Dear Kids,
         Dad and I were walking in to the Heber Walmart the other day when a car honked at us, and it turned out to be Bevan and Dallin. We waited for them to park and come in, and they were heading for the toy department. Dallin had earned a gold star in preschool, and he was getting a $10.00 truck for it. I’m not sure what goes into earning a gold star, but it was fun seeing them. I’m always amazed to run into family when we’re in Heber. I’m still not used to it. When we lived in West Valley, we never ran into anybody.
         I’m still struggling to breathe, and Dad’s still coughing, but we’re both doing slightly better. From day to day we don’t see any difference, but from week to week I can tell we’re improving. We had a different doctor’s appointment this week, though . . . a dermatologist check up for both of us. I got scared after finding out the cancer near my eye went so deep, and I was worried about a red patch Dad has had on his neck for more than two years, so I thought we’d better get looked over. Dr. Horsley is way past his prime (he ought to be retired now!) so the referral system found us a new dermatologist, a nice woman named Dr. Panko, at the Taylorsville Clinic. She examined Dad’s neck and gave him a new cream to try, which seems to be working. She looked over the patches on my arm and sprayed them to freeze them off. She biopsied the one I was really worried about, and it turns out it’s a squamous cell carcinoma. I’m going to have it cut out a week from tomorrow. More fun and games! Besides that, one of my fingers is locking up again, so I made an appointment to see my hand doctor, Dr. Raemisch. (It’s tough to play the piano with a locked finger!) Did we ever have a life before all these doctor visits? Will we ever have a life again?
         The blonde neighbor cat dropped by again a few days ago, and I fed her our best cat food. I wish we owned her. It would be so nice to have a pleasant cat sitting on my lap and purring, when I’m not feeling well. I’m so fed up with Tina, who dives under the bed and glares at me when I’m only trying to pet her. (OK, so I torment her with the lion puppet–who cares?) I really wish we had a better cat situation, but it is what it is.
         Still, life is good, and I love you all! Mom