Gratitude, Personal Bests, Adventures, and Spooks Oh My!

I won't take too much time talking about this but I wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who helped by donating time, money, or just attending the Smiles for Suzi event. To quote Suzi the sum that was raised was "ridiculous!" Suzi passed away on Saturday, October 3rd with her family by her side. I can honestly say that Suzi's example will continue with me for the rest of my life and I am honored to say that I knew her. When I grow up, I hope to be just like her!

We actually heard about Suzi's passing while we were in St George. James successfully completed his fourth marathon and beat his personal best by 33 minutes!!!! I was so proud of him. James trained differently for this marathon and I feel like the proof came by the time he achieved. To James, a marathon isn't about beating anyone else but himself and he finally overcame his mental block and did amazing! We were lucky enough to stay with James' sister and her family, along with James' co-worker and his family. I love spending time with Belinda, Matt and their entire family. They make me laugh! Matt ran the marathon as well and did better than he expected. Jon, James co-worker also ran. As did the Skonnards, Rob Wood, and Jared Richardson reached his goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon! Way to go Thundering Herd!!!! Another successful race accomplished!

The kids and I had a great day with Courtney & Camri, along with Kelsey & Tice. We went to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy and had a great time. I will be honest, I put my hand in the water to touch a sting ray and never got up the nerve to do it! I know, I am a wimp. We saw an octopus, electric eels (I did touch the sign that shocks you a little though and I felt like that redeemed me from not touching sting rays.....well almost!) , snakes (I hate snakes!), and sharks. It was a fun off track adventure and we are glad we went. Here are a few of the best pictures:

If you know me even remotely well, you know I don't like to be scared. I hate scary movies!!! But when a very talented and fun friend of mine told me she was going to take part in the Odyssey Dance Company's, Thriller, I couldn't pass up the chance to tag along. I want to say, I have amazingly talented friends! From scrapbook stars, actors, singers, writers, designers, clothing consultation, speakers, teachers, organizers and so much more, I have friends who excel in all of these areas and many many more! I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many incredible people and can honestly say, none of this has rubbed off on me BUT I do enjoy learning about all these different areas of life. I made Courtney tag along so I could jump in someones lap if I got too scared. (I only did that once........I did grab her knee the entire time though.....Sorry Squeaks!) A group of us went out to dinner in Logan beforehand and had a great conversation on wedding proposals.
Then off to the show. Once again, let me preface this by saying, I hate to be scared! So when I saw the zombie girls walking around the auditorium scaring people while they waited for the show to start, I wasn't the happiest girl in Logan! These actresses are amazingly scary and don't break character for anything. They were chewing up people's programs, hissing in their faces, and invading everyone's personal space! I am a firm believer in personal bubbles! Here is one of the zombies:
Here is all the official Bonnie Whitlock (aka Lorana Bobbit) cheering club at intermission (Diana had kids she had to hurry home to so she didn't get the chance to pose for the remainder of the pictures with us): Here is the picture I thought would never happen, me and several zombies in the same photo. Courtney was my buffer so that made it a little easier to accomplish. Bonnie (aka Lorana), her husband and incredible photographer Chad, and talented niece Kenzie are also in the shot.
Here we all are after the performance. There was some truly incredible dancing and humor in this show and if you go for nothing else other than to see Bonnie play this part, it is worth going. She was amazing and had everyone laughing during her parts in the show. Thanks again Bonnie, Chad, Diana, Kenzie, & Courtney for protecting me from the undead. (Except for the point that Chad scared me on purpose, I can't thank you for that Chad! It wasn't nice!)

Time To Tell The Story

In my last post, I told you about going to a sick friends house to sing. I also told you that it wasn't my story to share, well now, I am going tell it. Suzi, knows that this information is going out so I don't feel like I am betraying any type of trust. Please read the entire story, you will see why at the end. This is Suzi's story put together from a newspaper article and a friend of ours:

Jake and Suzi got married 6 years ago. 3 months later, they were elated when they found out Suzi was pregnant. During the pregnancy, the doctors found a cyst on Suzi's ovary, that didn't go away over time. So 3 months after they welcomed little Natalie into the world, Suzi went into an operation to have the cyst removed. The doctors discovered the cyst was cancerous. Upon further inspection, they learned that she had Ovarian Cancer, and it had spread to many parts of her body. She immediately had to have a hysterectomy done as well as removal of a number of other organs.

Over the next few years, Suzi went through all kinds of chemo treatments, a number of surgeries removing more cancer infested organs, and countless hospital stays. A little before Natalie's 2nd birthday, they found the cancer was gone. Suzi was given a doctor's note stating that she would live a reasonable amount of time--thus making her and Jake eligble for adoption. They looked foward for the opportunity to continue to build their family. Suzi's hair grew back, her color returned to her face. In all counts, she felt healthy again.

About a year later, Suzi went in for a checkup. It was at this appointment they found the cancer had returned. Suzi started the whole process over again. She went through a number of chemo sessions, losing her hair all over again as well as a significant amount of weight, and many more hospital stays followed. Treatment after treatment showed the cancer was not slowing down or stopping, but Suzi kept on fighting. Due to her surgeries, Suzi suffers from frequent blockages in her intestines. Typically a few days stay in the hospital on a liquid only diet would clear these up. Suzi had yet another blockage the weekend of Mother's Day this year. She spent weeks in the hospital, but the blockage didn't clear. They sent her home with on IV and she was to be on an intravenous liquid-only diet for the next several months-unable to eat any solid foods and drink very few clear liquids in small amounts. She continued other chemo treatments through all of this which were painful and difficult.

A few weeks ago, Suzi developed an infection in her infusion site and returned again to the hospital. After staying a few days, the doctors told Suzi was told there was nothing more they could do for her and was sent home, given 1-3 months to live.
Through this whole sickness, I can honestly say I've never once heard Suzi complain. I have never even seen her go through a 'why me?' stage. I have never seen her angry or even depressed stage, In fact, it was often hard to know the seriousness of her cancer because she was so optimistic and happy-willing to take whatever was thrown at her with a smile.

Suzi's condition get worse everyday, and time is running out quickly for her. She is in a lot of pain, and is unable to eat anything. Her kidneys have now stopped functioning and she is retaining a painful amount of water. The cancer has now most likely spread to her brain, and she is losing her eyesight quickly. But, as always, she never complains, and even manages to find some excitement and anticipation about her next adventure "living with the angels" as she says. She still laughs everyday. She still finds time for loved ones. Of course, this hasn't been easy for her. As any mother can imagine, saying goodbye to your not-quite 5 year old daughter has been very painful and difficult for her, as well as trying to say goodbye to her loving husband, Jake. She is an incredible fighter, and though she is in a lot of pain, she is still holding on, finishing up those last few things she wants to do before she goes. She truly is, one of the most amazing people I've ever known. She has gone through so much adversity and has endured it so well, it is obvious why our Heavenly Father is calling her back home.

Due to Suzi's condition, they were never able to get any kind of insurance for her. Her family now faces a tremendous financial burden of funeral costs and even greatest costs in medical bills. This is added stress to an already sad and stressful situation. Although there is nothing we can do to help Suzi live, this is an area we think we can help--which is where we need your help. Help to give Suzi, one more smile.....

This is where you come in, yes, you read that right...YOU! There is a benefit concert and silent auction being held at Northridge High School in Layton, Utah on Thursday, September 24th. The auction bidding will start at 6:30 and go until 9pm. The concert will start at 7pm. Get ready to be excited because T minus 5, Mercy River, Gregory Pearson & David Osmond are all performing!!! The minimum donation to come to the concert is $10 per person and $25 per family. We have some amazing items lined up for the auction as well. If you are busy that night, then feel free to donate to one of two bank accounts set up at Wells Fargo and America First Credit Union under the name Jacob K. Baxter. For more information on this great event, go to http://www.smilesforsuzi.blogspot.com/ This is for an amazing woman! Thanks everyone!

A Spiritual Memory....

Today I was able to witness something that I will never forget. I had the privilege to substitute in Primary for a friend of mine while they were gone on a vacation. Since being released last year, I would estimate that over 2/3 of the time I am in primary subbing for one person or another. Sometimes, I have kind of a bad attitude about it BUT everytime I sit in that primary room my feelings change and I sit and laugh, admire, and love all the children that surround me. Today was no different except I was kind of looking forward to subbing this time because I had 3 of my activity day girls. We had a great lesson on Zions Camp and they were great. What a remarkable time in the history of the church and a true test of faith. One of the girls couldn't stop laughing everytime I said Governor Dunklin (he was the governor who promised to help the Saints if they could gather together an army and then broke that promise). How fun these girls are! After our lesson, we gathered together for sharing time. We were told that we were going to do something different today. I am not going to go into details because it isn't my place to do so but there is a sister who is currently serving as the Primary Secretary who is very sick. So, the Primary president lined the senior primary children up and they walked to the Secretary's home. After loading all the children into this small area, the children sang four of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. I truly believe they were singing with angels. The music swelled in the room and the spirit was so overwhelming. I looked over and saw a few of the children crying and realized that I wasn't the only one feeling the spirit. After the children were done sharing this incredible gift, the front door was opened to let the kids know it was time to go. All the children looked at each other and none of them wanted to leave! Later, when I asked Julie why this was she replied, "Mom, couldn't you feel it! I didn't want that warm feeling to end." I am saving this memory in my mind and hope never to forget that "warm feeling" that penetrated the room this day. I was so blessed to be there and grateful for a wonderful daughter who felt and recognized the spirit.