that I wanted to share a quote that from a nurse at the oncology office. She made this comment during my first round of chemo and when I had last 8 pounds- I wanted to hit her when she said it (no offense please!), now it has become somewhat of a theme for me as I go through all of this fun stuff. I hear many people who compare their problems with mine, and think that mine out weigh there problems. All I can think of when I hear this is how we ALL go through our personal hard times in our lives, and I really don't believe that one trial out weighs another, they ARE ALL HARD! I just believe that it is how we get through our trials that matters, and I know that "we can ALL do hard things"! We had a family home evening lesson by Kayla on monday night on trials. One of things she asked the family was why we have go through trials. One of the things that we decided was that unfortunately, but fortunately, we have to go through these tough times to appreciate the good times. We as a family understand that there will be hard times in our lives, so we need to take advantage of the good times, stay close as a family, and that "we (and you) can do hard things."

Insights number 2

2009-04-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

I have decided to take some of my journal entires and post them because I know that the information that I post about my chemo sessions is good but you don't get a sense of how I am "really " feeling, sorry it is a little long:)

3/28
thoughts:

Going bald has really given me the opportunity to think about who I am, where I am from and where I am going. Cancer will always be apart of my "person'- who I am, even when I am done with treatment. I am forever changed physically and spiritually. Maybe I shouldn't wear my wig, or a hat, it hides who I am, what I am going through and what I will become from this time of growth. I am not calling my cancer a trial because I am gaining so much from this time that I chose to call it a "time of growth". Thinking about where I are from influences my "person" tremendously. When people ask where I am from I usually say a city, what if I were to say "I am from Heaven". This different answer gives a me a different perspective, it would change the decisions I would make and it would influence how I acted each day. I think I would have a more real understanding of the role of my Savior in my life and maybe not take it for granted as I do.

Because I feel so grateful for everyday, I don't take anything for granted. I love each day, I love that I can be with my children and husband, I love that I can literally walk, that I can smile and laugh, I love that I can experience the everyday things of life. When I can go for a run or walk I love being outside and feeling the love of my Heavenly Father around me as I look at the beautiful world and feel the wind and sunshine on my face, even the rain or snow. I feel so blessed to be loved by so many people, what a blessing the ability to love and to be loved is.

I am grateful to those who understand that even on my good days my family and I need support to allow me to enjoy my good days. I often thought how great it was that people or companies would step in and help those in need with the extra things, like home repairs or family activities, but not until now do I understand the NEED that these things are. People in trying times don't just need help on their bad days they need help on their good days to help them reengage with their families and to continue to make good memories and laugh during their hard times. By taking on some of the pressures of the families responsibilities it allows for the family to spend time together talking or playing together. Sometimes I think it is hard to know how to help those in need. Some ways that have been helpful for us are, setting up a time to come and help. By doing this we know they are coming and we should have somethings ready for them to do. Dropping off little treats or just the basics allows us to feel and know of others care, concern and more importantly brings smiles. Phone calls (leaving a message if not available),emails, and notes are a wonderful way to show you care. I hate to say this.. but money allows the family to help themselves with the things they need. Babysitting for those with small children so that the parents can have time to connect is especially important. Babysitting for the mom who is sick on her good days is wonderful so that she can have time to herself to accomplish things that she needs and even wants to do, feeling a sense of accomplishment is so vital during a time of trial. I am so grateful to wonderful friends and family who have taken time to show their support for our family. I know that their time is precious also, and that makes the sacrifice even more special for us.

4/12/09 Easter
This Easter has a very personal application to me. We have always talked to the kids about how joyous Easter is. We focus on the resurrection and that we can all be together again because of Christ. This Easter I had to enlarge my explanation of Easter and share with the kids my feelings on the suffering in the Garden and the atonement, along with the resurrection. Going through cancer, I have thought a lot about how Easter is really a three step process, it began with the suffering in the Garden. This is where Jesus Christ pled with the Lord to remove "this cup from me". He didn't want to suffer, He didn't want to go through the things he was going to have to go through. He knew there was going to be suffering, and some very uncomfortable feelings of sadness and pain. I find it interesting that the atonement came after and while Christ suffered. It was not until he was going through those tough emotions that he was "at one" with God. As Jesus suffered and bled from every pore we was able to feel how we would feel, he felt how we feel and when we make mistakes or when we are sad about life's opposing wars. Because he felt these things he is now able to help us in ways he never could have otherwise. Heavnely Father was there to watch over His son, and I feel there were angles sent to help. I don't recall any scriptures backing this up, but I know that God who is all loving and kind, who loved His son would send help to sustain him and help him get through this suffering, like when Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights and God sent angles to support and help Jesus. I like wise have been blessed with angles of all kinds to sustain not just me but my family and I know that Heavenly Father is there for me anytime, anywhere anyplace I need Him. I love and appreciate those angles with all my heart. From the Garden Christ gave of himself in all the ways possible. He was truly "at one" with God and gave himself ransom for our sins so that we can repent and he can be our intercessory with the father, and the resurrection is a joyous occasion for sure. As we talk of loved ones passed and the joy of seeing them again, and for the joy of living with our Heavenly Father again in a place of peace, love, and joy forever. This Easter I am grateful for the knowledge that Christ knows how I am feeling and has suffered and felt my pains, and that I can feel close to Him and be uplifted by His enabling power of the atonement, knowing that if Christ can do hard things, so can I.

The chemo treatment this time is really getting at me emotionally and mentally. I feel like I am being tortured in a way. Pulled down to a low and then built back up. I am sure that I am doing a lot by just sitting on the couch, but that is really hard to see. I feel like I am just showing a lazy mom who isn't fighting or being proactive. It is hard to know what our kids are going to get out of this time, I hope that through this suffering they receive some kind of eternal blessings. I pray that somehow through my faith and diligence they will be blessed with a strong testimony of the Gospel and a desire to live close the the Lord in ALL things, even hard things.

4/19/09
On Monday of this past week, I was feeling really bad. I was tired and so I went and took a bath, my new favorite thing thing to do, and while I was there I had this thought that I am going to be striped of every ounce of energy, and fight that I have in me. I had this small vision (not spiritual vision) of my shoulders hunched over carrying weight but doing okay, and then the next session a little more hunched over and continuing until I was on my elbows crawling to bed. That night I slept pretty good and woke up feeling a lot better. Each day has been better and I have felt better physically quicker this time. One of the thoughts I have had this past week is that it is faith that will save me, but not my faith alone that will save me or anyone in a time like this. It is my faith that makes them ACT on those principles that I know to be true that will save me physically and spiritually.

One of things I was really worried about this time is what the kids are thinking of mom who goes to the doctor and then just lies around all the time. The big kids understand a little bit of what is going on, and the little kids have really no idea. I was afraid of what they were thinking, " is mom just going to sleep all day", or wow- mom's not really trying to fight this one, she is just letting it over take her", or " I wish I could play with mom, and she wouldn't just sleep all day". But as I started to feel better I have come to decide that as the kids see me up doing things when I can then they will hopefully see that I am fighting, that I am living life as best as I can right now.

Chemo round 3-HALF WAY!!

2009-04-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

Well I am half way, I can say that now without hesitation. Mike was trying to be positive and started saying it right away but for me I couldn't say it until I was feeling better-truly through it all the way. This session has not been as bad as the past-horray! The beginning was pretty tough, but the end was not as bad! We will get this all figured out and then I will be done. One of the reasons why this chemo was not as bad as long was that I had them cut back on my meds-specifically dexamethasone- the steroid. This allowed me to be more alert after my chemo and not as groggy when I came home. I did end up getting sick on Thursday night, but after that I was just wiped out, very very tired for a few days, up until tuesday afternoon, or wednesday morning. I have been enjoying feeling better. I ran 5 miles yesturday!!!!! I was so proud of myself!

Happy Easter 2009

2009-04-14T12:24:00.001-07:00

The kids had a great Easter. The fun started Saturday when a family brought over dinner and eggs to hide for the kids. We got done with dinner and took off for the eggs right before it pored down rain. The kids had so much fun, it brought smiles to everyone. Sunday we woke up and I decided to goto church, I usually don't go the sunday after chemo, but I wanted our family to be together on Easter. The kids looked so great in their Easter clothes. I started dresses for the girls about a month ago, I know crazy, but it felt good to accomplish something. Kayla made her own, and a great friend made Emily's dress because I ran out of time. Nathan put on his blue tie and wall-la we have a beautiful Easter picture filled with beautiful Easter smiles. Grandpa came over for Easter dinner provided by some great neighbors, and our second easter egg hunt. After the hunt we opened presents from grandpa and grandma Mc Nett and grandpa and grandma Kelly and waited for the "candy crash", which happened right around 6p. We had some great talks about Easter this year I will publish some of our thoughts later. We hope that everyone had a wonderful easter-We Love You!!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

"It's not about the war but the warrior"!!!"

2009-04-09T04:39:00.001-07:00

My friend Callie sent me that quote, I love it! Today is session 3. The past session took me longer to get over so I have only had about one good week. In that week I didn't want to miss a beat and tried to take advantage of every moment of every day. Sometimes this leads me to do way too much, but I am also very "picky" at what I spend my time on. I mostly just try to spend time with the kids and Mike knowing that I will be on the couch again soon and not feeling like doing much. I HATE how this strips my time,but I am grateful for the perspective that it is only for a short season.

Kayla YW General Conference in Salt Lake 3/28/2009

2009-04-03T11:45:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Nathan and Mike BYU-I Triathlon: The Whitesides Determinators

2009-03-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Chemo round 2

2009-03-22T15:17:00.000-07:00

I had my second chemo treatment this past week on Thursday. I earned a pink "Livestrong" running shirt and Justin and Jenni sent me a pink Nike sports backpack and pink arm sport bands. I was excited to earn my new items. I was NOT looking forward to Thursday but I had so much support from everyone this past week. Callie had a bake sale to earn money on behalf of me for her relay of life and Justin and Jenni donated money on behalf of me at a dinner fundraiser. On Thursday, we had friends wear pink to show support and Thursday morning right before I left for treatment, the cleaners that my family paid for showed up to clean our house. I had two women volunteer their time to watch kids while I was at treatment and after so I could rest. That night, we had dinner that was made by great friends. With all this help and support I knew I could make it through. This week so far hasn't been too bad, the next few days will tell us how last treatment compares to this treatment. Mike and I shaved our heads on Friday. I was losing my hair and so we "bic-ed" together and then went for a bald walk around the block. I never dreamed of making these kind of memories together.

5.1.10 St. George Ironman!

2009-03-18T20:48:00.000-07:00

5.1.10 will be a day in history for the Whitesides family. Mike called me from work today and told me the good news- today Ironman announced a new full Ironman triathlon in St. George, UT! Mike didn't waste anytime signing up -he is very excited! Ironman (the company who puts on the events) had only 6 full length Ironman races in the US up until today. All of the races except for Florida are on Sundays, therefore, this newly announced Saturday ironman so close to home was a very exciting announcement. A full ironman consists of a 2.4mi swim, a 112 mi bike and a 26.2 mi run. This ironman also has 67 qualifing spots for world ironman championships in Kona, HI. The thought of going to Hawaii is the part that I am most excited about- I think we should all route him on so we can all have an excuse to goto Hawaii!

Kayla Ballroom Performance

2009-03-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

Kayla preformed with her ballroom team at the middle school in town. She did great!

An Amazing Week

2009-03-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

This week has been amazing! I felt good and had good energy. I just loved the feeling of being healthy and feeling the sunshine, and spending time with my family not worrying about too much; I guess you can say that I just don't take too much for granted these days. My personal accomplishment for this week was that I ran 4 miles on Saturday and felt pretty good :)

I go in on Thursday for my next treatment-YUCK! But I am just setting myself up for a week of not feeling good and then I can move one. I wonder what I will get for this week for my new "pink" item?

I appreciate all the support I have gotten from friends and family. I cannot tell you how much your love and support has meant these past months. I had people ready at a moments notice to come and help this week, morning and noon, with the children. I didn't end of using them, but what a comfort it was to know that they were willing if I needed them.

Shaving my head has been a little emotional but friends and family have cried and laughed with me as I have gone through this. Tonight all the kids, Mike and grandpa tried on my wig and we laughed and took some great pictures!

Love you all more than words can express!

My Warrior Hair Cut

2009-03-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

Mike has his race day hair cut, and I have my cancer hair cut. I have decided to call it my "warrior cut". We did it late Sunday eve after supposedly the kids were in bed. Kayla was the only one up at the time but then I went and got Nathan who was playing down stairs and Cami came in who really wasn't asleep in her bed. Britt slept through the whole thing which I don't know was a good thing because now she won't look at me without a hat on. Nathan video recorded the fun and Kayla took pictures. Mike was pretty nervous but did an amazing job. A few tears were shed before and after, but it is very comforting to know that it is not forever and I will get some cute hats out of the whole deal. I don't think the earrings will leave my ears for awhile, maybe I should get some more of those too.

Nathan thinks I look cool and Mike says he thinks I look cuter now than before, got to love that guy! The kids like to rub my little nubs that are left and I just keep waiting until I don't have to shave my legs!

Insights Part 1

2009-03-09T08:25:00.001-07:00

I decided to separate my past weeks' details with some enlightenments that I had that I feel I should share. I numbered this part 1 because I know there will be more.

When I go through trials or hard times, I learn many things spiritually, temporally and physically and to make the my trials fully meaningful it important to me to share those things that I have learned with my family and friends. I also feel like our trials we go through are not just for ourselves but for those around us also which is one reason why I have chosen through this whole process to be as open as I have.

Yesterday in church in primary, the children's sunday school, at the end of the meeting the children sang "How Firm a Foundation". This song has always been one of my favorites because of the last verse phrase which reads...

7. The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose

I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, I’ll never, no never,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!

While we were getting ready to move to Idaho, I was having a really hard time with the move but I knew it was the right thing to do, and I, personally had many manistifations that it was the right thing to do at the time, but I was still struggling with it. One Sunday in services I was singing this song and I told myself as I sang... " I'll never, no never, no never forsake thee". This verse has become a life motto for me, something to live by. Yesterday I was sitting in Primary and the second verse now hit me with full force. Two days ago I was laying on the couch wondering many times how I was going to get through this time. I have felt my Savior near as I have gone through this trial but now as I lay on the couch I couldn't but think I was going to physically get through this trial. Today, Sunday, I was standing in Primary with almost 100% energy helping with the children. What a miracle this is and what a wonderful God we have. He is my strength, He is my foundation and with him I can stand both physically and spiritually.

3. Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,

For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

Another experience I had this past week was when I wasn't feeling good, I was praying that that the kids would understand and I know how much I loved them as I went through this trial, and that the suffering I was going through was a sign of my love for them so that I could be with them for a longer time on this earth. I also wanted them somehow to understand through this trial more fully our Savior's love for them, and to feel Him close. As I was saying my prayer, my thoughts turned to the garden of Gethsemane and the Cross, I thought of our Savior's suffering for us. Here I am suffering a little compared to our Savior, and He did that because of His love for us. You can physically see my suffering today, we didn't see our Savior suffer, but through my suffering I pray that the children we have a sense of what our Savior suffered for them because He loves them and knows them personally.

I know that the Lord knows us and loves us and wants us to succeed in this life. He may not be able to take away the hard times in this life but He places people and supports around us to help us to get through our trials. He enlightens our minds to know how to help ourselves to get through our trials, and through His enabling power of the atonement we can find the power to make through what seems as impossible.

Ist Week of Chemo Recap

2009-03-09T08:01:00.001-07:00

This past week was very tough. I have considered myself to have pretty tough blood running through my veins, but this week was a pretty good reality check. Friday night after chemo I was on the couch feeling a little wiped out. Saturday morning about the same, so I went for a slow, short run (I admit a little crazy:)). Sunday morning I was tired but still vertical. By Sunday eve I was not feeling so well, my stomach hurt and I was tired. Monday was spent on the couch, and Tuesday I was felt like I wasn't going to make it. Wednesday my stomach started to feel a little better, but still on the couch, and Thursday I spent a little time vertical and by Friday night I resurrected was even a little hyper!

The thing that was the hardest for me was that my bowels, weren't working properly. I would eat something and within 5-10 minutes my stomach would cramp up something painful, and then I would run for the toilet. This made me very week and very tired and needless to say I lost 8 pounds this past week from the chemo session doctors visit to the week after check-up doctors visit. I am feeling better now, thank goodness, and the doctor said that with my type of chemo this shouldn't really be a problem. I am holding out hope that my body was just reeling from all the hospital trauma it was still recuperating from and that next time I won't have the bowel problems.

It seems funny to say but all I have the next couple of weeks to prepare for is my next chemo session is on March 19th and I will probably be shaving my head to prepare for my hair falling out. I look forward to this time that I will have to recoup and to spend time with the kids.

One of Our Favorite Clips

2009-03-07T16:15:00.000-08:00

Lord of the rings has been our favorite family movie lately, even the little kids. I have never been a Lord of the Rings fan, but lately I have loved all the symbolism and how the movie relates to real life. This clip is at the end of The Two Towers. Frodo and Sam have had a long day and just made it through a long battle. I consider myself a pretty tough cookie, but this past week I found myself saying: "I don't think I can do this" with just as much if not more emotion as Frodo in this clip. Sam reminds me of just why I am going through this and gives me the courage to dig a little deeper, what can I say but that "there is so much worth fighting for."

By: Kayla :)

2009-03-04T18:12:00.000-08:00

So, I was sitting on the couch, and looked over and saw dad and nathan giving the kids "Horsey Rides!" I couldn't help, but put pictures of the guys of the family trying to hold the house together!!! Ha-ha! looking pretty good... until right after I turned off the camera. Brittany went head first over Nathan, Cami cut her toe, and Emily started to scream!!! I wish I wouldn't of turned the camera off! It was funny!

My New Excuse: Chemobrain!

2009-03-03T18:40:00.000-08:00

When the nurses went through side effects of chemo they mentioned something called "Chemobrain" . I thought "na, that won't effect me".. Well I finally pulled myself off the couch and read my blog, and my last two blog posts while I was on pre/post chemo drugs are pretty funny! I thought about editing them, but than that would be no fun. I just decided that I will use my new found excuse to its fullest...Chemobrain.

New Hair Cut

2009-02-27T15:44:00.000-08:00

I I got a new hair cut today in preparation for losing my hair. I found a wig that I liked and then had them match the cute to the wig. It is kinda fun to do something I would have never done before. What do you think?

1 down 5 more to go

2009-02-27T09:41:00.000-08:00

Yestuday I earned my first "pink run" item a pink hat. The day started going to my surgeon to check out my port and how things were healing from the masectomy. Then off to the oncology office. I am so glad that they have one in Rexburg. The Doctor, Dr. Dickson, is amazing and very kind. He is well informed and has worked with the Huntsman cancer institute in Salt Lake City. The Nurses were very kind and upbeat. I talked to the doctor for a few minutes and then off to a back room that looks like a nice family room with about 12 chairs. The Medicine went into my port great no pain and I didn't even feel anything. I came home at about 6p and felt a little tired. I went to bed and about 3a woke up feeling not so great. I spent the next hour or so on the toilet and used the bathtub for throwing up into 2 times. I am feeling better this morning, I am up but still feel a little week, I hope that the day will get progressively better. I get to go in and get a shot of white blood cells this morning and then off to a wig place in Rigby, about 15 minutes from me, and maybe get my hair cut short in preparation of it falling out.

The Chemo went very well, I didn't feel anything and the port was amazing. I am glad that I had it done. I talked to family on the phone and the kids came to visit. All the kids were amazing but Nathan was precious. He was his inquisitive self and asked a lot of questions and followed the nurse around. He even talked to the another women patient in the room . He asked her what kind of cancer she had and she pointed at her stomach and said "ovarian cancer". She asked Nathan what kind of cancer I had and without hesitating pointed to his chest and said breast cancer. I was so glad to see this, Nathan has been the one that has been the most concerned. Am I do glad that he felt comfortable enough to talk about it. Last night the kids looked at my mastectomy stitching and we talked about my port. Having cancer is such a personal thing but it also effects so many people that I love.

"This Day We Will Fight!"

2009-02-26T09:36:00.000-08:00

As we contemplate beginning Chemo, and the fight that we have ahead of us, our whole family chants with full emotion..."this day we will fight!"

Relay For Life

2009-02-26T07:36:00.001-08:00

My great friend Callie who I met in 7th grade has been an amazing support through this adventure that I am facing. Recently she has signed her self up to be apart of an relay in the Relay For Life in her town on behalf of myself, and every time I have Chemo she is going to wear a pink shirt with a pink bow in support of me and breast cancer. This is such an overwhelming act of love and kindness, and I am so grateful for it! Here is the link to Callie's blog about her wearing pink and participating in the relay:

www.helgesonshappenings.blogspot.com/2009/02/wearin-pink-to-show-my-support.html

To participate in the relay she is suppose to raise 100$ to be part of her team, if you would like to participate follow the link on the right side of my blog that states "Support Callie and Jenifer in the Relay for Life." You are all wonderful and I have gained much strength from you in my life, and especially at this time.

Thanks Callie!

Our Everyday Angels

2009-02-23T13:25:00.000-08:00

It seems like ever since I was diagnosed with cancer we have had angels visit everyday. They bring treats to brighten our days and make us smile, flowers to remind us of the beauty around us on those hard days, and even frozen meals ( I had to clean out the whole freezer in the garage to make room!) to make sure we are not feeling too overwhelmed and have a warm meal to eat.

There are not words to express how much we love and appreciate you!

Thanks Jason and Natalie!

2009-02-23T13:24:00.001-08:00

Family has been a great help to us this past week after my surgery. Jason and Natalie came and made sure that I rested while they cooked, cleaned an watched the kids. Grandpa Paul and Derrek visited and even shoveled the snow in the driveway. We love visiting and playing with family- they are wonderful in every way!

NEWSFLASH: Britt lost her first tooth!

2009-02-23T13:21:00.001-08:00

Pathology Report

2009-02-20T15:07:00.000-08:00

I went to the doctor this evening and got all the information on my pathology report. If you recall, last Friday I had a masectamy and the surgeon removed all of my right-arm lymph nodes because they found that one of the two nodes they analyzed contained cancer. Many of you know that I was trying to have immediate reconstructive surgery also, but that didn't work out because the surgeon was concerned about there not being enough tissue and the skin healing properly. We will have to revisit that issue in awhile.

Today we finally got some good news from the pathology report. The lymp node path report came back saying there was < .1mm of cancer in only one of all nodes they removed. (BIG YEAH!) The tumor that I found was an agressive tumor, the most agressive one you can have (rating 3 of 3). You may also recall that my mamogram report showed that there were other areas of concern in my breast. It turns out that the other areas of concern were carcinoma insitu, or cancer in the ducts that hadn't gotten invasive yet. The oncologist said that decision to have a masectomy was the right one because there were pre-cancerous micro calicifications all over the breast. In the end, the doctor staged my cancer as 'IIa,' becuase of the tumor size, the agressiveness of the tumor, and the spot found in the node.

As for treatment, now it is our job to keep the cancer from coming back and to kill any lingering cancerous cells in my body. I will have chemo once every three weeks for six sessions. I will most likely start next Thursday. Because of the proximity of the carcinoma insitu to the chest wall (too close for comfort), I also get to do radiation that will start 4 weeks after chemo ends. Radiation is 5 days a week for 6 weeks in Idaho Falls.

Reaction to chemo varies from person to person but it looks like the side effects of the chemo will be a couple of days of tiredness. Radiation doesn't have too many side effects, except for the huge time-sink.

In all we are very excited about the prognosses. I feel overwhelmed at what's ahead for me but I will put one foot infront of the other and I/we will make it through. We are getting wonderful help from our ward friends, and family.

Thank you for all your prayers and love that you have sent our way. You are all wonderful and important part of our family and we love you tons!

Jeni

Good News!

2009-02-17T21:16:00.001-08:00

When I left surgery on Friday there was some concern that some skin that might die and as you can imagine that would not be a good thing. I was so nervous to see the surgeon today. He looked at my stitches and said that everything looked really good! I cannot tell you what a tender mercy this is. I have received so much bad news lately it was so wonderful to hear something positive. I give thanks for this moment of positive.

I told mike on the way home that I can't wait until I can an all "pink run" (meaning dress in all pink) when this is all done. It was then that I had this wonderful idea. For every session of chemo I have to go through I am going to earn something pink to run with in my "pink run". I am so excited! Who knows maybe I will get Mike and Nathan to run with me wearing some think pink too.

A Long Weekend

2009-02-15T08:04:00.001-08:00

This weekend has been a long weekend. I had my surgery on Friday. When I went into surgery the nurse asked me how I was and I said "physically okay, emotionally not so good." She brought me a teddy bear:) The surgery went well and the doctor said he "got good margins", I am not quite sure what margins he means, lymph nodes, chest, or breast, but it sounds like a good thing, I will find out more about he surgery when I meet with him on monday. The surgeon did find cancer in one of my lymph nodes so they took them all out and we are waiting for the pathology report which should be back at the end of this week. Friday I hardly remember, I was very groogy, and slept most of the day. Saturday I was a lot more awake and feeling okay and ready to come home. I spent most of day just sitting on the couch and sleeping. Mike was wonderful! What a way to spend your valentines day, he is amazing! The kids have been so fun to be around they are my joy and light on those sad dark days. I love my family and give thanks for them everyday but now my prayers tend to a bit little more sincere. Today is Sunday and I am home while the family is at church. I appreciate this time for some thinking, pondering, and praying. I appreciate all that my kids do for me including distracting me from what is happening, but every once in awhile I appreciate these moments of quiet. Today at breakfast prayers Nathan thanked Heavenly Father "for Mommy almost being all better". I love his "half-cup full" attitude. I need to apply that more often I think through this process.

Thank you for all your love and support, it has been tangible, and really helped on those hard days. One day I was running and I was feeling a little sorry for myself and the thought hit me that if so many people could be praying for me and fasting for me then I can have the will to get through this. Your prayers are being felt and I can't express how much we love you and appreciate your thoughts on our behalf.

True Love

2009-02-08T14:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had a primary activity were all the children at church went to a assisted living center and handed out valentines cookies and sang songs. It was awesome to watch the kids feel the spirit of love and service as they shared their cookies and valentines cards. Nathan was so cute, he went and visited a lady-Helen- in her room and after that he was hooked on visiting and giving. It was warming to me to see the children's smiles. I saw a couple of things yesterday that caught my eye:

One was a couple that looked very worn for years and definitely had their health problems. I saw as we were singing that the husband reach over his sleeping wife and held her hand. It was such a manifest of true love. I was thinking to myself that I am in love with Mike as much as I could be and wonder what else there could possibly be. With this trial our family is going through, and seeing such a manifest of love as this couple has for each other, I have learned that I have so much more to learn about love.

The other thing that made an impression on me is a song the children sang. We have been learning about the importance of families in primary this year. The chorus to one of the songs goes... God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be- This is how He shares His love, for the family is of God.

I am so grateful for my family, both my immediate and extended family, that God has given me, my little piece of heaven on earth. What a comfort and joy familys are. I believe god gave us families to become what he wants us to be-I know that this is how He shares his love. I Thank God for families!

Sunday Family Update

2009-02-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

Well this past week was interesting. I did not go into surgery because it turned out that we needed more information before we proceeded. The next day we can get all the hospital, doctors, pathology, and surgery prep supplies together is on Friday of this week. We have been learning a lot this past week by visiting more doctors, taking x rays, and giving blood for testing. I am so grateful that Mike has been able help. He is amazing, I always knew that but I such a renewed appreciation and love for him.

So Friday is the big day, I will be having a single mastectomy with a sentinel node biopsy (where they take just a few lymph nodes to see if they have cancer). From there we will see what the next steps are.

Thank you so much for all your love and concern, prayers, and fasting. Your support really gave me power to keep going on those days that I am feeling sorry for myself.

Love you all!

A Day of Overwhelming Love

2009-02-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

Today was a special day for our family. We had people from all over take part in fasting and prayer for my family and I . The feeling we have gotten today has been an overwhelming sense of love and peace. We are so grateful to have felt Him so near today. We are so grateful to family who have reached out and expressed their love and concern, we love you all and are so grateful that Heavenly Father has sent such wonderful angels to be apart of our lives.

We love you!

Mike, Jeni and Family

One Hard Week at the Whitesides

2009-01-30T08:09:00.000-08:00

Since this is the news-good and bad- of the Whitesides fam, I wanted to tell of a hard experience this past week. I found a lump in my breast and it was removed last friday. I found out on this past monday that it was cancerous. It was a small lump-1.2mm or 1/2 in. The reports also show that it has estrogen hormone receptors. The size of the lump and that is has estrogen receptors are good news and all that I know for now. I will know more next week after surgery to either remove more of the lump area and some lymph nodes or a mastectomy, it is really up to me which I chose. If I go with a lumpectomy then I have an automatic 6 weeks of radiation if I have a mastectomy then no radiation. I will only have Chemo if it has metastasized. As you can imagine the first couple of days were extremely hard, but now I am optimistic and feeling good. I don't have any pain and have good energy. I have learned that cancer is not an event it is a process and all I can do is deal with what I know now and put the rest in the Lord's hands. I have seen his His hands working miracles already, for example, I found the lump, and as far as I know there is no others. If the lump would have been anywhere else, like any place deeper, then I may not have found it becuase the recommended age for mammograms is 40+. If I would have waited 5-10 more years to find the lump I think I would be in a lot bigger trouble. I am grateful for Mike's job which allows him to be very helpful and supportive with hours off in the middle of the day to come home and help when I need it. Before I knew about all of this I started babysitting a little boy which will help to cover some of the cost of medical treatment. I know that the Lord knows us and loves us, He is mindful of our needs and wants. I have felt him near me throughout my life and I know this will be no different. I would love for you to include my family and myself in your prayers and even your fast this next sunday. I am praying for a full recovery, and what direction on what surgical path to take. I know this sounds kinda silly but I am looking forward to the strength and unity that this will bring my family and the strengthening of our testimonies. If it helps strengthen any of these areas for my family, then whatever I go through is well with it.

The Mike and the kids are doing well. Mike and I didn't like leaving each other's sides for a couple of days, but we are feeling more optimistic now, but still not going too far away. The kids are doing great they are our joy and strength in times like these.

I will keep you informed as much as I know. I am really sorry to worry anybody. We love you all and feel your love from a distance.

Jeni and Family

Monday NRD Skiing

2009-01-20T09:58:00.000-08:00

Yesturday was National Rights Day and the kids had no school, so our family thought we could give the best thought to equal rights by going skiing :) It was a totally amazing day, the temperatures were 45-50 degrees! We were skiing without our coats on the top of the mountain! Here is a summary of a great time: Cami's skied for the first time! She had a smile on her face the whole time! I wish I had a picture- next time for sure. She felt so big, and had so many stories to tell us of her trip down the mountian. Cami even got to go on the ski lift with the big kids, she was in heaven. Nathan took a pretty nasty spill and Brittany can get on and off the lift all by her self. Brittany has now been on the big people ski lift , Dreamcatcher, 6 times (but Brittany isn't counting) and almost beats everybody down the mountain. she is an amazing skier. Kayla is the beautiful pro-skier in our family, she makes it look so easy, and well Mom is still working on the making it down the hill without her legs feeling like rubber from "pizza-ing" all the way down the hill. It was nice to get outside in the SUNSHINE and see the absolutly beautiful world we live in.

Kayla's Young Women Recognition Award

2009-01-18T19:52:00.000-08:00

Kayla was very excited to received her Young Women Recognition award today at church. This is a program set up through our church that the young women ages 12-18 can earn. Kayla had to accomplish goals and projects in each area of faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works and integrity. This takes a lot of time and is equivalent to an eagle scout for boys. Today was her special day, Dad bought her flowers and we made her favorite dinner-chicken alfredo, and peanut butter brownies. We are very excited for her and excited to see the wonderful young women she is becoming, she is amazing! We love you Kayla!

Christmas Turned New Year Letter

2009-01-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

Intro: This is our Christmas turned New Year letter. I took a Statistics class up on campus this past sememster and it took every bit of extra time I had up until December 12th. What this meant for our family is that anything Christmas waited until 2 weeks before Christmas-UGH!Our Christmas letter unfortunately got put as last priority and did not get out until after Christmas. But atleast it got out.....

2008: The Whitesides Year of Many Firsts...

Kayla (13) started Junior High this year. She also started taking piano from a professional piano teacher. It is fun to see her develop her piano skills. Kayla started learning ballroom dance and loves it. She loves playing with her younger siblings and wearing her “feet jammies.” She loves to wrestle with Dad and is now a significant challenge for him. She almost got straight A’s this past trimester; something she worked hard to achieve.

Nathan (9) started swim team this year and still loves soccer and skiing. He is the first one to cheer when it snows which means much rejoicing lately. Nathan and Mom went on their first mom-and-me camp-out this summer. We had lots of fun kayaking and eating over the fire. Nathan loves life; he is one to always look at the bright side of life and thinks that “if your not having fun then its your own fault.” Nathan is playing piano and sang “Believe” for our families Christmas CD.

Brittany (6) started Kindergarten this year and always comes home with a smile. She learned how to ride a two-wheel bike this year and found that a sucker dipped in chocolate fondue tastes pretty good. She learned how to ski this past season and giggled all the way down the mountain. Brittany started taking piano lessons from Kayla and loves to play jingle bells.

Cami (3) is always doing something new whether it is trying out new recipes with random ingredients or seeing if my cell phone can be cooked in the microwave. She cut her own hair 5 times! (I promise I put the scissors up!) Cami loves helping Mom cook and playing princesses with her friends and sisters and of course anything pink.

Emily (1) is a so fun to have around, a complete joy. She has us all wrapped around her finger. It is amazing how well she keeps up with all her siblings. She has the cutest smiles and giggles. It is fun to see the personality of this little person develop. Emily is our smallest baby by far she only weighs 19 lbs! Emily is our little “monkey” because she is so light- weight and is always crawling and climbing.

Mike is enjoying working with the students on campus at BYU-I. He also qualified for triathlon national championships in his age group this summer. We had a great time meeting many of our family members in Portland and cheering Dad on. Mike is teaching Gospel Doctrine (the adult Sunday school class) at church. He is really enjoying learning and teaching about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jeni went back to school this past semester, starting with a challenging but fun statistics class (this is why our letter turned from a Christmas to a New Year letter). Jeni also ran her first half-marathon (13.1 miles) this summer on behalf of Hope Arising, a non-profit organization that is building water lines for people in Ethiopia. The Mesa Falls Half was beautiful for the first 4 miles, then the hills started and they didn’t stop! Next year Jeni is thinking that a “flat half” sounds really nice.

As a family we had many “firsts”. We purchased a family season ski pass at our local ski resort. Skiing really helped us to embrace the cold weather a little more. We got to have almost the whole Whitesides family spend a fun weekend with us skiing before Justin and Jenni went to Poland to teach English (we miss you!). We were able to attend the dedication of the new Rexburg, ID temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. After the winter thaw we held our first Whitesides family triathlon. We were brave this summer and went camping for a whole week at beautiful Jenny Lake,WY and Yellowstone. We feel blessed to have been able to visit with family a lot this year and to have Paul, mike’s dad, living close.

We are so blessed to have you as part of our lives. We are grateful for the person this holiday season centers around. What wonderful gifts our Savior brings to our lives. We truly hope you have a wonderful Christmas season and a joyful year to come.

With Love,
Mike, Jeni, Kayla, Nathan, Brittany, Cambria, and Emily

Follow this Blog

2008-12-27T06:54:00.000-08:00

Do you want to know when we post new posts? Over on the right hand side of our blog there is now a " Follow this Blog" section. If you click on "follow this blog" your picture will show up and most importantly you will receive notification of when we post new posts- I know your dream come true- just what you wanted-

Just thinking of you-Love ya!

Christmas Sunday

2008-12-22T19:33:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas Sunday. It was snowing non-stop and Sunday services were wonderful. I have been so busy running around trying to get ready, that I haven't really had time to soak in the holiday spirit. I was greatful for the the falling snow and the beautiful music. After church we took some fun famiy photos. I wish we would have been more adventerous and taken these outside so that you could see all the snow falling, it has litterally not stopped snowing for two days! we have probably gotten 2-3 feet of snow. The highways are closed and the roads around town are full of snow. Yesturday we took a walk and played on the big toy at the park. Today the kids are planning on going skiing , we also want to go on Christmas AND again on Saturday- We are definitely excited about the snow and Christmas in TWO days.

Cute Cambria Ann

2008-12-14T18:25:00.000-08:00

Our Cami is three and is the cutest little girl. She keeps us on our toes by always being curious and wanting to have fun. When asked why she does something a little crazy, she says "because it was fun". Let me reminisce about some of the fun things that Cami has done. This past spring she cooked my cell phone in the microwave and cut her hair 5 times! ( I promise I put up the scissors!) She is always making something fun in the kitchen, loves to play with anybodies hair that will be a willing participant and she is starting to out grow her everyday -naked- time

( good timing with winter here). Cami loves to color and cut (obviously) and play with her sisters. She loves anything any shade of pink- and of course princesses. I love playing with Cami, she has a great imagination. Cami is starting to transition to the preschool stage. She is asking "why" a lot and loves to tell us very detailed and fun stories about her day.

We love you!

Making herself beautiful in Mom's bathroom.
Cami loves playing with her sisters!
If you look close you might see Mike Jr.
Cami with the ponies that we all miss. Everyday Cami asks if we can put a pony in her hair, the other day we got a tiny one in the back and she was very excited.
Cami making a sour cream, chocolate syrup, worcester sauce, ranch dressing mixture, and incase you were wondering, she did eat it and even got Brittany and her friend Ryan to try it, they didn't mind it at first but didn't care too much for the after taste.

Santa came to town!

2008-12-14T15:48:00.001-08:00

SANTA CAME TO TOWN!!!! The girls were so excited to see santa yesterday at our church Christmas breakfast. Brittany was so cute, she knows who santa is, but she still wants to live and believe in the magic. Cami was a little shy but not too bad, and Emily didn't know quite what to think of the big guy in a red suit.

Family Picture Time

2008-12-04T06:36:00.001-08:00

Here are some recent family photos that were taken at are own unprofessional-professional photography studio.

Thanksgiving in 2008 CO

2008-12-04T05:41:00.000-08:00

We were able to goto Grand Junction to visit family for Thanksgiving. We had a great time visiting Aunt, Uncles, and Cousins. We hiked up the Colorado National Monument, played nonstop with cousins, ate delicious food, Jeni and Kayla got to squeeze in a shopping trip and Mike got to ride bikes with jason and run with Bryan on the Monument. It was a very fun weekend. We are very grateful for all of our many blessings. I have a wonderful husband and 5 amazing children. We have been healthy which has allowed us to travel and participate in triathlons and races. We have been blessed to have Mike's dad, Paul living close to us. Mike's job allows him to be home more which always leads to fun. I am grateful that I have been able to go back to school. We love having a temple built here in Rexburg, it is so beautiful to look at outside our front window. We love to see it up on the hill all lit up at night. We are grateful for supportive and loving family and friends. I know there is so much more to be grateful for that I don't even recognize day to day.

Let it snow, Let it snow! LET IT SNOW!

2008-11-17T07:38:00.001-08:00

The day we have been waiting for ...
Opening day of Ski Season- 2008!

We have been waiting for this day since the last day of ski season of last year. This week we are waiting with anticipation and excitement to see if the opening day of ski season at Grand Targhee Ski Resort is going to ski- able. It has been snowing a lot in the mountains the past couple of weeks, but with our dismay we see a warming trend in the weather. We are afraid because of this horrible, horrific warm weather, that the snow might not be what it needs to be to go skiing on. But don't worry we are not in despire quite yet. But if you seen anybody dancing in circles with wild head dress on it is us doing our snow dance.

Just in time for the holidays-Pumpkin Cheesecake

2008-11-09T13:51:00.001-08:00

Today I found a very easy, very yummy recipe for pumpkin cheesecake. I thought it would be fun to share-
here is the link and recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Double-Layer-Pumpkin-Cheesecake-2/Detail.aspx

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 eggs
* 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
* 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 pinch ground cloves
* 1 pinch ground nutmeg
* 1/2 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

* add to recipe box Add to Recipe Box My Folders
My folders:
* add to shopping list Add to Shopping List
* add a personal note Add a Personal Note

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside.
3. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.

Happy Holidays! If you make this for family or friends be sure to tell us how it turned out!

Jeni

picasa photos

2008-11-06T09:03:00.000-08:00

I know that everyone just wants to get ahold of those great pictures in the family slide show. Well don't worry because I have made it all possible, all you have to do is click on the link in my "favorite links" section and you can have access to all those great pictures. You can even download them to your computer by clicking on a picture and clicking download.

love ya!

Mama Whitesides

Halloween 2008

2008-11-06T06:15:00.001-08:00

We had a very fun halloween. The kids were so cute! All the girls were fairies and Nathan was obi-wan from star wars 2. The weather was amazing, it was warm enough to walk around without coats, and because of day-light savings being later it was still light!

Trying out the Blogging world

2008-05-31T06:56:00.000-07:00

Well this is our official Blogger site. I am hoping that everyone will be able to see and read about the wonderful world of the whitesides (WWW).

We love you all!