Happy Memorial Day

This is a great video by Oliver North regarding our soldiers.



It is that time of year to think about those that have gone before us and sacrificed thier lives so that we might have the Freedom that we enjoy.

Affirmative!

We received word earlier in the week that the chunk of skin that was biopsied off of Lynn's face has come back as Basal Cell Carcinoma, which is the most common and curable type of skin cancer. Lynn had two objects biopsied. One object was at the top and to the right side of Lynn's nose, near his eyeglasses nose pad. The other biopsy was completed on a mole under Lynn's armpit. There was no cancer cells found on the mole under Lynn's armpit. We are now waiting to get in to an ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat) doctor who will do the necessary surgery to remove the cancerous tissue.

The little shiny and pearly nodule appeared on Lynn's nose about 9 months ago. I didn't really pay attention to it because I just thought another mole was starting to form. At first Lynn thought the nodule would just go away but it didn't. When Lynn would vigourasly wash his face or dry his face with a towel, the nodule would crack and bleed as if the skin were fragile.

Lynn had his annual physical a week ago. Our doctor took a look at the nodule and recommended him immediately to a Dermatologist. The Dermatologist made a quick diagnosis and now we are waiting to get into an ENT and take care of the surgical procedure.

Lynn and I due to our fair skin are more susceptible to Basal cell carcinoma. It is not as evasive as the other skin cancers, but it can deteriorate the skin tissue around the cancerous region and can infect and affect a close nerve.

I am so glad Lynn listened to that still small voice inside of him and that he is dealing with this little radical nodule that decided to invade his precious face.

I feel so grateful and blessed to have these medical marvels available at our fingertips. The medical industry has come so far in study and treatment of cancer, of which my family is taking full advantage of.

-Shelly

Inside the Wave

Waimea Bay shore-break surfing pioneer, husband, and father of two, Clark Little has gained nationwide recognition for his photography with appearances on Good Morning America, Inside Edition, and many local news stations across the U.S. .... "Clark's view" of the ocean that most will only be able to experience safely on land while studying one of Clark's photos. ... These incredible images of waves in the Hawaiian Islands were taken by Clark ... He captures magical moments inside the tube as surfers say."

Happy Mother's Day!

A wealth of emotions run through my soul every year at this time. It is on Mother's Day when I think of my mother who died when I was 22 years old from cancer. My mind and heart dwells on the woman my dad remarried and who I now think of as mother, a friend, and in some ways my very soul mate.

I was so richly blessed to have the mother I did. It was her face I saw every morning when I woke up and it was her beautiful face I saw when I was tucked into bed at night. My mother brought joy, laughter, history, the love of music, and a thirst for continual knowledge. My mother installed in each of her children valuable characteristics we hold close to our hearts. I knew God lived because my mother knew God lived. I also knew when my mom knelt to pray God heard her morning, evening and silent prayers. Above all, I knew and my siblings knew, mom loved dad and dad loved mom!

After my mom died, another remarkable, feisty, humorous, compassionate and spiritual woman entered our lives named, Francine Smith Swanson Larsen. The world may label Fran as my stepmother, but I call her 'MOM' (or if you look at mom upside down it spells, 'WoW!)! This precious angel may not have rocked me to sleep at night, but she has wiped away my tears. She was with me when I married Lynn. One mother set my foot on a certain pathway and the other mother is making sure I stay on that straight and narrow path.

Before Fran and dad got married, our family size consisted of five. Our family doubled in size and blessings when mom brought with her four amazing daughters and one remarkable son. Our family unit is now eleven!!!! All nine of us know our mother believes in God and that she loves God. We also know that God hears our mother's morning, evening and silent prayers as she petitions her pleas to God. All nine of us know mom loved dad and that dad was completely enthralled and in love with mom!!!

I am so blessed on this eve before Mother's Day to ponder and to be blessed by two extraordinary women in my life who I call, 'MOM'! I walk(ed) and talk(ed) with angels on earth and I call them 'mom'! No angel in heaven could be as beautiful or exemplary as my mom(s).

I never had the chance to meet Lynn's mother. She died from cancer before Lynn and I were married. From the pictures I've seen and stories from my father-in-law, her children and friends, she too, was admired and loved by all who knew her. Lynn's mother was God-fearing. She had a voracious appetite and love for music, literature and gardens. Lynn's mother's proudest achievement was her five beautiful daughters and two handsome sons. My mother-in-law's daughters (my sisters-in-law) radiate their mother's image to me every day by their kind hearts and benevolent love towards their own families and to complete strangers. In my sisters-in-law, my brother-in-law, and in my husband's eyes and mannerisms, I see and love Lynn's mother!!!

To our mothers and to all the women in our lives who are mothers or will eventually be mothers and who holds destiny's future in their hands, Happy Mother's Day!

COLOR IS GOOD

COLOR IS GOOD

Yesterday I went to the doctor

for my yearly physical.

My blood pressure was high ...

My cholesterol was high .........

I'd gained some weight, and I didn't feel so

hot. My doctor said eating right doesn't have

to be so complicated and it would solve my

phyiscal problems

He said: Just think in colors. Fill your plate

with bright colors. Try some

greens, oranges, reds,

maybe something yellow, etc.

So I went right home and ate an entire bowl of

And sure enough, I felt better immediately.

I never knew

eating right coule be so easy!!!