How Sheri is doing!

October 31st. Happy Halloween!

So, the most popular question people ask us everyday is..."How's your mom?" :)

Sometimes I don't really know how to answer it and sometimes I want to be cheeky and say, "Well, she had brain surgery, soooo..." Haha, no just kidding, but seriously today at Church everyone kept asking me that I just felt so overwhelmed with LOVE! I am so grateful for so many people, friends and family, who care and just want to know how she is doing! I am grateful for those who are offering to HELP, and who HAVE, and are still HELPING us! :)

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Thank you for everyone who sends flowers Mom loves them! If you want to send them, please feel free! She loves all flowers, definitely pink flowers and/or bright happy colors. :) Thank you for your cards, thank you for caring and for loving mom and for visiting and bringing meals and for EVERYTHING!!!

So...to answer the question of the day, "How is mom doing (haha!)," she is doing as well and better than anyone in her situation could be doing! She has been doing Chemotherapy and Radiation treatments for a week and a half and she has to do that for about 7 weeks. She has, I think, 10 to 12 different kinds of pills she has to take everyday including the Chemotherapy (which in pill form is supposed to make you not as sick and make your hair either fall out less or not at all! So far she is doing pretty well with it)! She has to take these awful steroids that make her not herself sometimes, and then the steroid wears off and she goes back to normal. The steroids also make her cheeks feel a little puffy and so she is a major NON-FAN of those, but they are helping her so she is taking them.

Some days are a little crazier than others. Some days she feels like the wants to get up and run to the store for a minute, and then she is just wasted and has to come home and sleep. Other days she is just in bed. Tired. Really, really tired.

She has to go to radiation 5 days a weeks and everyday she comes home she is just completely WIPED OUT and has to lay down. She is as positive as ever and has complete faith that she can overcome this! She has to watch her blood pressure and it makes her nervous when it gets high, so she is trying to get her stresses down and keep it down so she can stay on this "study" that she is on with the chemo and radiation (Chemrad, as Linz so lovingly named it, ha!) so we are all TRYING to do the best we can to help her.

I will be leaving soon (which will take a huge stress off her with the girls not running around the house like crazy and us not leaving a tornado behind us wherever we go!) and Linz will be back with mom soon, and my Grandma is here helping out more than anybody knows around the house and is keeping everything running smoothly. Grandma, if you ever read this, you are a complete GEM, a wonderful mother, and you have been a huge help to everyone! THANK YOU!

Kels and Papa have been cleaning up the garage and basement and our neighbors have been helping us with the yard and everything so far seems to be taken care of as it comes at us. Thank you!

Mom says she feels like she got hit by a car ... maybe more like a train. Like her body isn't her own. In her head this is just not even happening, like it's not real, but it is and she just wants to get over this little "speed bump" and get on with normal life! We have all the plans in the world for next summer, and traveling, and plans when Jake gets home from his mission, and future weddings and grandbabies and everything that life has to offer for many years to come! Nobody is planning on this woman dying! She is a tank! If anybody can beat the unbeatable, Sheri Bird can and she will! Lord willing, we haven't seen that last of Sheri Bird people so watch out because she's got more faith in her little finger than 100 people put together!

By the way, if you know somebody who wants to know what is going on and how "Sheri is doing" :) , please send them here or to sheribird.com and it will forward them to this blog. We will do our best to keep it updated :)

Please, though, always remember mom in your prayers if you can. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!! Mom needs everyone's prayers and faith and with that she can do this! I don't care what your beliefs are, God loves every single one of us, HIS Children, and he hears YOUR prayers and he will answer them with your faith! He's got a plan for you and for me and for mom and we have to trust him and know that he is in charge.

We MUST have EXCEEDING FAITH! Faith precedes the miracle!

This is my all time favorite scripture that brings me peace when life just becomes overwhelming. It's D&C (Doctrine and Covenants) 121:7-8, and we are told to liken all scriptures unto ourselves so we read it as if God was speaking directly to us...because he is.

"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."

I know that is true. I have faith in God and in plan for all of us. And we aren't throwing any pity parties over here!

I've got one more thing and then I'll sign off tonight. On our fridge is a little quote that I love, it says:

"Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

So there you go. Everyone has SOME kind of trial in their life and this one is ours right now! So thank you again for your prayers and your kindness. We feel sincerely blessed and grateful.

With Love,
Jen