I Normally Don't Do This...

... But I had to make an exception after what I came home to today.

Let me explain. Lately I've been noticing all of the very romantic shout-outs to significant others. While an occasional expression of love is nice and sometimes completely warranted, it does tend to go a little overboard. Between facebook and blogs I get to read about lots of bouquets of flowers, perfect dates, candlelit homemade dinners... blah, blah, blah. Don't get me wrong, I love love. I guess I just love love that's understated on the internet. And I've tried really hard not to be one of those bloggers.

If you share this same frustration, please stop reading now. We will return to our regular programming on our next blog posting.

That being said, let me tell you about what I came home to tonight.

Our place was clean (obviously the first thing I notice). The unruly trash can was taken care of, laundry done, kitchen clean... and not just clean but cooking some food, too! Chicken quesadillas. Then I look at the table and see these...



Two lemons reading "Rise Above est. 2007". This is a reference few will understand. Before we were married Dan came over to my apartment one afternoon and gave an impromptu motivational talk to me and my roommates. It became infamously dubbed "The Rise Above Speech". It was a really funny pep talk that had us all laughing... and also actually had us really excited about life (He has a way of doing that). He talked about making lemonade out of lemons and how great it was to be in school and how we have to "rise above" the dreary parts of school, winter, etc...

I actually found a picture from five years ago on a road trip we all took to California. Dan is holding the original lemon that he used for the speech. Ha!



So I guess Dan looked back at journals and found that the rise above speech happened to be on January 31, 2007. Exactly five years ago today.

Seriously cute.

Then, I found a card. A thank you card. Here's part of it:
"When I first gave the rise above speech 5 years ago, I never imagined that you would be the one who would literally help me rise above my greatest challenge yet. Thanks for being by my side and helping me rise above cancer. I couldn't have done it without you."

Oh... my... gosh.
Now do you see why I had to make an exception to my mushy rule?

He's the best.

The "Did I Mention" Post

So did I mention that Dan had clear scans last week?

And did I also mention that the doctor seemed to think the nodules look smaller?! This is great news because he hasn't been doing any treatment. If they truly were cancer, there's no logical reason they should be getting smaller. Except for the fact that Heavenly Father loves us and is looking out for us.

Did I mention that there was a film crew following us to this appointment? That was cool. Dan won that "search for incredible friends & family" contest... or I guess the official title was just "search for incredible", but you and I both know the truth. So because he won, it means that a film crew came to film us for a couple days so they can make a short (5-7 minute) film to be played at Sundance. It was actually really cool. I'm not too keen on being on camera, so the first day was really awkward. But as we got to know them better and they got to know us better, it was actually really fun. they were incredibly respectful, especially at our appointment to find out the results of the scan. I'm grateful they were there to capture that moment, because it is such a big part of our life.

Did I mention that Dan had a clear scan? Oh, I think I really did. I am just so excited I thought I'd say it again.

Did I mention that we happen to live in a place with incredible sunsets? Too bad the camera couldn't fully capture it. It was awesome.

One of the camera guys took this. They were all from the UK and were amazed at the mountains and snow. Things that I sometimes take for granted.

Some of the crew


This is the director. His name is Asif Kapadia. Kind of a big deal I guess. More importantly, an EXTREMELY nice person.


Did I mention how much I want to thank everyone for voting? This is an awesome experience and I am so happy we are blessed with it. It's crazy to think of all the good that has come from something as "bad" as cancer.

We'll try to keep you updated with Sundance. It's this weekend. Should be fun!

Did I mention that Dan and I just finished making our coffee table? This is the before...


And then the after!




We painted it then put wallpaper on top.

Did I mention how cool it is that Dan likes this kind of stuff? I totally lucked out.