Erik's Dad is in the ICU

Woke up this morning to Erik calling and asking if I'd heard his cell phone ring last night. Um...no, if I heard it I'd have answered it and been freaking out because it was so late. Apparently the VA hospital in SLC called after midnight to tell us his Dad is in the ICU. His Dad is not married and Erik is his only child. I have no idea why they called the cell phone instead of the house phone, but we didn't hear it, so we didn't get this news till this morning. Things were chaotic in the ICU when Erik called....the guy next to Roger was crashing and someone else was doing really badly so they told Erik that his Dad was stable and to please call back a little later so they could talk when things were less crazy as everyone was needed right then for patients. All we know right now is that he is being treated for pneumonia. No other particulars. We also have no idea why he's at the VA....if he was already there for stuff (there all the time) and this happened....or if he was sent there by the hospital in Cedar City by ambulance or life flight. He has A LOT of health problems. He just turned 60 in March and looks about 80. He has had so many things happening lately.....a couple of falls (like really old people do) that have resulted in broken bones and massive bruises and now this. I wonder if there is more going on with him than he is letting us know about. As sad as it is to say, it wouldn't surprise me. He didn't think he'd live to be this old or ever see grandchildren....that's how bad his health is. I hope he's going to be okay. If things are really bad, we may have to figure out a way to get up there this weekend. *sigh*

Facebook!

I started making a Facebook profile a loooooooong time ago and never finished it. Just never got into it the way I have Myspace. Still think Myspace is better, overall. lol Yesterday, I was talking to Mandy and she asked if I was on Facebook, because she sent me a friend request. I decided to see if I could remember my login/password and to check it all out again. I got on and finished up my profile, added pictures, etc. and started looking for people. I started putting in names of people I've been trying to locate for years and was so excited when I looked up "Katarzyna Kotula" and found someone with that name. "Kate" was an exchange student from Poland at PVHS and actually stayed for two school years. We became good friends and she was also friends with Marilia....our exchange student from Brazil. Sadly, the last I saw her was 13 years ago.....before the age of the internet....and we lost contact. I have been googling her for years with no success. So, I find this person with the same name on Facebook....only it says she lives in the Czech Republic. I decide what the heck and sent a message asking if it's her. I woke up this morning with a message saying that yes, it is her! But, that's it. lol I sent a message back letting her know how excited I was to find her and that I'd love to hear about all the happenings in her life. I hope I hear back from her. There are others I'd like to find too.....Andrea, Verena, Micki, Meike....but no luck yet! The internet makes the world so small. I love it! :o)

Family pics! Melissa look here!

I'm posting some family pictures we had taken over Easter weekend with my side of the family so you can see what everyone looks like now....and because I'm a bad blogger and haven't already put them here. :o) I actually started putting the pictures on here in the opposite way I wanted them to be, but I'm too lazy to go back and change it. lol So, we start with all the grandkids, then Jenny & family, my family, Mandy & family, our "original" Tobler family, my parents and the whole crew together. Enjoy!

Pictures from the Grand Canyon....

Here's some pictures of all my boys (including the dog, lol) and Isabel and her Dad, Helmut, at the Grand Canyon. I realized when the weekend was over, that there were no pictures with me in them. Guess that's what happens when you're always the one behind the camera taking the pics! lol

Update on life......

It's been a while, once again, since I have updated. With the school year coming to an end, life has been crazy. Isabel's Dad arrived here from Germany on May 16th. The next morning we drove 6 hours to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We spent the day there and then stayed overnight in Flagstaff. Not quite crazy enough to make the round trip in the same day. lol Monday, the 20th, we had both kindergarten and high school graduations to attend. Can we say loooooooong day? Then school was out for the year. We spent the rest of last week getting Isabel ready to leave and then she left us on Friday, the 23rd. It was a very sad day at the Simper house. It is so hard to believe how quickly the last 10 months went. We have grown to love Isabel like one of our own and it was so hard to say goodbye. I spent that day cleaning her room up and washing the bedding and putting it back on. I just had to deal with it all at once while I was in that frame of mind. It's only been a few days since she left and it still feels like she's going to walk through the door at any minute....so being just the 5 of us again will take some getting used to as well as once again being the only girl in the house. *sigh* It was a wonderful experience for our family though....and the awesome memories and the bond we will have with her forever is worth the sadness of sending her back to Germany. Thank heaven for the internet, email, etc. :o)

Things have slowed down with watching extra kids as well....since I watch school teachers' children. Having a bit of a break is nice. Especially since Alex and Aidan are back home all day, every day. Cub Scout day camp is coming up soon and Alex is looking forward to that. I need to stop being such a slacker Mom and figure out when the sign ups for sports are to keep them busier in the summers. lol

Things are going well with Mom. She is considered cancer free at this point, but her team of doctors thought it in her best interest to do a precautionary go around with the chemo just in case there are cancer cells hiding out in her body. This started up again last week. The dose of chemo meds is stronger this time around. I'm guessing they lowered the dose before as it was being paired up with the radiation and they didn't want to take her out completely. She had a "port" installed in her chest last week so that they don't have to jab her every time they have to do bloodwork or give chemo. Just makes things easier and painless. The schedule is chemo once a week for three weeks and the fourth week off.....for six rotations. So, pretty much for the next 6 months. Mom just went back to work today for the first time since right before her surgery in early April. She is only doing part time hours, to work herself back up to full time. Doing as much as her worn out body will let her do as she rebuilds her strength. I will be so happy for her in the fall when this is behind her. By that time, it will be a year since things started feeling amiss for her and before we knew that there was something so wrong with her. Going back to work is a good step in helping her feel a little more "normal" so, I'm happy that time has come. Hopefully, the chemo won't be so bad, since it's not with the radiation this time. I was looking on People.com today and saw a picture of Patrick Swayze. He looks terrible. :o( It doesn't seem like things are going quite as well for him as they have with Mom and it brought the reality of Pancreatic cancer to my mind, once again, and reminded me just how fortunate Mom's situation is in comparison to the other 95-99% of pancreatic cancer patients. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for that.