Elephant Cookies Curing Childhood Cancer

    Elephant Cookies - we made a couple dozen last week.  They were cute, they were tasty, we shared them with friends... they will not help to cure cancer.

    Kneaders Bakery and Cafe, however, is offering an Elephant Cookie that will.  Because September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness month, these cute cookies are being sold for $2.99 and 100% of the proceeds raised will go directly to childhood cancer research at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. 

Here is more information:   Kneaders Bakery

   Elephants have always been my favorite animal at the zoo, but what do they have to do with all of this?  Apparently elephants have 100 times more cells than humans, so it would seem that they should be 100 times as likely to get cancer.  Not so!  Cancer in elephants is very rare.

   Our doctor at Huntsman Cancer Institute, Joshua Schiffman, has been conducting some very interesting research.  People have two copies of the gene we call P53 - elephants have FORTY copies of this gene!  When Dr. Schiffman taught my children about P53, he called it the superhero gene.  It rushes in when a cell is misbehaving - it either corrects the problem or gets rid of the troublesome cell.  If this misbehaving cell were to continue, it has the potential to become cancerous.  Forty Super-Heroes would be cool, something like that last Avenger movie, but all on the same side.

    Because of Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, four of my six children have only one operating superhero gene - thus the high tendency to develop cancer.  They have been behind the scenes at Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City to have their blood drawn simultaneously with the elephants.  Dr. Schiffman has shared with us some exciting possibilities for the future of cancer care - perhaps my grandchildren will have an entirely different experience with cancer than my children have, or perhaps no experience at all.

    Apparently the National Cancer Institute spent 96% of its research funding on adult cancer research.  Childhood cancer could use a little help.  

    Dr. Schiffman had cancer as a child.  His research is helping other children.  The founder of Kneaders had a grandson diagnosed with childhood cancer at age 13. Their fundraising will help other children.   Three of my children have had cancer, (more than once) and we want to help other children.  I have neither the expertise nor the money to do what Kneaders and Dr. Schiffman are doing, but I can do my part by spreading the word.  

    There are 52 Kneaders locations in the United States, but sadly, none in Dallas, TX.  So, we made our own cookies.  We did not sell them, but we did share them with friends.  Hoping someone will share this information with a few of their own friends....  

    Again, here is the Kneaders website which discusses the cookies, the research and how to donate if you cannot buy a cookie...

Nathan found a Kneaders Elephant
in San Antonio... not quite as cute
as the picture.  The stores keep
running out (which is a good thing)

Drawing blood in the elephant cage.

We couldn't take pics of the
elephants, but later that day
we found this one at a museum.

Elephants are very happy to get their
blood drawn because they are fed
through the entire process.
They tried it on my kids too.

.

Thanksgetting?? No!!!

It's Thanksgetting!  This is what I heard when I was put on hold during a phone call with Verizon this week.  My stomach just felt sick as I realized what they were saying.  ThanksGETTING??  Ugh.  Disgusting.
Last year was the first time I had heard of shopping on Thanksgiving - we were in  Utah and while driving our sons back to their apartments we passed two Walmarts that could be seen from the freeway.  The parking lots were completely full and there were police officers with flashing lights to keep the peace.  I couldn't believe it! - People couldn't take a day off from shopping??
I am not a shopper, though I do love a great deal!  I do not, however, venture out on Black Friday.  It sounds like a nightmare to me.  I do enjoy stories from my friends of their adventures and bargains... I just do not wish to join them.
I certainly Thanksgiving as a day to be with family and friends, and to eat good food.  After hearing the Verizon ad I thought that I might focus too much on the food and not enough on the giving of Thanks.
My sister posted this yesterday:

And this is what stands out to me:

~ all business and labor be suspended after 10 o’clock 

~people assemble at their respective places of worship and instruction and devote the day and evening to holy praise, and prayer, and patriotic song and story

~ that the young may be inspired with lofty purpose

~ many may feely bestow from their abundance material aid to the few among us who are in need

~Christian charity and brotherly love may ever abide as the chief cornerstone of the Commonwealth

There is nothing here about GETTING!!

We had 27 people at our home yesterday.  Several family members and dear friends - and as my nephew offered a blessing on the food ~ I felt so grateful for each of them that I was very near tears. (Whew, that would have spoiled a few appetites.)  I have everything to be thankful for - and I feel it deeply... yet I did not even approach the ideals that are spelled out in this 1889 proclamation.  Nevertheless it was an incredible evening - there are so many people on the planet that I love so much!

I have nothing more to say on this matter.  

Thankful for potluck also!
Good home cooked food!!

We ended up with 17 pies!
Another reason to be
grateful!

Thankful for those who joined us!

Salt and Honey in The Land of Enchantment

Next time we will need a
much larger U-Haul!

Shiprock, New Mexico – as we approached Shiprock I told Mark the story of my family’s experience in Shiprock almost 40 years ago… My parents had moved to Farmington, NM and when they heard there was a parade in Shiprock they thought that they would take the family to absorb some local culture. Well, it worked… I was nine years old and I recall the “Cuchina” dancers, but my parents remember that we were definitely a few grains of salt in a large pepper shaker – definitely the wrong ethnicity and not exactly welcomed. Oh well.
Yesterday it would appear that Shiprock had once again had a large parade – maybe they do this quite often. The traffic was horrific, but as we slowly made out way through town my mouth was watering over the many little stands selling Navajo tacos. Though we make them at home, I know that they are not as good as the ones I remember from my childhood in New Mexico. Therefore, when we came to a little gas station/café in a town called Cuba – we decided to order some Navajo tacos and frybread.

Delicious - but it burned!!

“Green or Red Chili,” the man was asking me – I asked which was the least hot…
“They are both hot,” was his reply – hmmmm.
“I guess I will take red”
“Red is hot!”
“Then I will take green.”
“Green is hot!”
“Please make mine without chili.”
….I got green. It was hot. We ordered to go and pulled over beside a little adobe Baptist church to eat. It was delicious, but hot. Too hot. We enjoyed a few bites and set them aside to eat the fry bread with some honey. I noticed that she had also added little packets of salt, probably to spice up the green chili, but I decided to add it to the honey on my fry bread (cheap honey packets aren’t too great) and was rewarded with a kettle-corn-like fry bread experience. Yummy as it was, Mark had spoken of some great sopapillas in Albuquerque so I only had a few bites. I guess I am going to have to get used to eating deep fried food if I am going to live in the South.

Sopapilla stuffed with
carne adovado - YUM!!
(Chili on the side - unused)
Mary & Tito's in
Albuquerque

Back to Farmington – watching the map as we drove through town I saw that we would be driving right past my old neighborhood and was so thrilled for a chance to check out the old house! We drove right to it – 1409 Camino Monte. Almost 40 years later and there are all the memories coming so clearly – we passed my friend Tanya’s home with the large addition in the back that my dad helped to build… there was the home that was robbed the same week as ours… the driveway that we weren’t allowed to rollerskate on even though their cement was so smooth… the neighbor’s house with the nice dad who saved us when we (the children) thought our house was on fire but it was only us burning up our treat in the oven… the Butler’s home where we lived while waiting to move to Wyoming… the Carlson’s home where I had my first babysitting jobs when I was 10 years old… and my house – missing the tree in front that I used to climb.

1409 Camino Monte - 2015

Bluffview Elementary

Camino Monte - 1977

We drove to Bluffview Elementary – on the way I saw the house where the lady told me that I was too old to trick-or-treat; though in reality I was just tall for my age – I was 9 years old and so mortified Inever went out trick-or-treating again… I saw the alley where someone had dumped old sheetrock and we would take pieces of it be chalk on the sidewalk… The school had changed of course… it was so much smaller than I remember… I saw the gym and remembered sitting at a before-school parent meeting with my mom being so shocked that we would be expected to bring our own school supplies because we had moved from Reno, Nevada where they had enough money to supply paper, pencils and other supplies for their students…. There was the library which made me remember the day that I had pretended to be sick in order to skip the all-school spelling bee. My friend and I had won our grade level and I was so afraid that I would win again and be sent to a larger spelling bee – the teachers made it sound fun, but to me it sounded like a nightmare. Then there was the playground... the fun get-your-wiggles-out equipment had all been replaced with colorful and safe yet boring places to play. They used to have rows of half-buried tires to do hurdle races and we even had a semi-circle of telephone poles buried on-end at different heights to jump between.  Someone had donated hundreds of giant tractor tires and they were creatively made into all sorts of play equipment.  There was an awesome piece of equipment called "The Spider" which entailed hanging on vey tights and being spun in the air - like a merry-go-round in the sky.  There was always a big line to play here - and usually one or two injuries each year... but even the injured kids were back in line as soon as permitted.  Poor modern children - There are schools in town have "no running" rules.  Really?!?  My teacher kept a shoebox of Indian pottery pieces that we would find at recess while digging around in the dirt. We could take them home if we wanted, but it was fun to see her collection grow also.  I suppose that would all be illegal now...  For the record, I had the same teacher for 4th and 5th grade - her name was Amaryllis Trujillo and she was amazing.  She is the teacher who introduced me to one of my all-time favorite books, The Hiding Place  by Corrie Ten Boom.
Wow – I was amazed at how the memories came flooding in. Life is so interesting. So many people with which to interact… so many experiences to shape and form who we are today.
And the Land of Enchantment… I am, indeed, enchanted. Driving through New Mexico was a beautiful adventure. The bluffs and free standing monoliths – different colors and shadows. I wanted to get out and explore so many places – enchanting is a great description for what we saw yesterday. Southern Utah is magnificent as always. As I type we are driving through Western Texas – it is flat and I find it invigorating. Big sky… the hills are beginning to roll now (typing while en route) and I am reminded of my roots in Central California. Driving out Friday through the Columbia River Gorge I knew it would be one of my last times to make that drive – the Gorge has intrigued me since I first saw it almost 23 years ago. It is no secret that the beauty of the northwest is intoxicating to me – but driving through the varied landscapes for the past three days reminds me that I simply love the earth. The variety is spectacular and I am grateful that my Father in Heaven has provided such a get-my-hands-dirty-and-have-fun-doing-it type of playground in which to live, love, laugh and learn!  He obviously loves us very, very much!!

10th Birthday on Camino Monte:

I found this photo of my 10th birthday party - we moved away the next year but I remember most of these girls... left to right - Lori, ?, Elizabeth Penrod, Andrea Nygren, Myself, JoAnne, Shirley, Nanette Nygren, ?, Patty Palmer.

Buon Appetito! An Italian Food Experience...

Buon Appetito - and in Italy we learned one cannot help having a great meal each time you sit down. The ingredients are so fresh!  Restaurant tomatoes usually make me cringe, but here they really did taste like they were fresh from my garden.  Our favorite part of the Italian restaurant experience was probably the waiters... handsome, charming Italian men playing their part wonderfully well!

One handsome, charming Italian man stands out as our family favorite!!  His name is Angelo and he was our official Make-A-Wish Wish Grantor.  Today's post will be a record of the wonderful day that we spent with Señor Angelo...

Jackie's official wish, "A Food Experience in Italy," was a mystery to us all.  Our local representatives were also unaware of what it would entail.  This would be our final day in Rome and we simply did not know what to expect.  All that we knew is that we were supposed to go and stand in front of our hotel at 10:00 a.m. and that a driver would come for us.  We had read about food tours that went to several restaurants and thought that this would be our activity.  We had spent the week in hot, crowded conditions and were simply hoping that we could be on a small tour, ideally just our family.

Pizza samples, sold by weight

Our worries were put to rest by the appearance of a gentleman who introduced himself simply as Angelo.  His kindness and his charisma put us at immediately at ease and we could see that we were in for a very special day!  He centered his attentions on Jackie... this was her wish and he often referred to her as "Queen for the Day" or introduced her, "This is Jackie, today she is the mayor of Rome!"

Fried Rice Balls

Angelo Amorico, of Access Italy, is Oprah Winfrey's personal tour guide when she chooses to visit Italy.  His list includes Sharon Stone, Diane Sawyer, and others.  On this day, he was ours, and our day was fantastic.
An open air market was our first stop.  We have been to these markets in Mexico and the Philippines, but a market in Italy is a much different experience - primarily because it smells so good (no dead chickens hanging here!).  The produce smelled delicious.  A man was demonstrating a fun kitchen gadget which has many interesting uses such as cutting carrots into corkscrews.  Angelo bought one for Jackie and she has enjoyed using it at home.  We proceeded to a cheese store for a few cooking ingredients.  Along the way we kept meeting members of Angelo's office staff.  He had given them the day off to spend with us!  They are all young, personable and hospitality-oriented... just the kind of people that make you feel welcome.  We popped into a couple delis to sample different pizzas and a couple flavors of some sort of fried rice-ball.

Natalie and Angelo add Olive Oil

Learning to roll the dough

The pizzas cook quickly

Heart pizzas for parents

Many hands make light work

Two chefs magnifico!

Back in the van, we could hardly believe it when we pulled up to a pizzeria and they met us with hats and aprons for the four children.  The kids washed up and were led into the kitchen where they mixed a large batch of pizza dough to be used that evening, enough for 50 pizzas.  Dough was supplied for each of them to create their own pizza.  Italian pizzas are much more simple than ours - and it was a bit of a surprise to the chef when Natalie requested ham and pineapple... but he supplied some chunks of fresh pineapple and prosciutto.  Mark and I were sent outdoors to the table so that we could not see them preparing heart-shaped pizzas for the parents.  Each staff member then ordered a pizza and we all ate together at tables set in the narrow street.

Adding a layer of chocolate

Making tiramisu at Angelo's

At this point Angelo was going to take us for some amazing gelato - we had eaten gelato at least once a day for a week, but Angelo assured us that we were in for a treat.  Unfortunately, we were all very full... so we moved on to an even better surprise.  Señor Angelo took us to his home!  Here we met his charming wife - she grew up in Boston, but when she married Angelo he informed her that she would need to learn to cook Italian... and she has.  We all crowded into her kitchen and were taught how to make tiramisu!  Only one problem - the biscuits are supposed to soak in coffee... and here I had to let them know that we do not drink coffee but usually just substitute milk.  These kind women did not miss a beat - immediately they were making hot chocolate and we soaked with this instead.  They had us add a layer of chopped chocolate in the middle so the flavors blended beautifully - it was delicious.  While it soaked we simply enjoyed being in their home...

Angelo, Jackie and
an un-named, but famous, pope

Angelo's door - look at the step

I really loved this door!

If I remember correctly,
this stonework was
originally at St. Peters
until it was remodeled.

Angelo had told us the building in which they live was built in the 1400's.  When we entered there was a plaque with a date in the 1600's - so he clarified that it was built in the 1400's but remodeled in the 1600's.  The door into the building was so old - I was enchanted because the step below the door was also quite worn with age.  We saw a lovely garden and a small chapel which housed a vault in which a pope had been buried.  This pope is famous - in St. Peters Basilica there is a large statue of Christ, Peter, Paul and a pope... this is that pope, but I do not recall his name.
Sadly, our adventure came to a close.  We would like to have walked through more streets and heard more stories - For example, a fun fact he shared with us was that a plaque on a building banned putting any sort of trash in that area - this "law" had been in effect for hundreds of years on that street because no one is allowed to change it.  I wondered what all the other plaques had been saying.
Angelo has been doing this for a lifetime - and for us, spending a day with him was the opportunity of a lifetime.

Jackie is an official
Italian Chef!

Just for fun - after being dropped off at the hotel we had to choose our final activity.  We decided to return to St. Peters Basilica because we liked it so much the first time.  As we left we remembered that Angelo's neighborhood was also near the vatican... we wandered the streets until we came to a gelato shop - hoping that it was the one that we had missed earlier.  With the best flavors and no labels in English - we think we found it and... YUMMY!!!

We think we discovered
the Best Gelato Ever!

Italy held many delights and adventures for us - ancient ruins, fountains, the Vatican, Pompeii, pizza, gelato... but Angelo truly stands out as a Wish-Come-True!!
Thank you to Make-A-Wish... and forever thank you to Señor Angelo Amorico.  He's the best!

Thank you Angelo!!!

We made some delicious tiramisu
last week but had to use Vanilla
Wafers - couldn't find ladyfingers.

We wore our Make-A-Wish buttons
as we traveled.

Make-A-Wish - Buon Viaggio!

"A representative from Make-A-Wish will be contacting you soon."
October 2010 - We were in the hospital for our first round of chemotherapy with Greg.  Our world was spinning and emotions were everywhere.  Hearing that Make-A-Wish was coming made our hearts stop.... what did this mean?
We had heard of Make-A-Wish and not given it much thought - it was for children who were about to die.  At least, that was our impression; so when they announced that they were coming to see Greg -  it was quite a shock.  I think Greg's caseworkers were accustomed to this reaction and were quick to explain that a visit from Make-A-Wish does not mean imminent death, but it is for children with a life threatening illness.  This was a relief, and, since we were already in shock at having a child with a life-threatening illness; we tucked it away with all of the other emotions swirling through our lives.
Everyone thinks that they would like to make a wish - but it isn't as easy at it would seem.  At least not for my kids who aren't used to asking for things very often.  Greg spent a great deal of time thinking about it - and he finally settled on camera equipment.  He received a nice camera with several lenses and case, as well as a short class on photography.

With all that we had gone through those seven months, receiving that camera was more than wonderful!  It was such a tangible event - something that showed that there are people who really care.  Our entire family celebrated that camera and all that it represented, and Greg has truly enjoyed using his "make-a-wish-camera."
Jacqueline has also been granted a wish.  Incredible to be in a family with two wishes!?!  (Natalie's brain tumor was not "life-threatening"  - so no wish.)
I will quickly point out how many of their friends say things like, "No fair!  I wish I could have cancer so that I could get a wish."  No - they would do best to wish to never have cancer.  My kids assure them that it isn't really worth it...
Sidenote - We are friends with a family with four young daughters.  After one of their girls had a brain tumor, her wish was granted to go to Disney World.  About a year later I was speaking with the oldest sister who was 12.  She said that it was really awful that her sister had the tumor, but it all turned out well because they got to go to Disney World.  I thought that was a great example of how Make-A-Wish helps to turn a difficult situation into a good memory.

Back to Jackie - she took an even longer time trying to think of what her wish would be.  These things are truly left to the children with parents/friends/family encouraged to let the child think of their wish entirely on their own.  We all thought of what we would like to wish for, but Jackie was absolutely on her own and her wish was nothing like anything we had thought of - but we are all so excited for her.
Jackie wished for "A Food Experience in Italy" - and that is what she is getting!!!  Our family will leave next week for a vacation in Rome, Italy.  We are very excited - though life has been so crazy preparing for our move that we haven't had much time to think about it.  This works, however, because we do none of the planning - they take care of all of it!  Right now I am in Rexburg, ID to pick up Jackie from college - she is taking her finals a few days early and then we will drive back to Washington.  We should get there a couple hours ahead of our Make-A-Wish friends who will give us her "wish" and it is then that we will know what our plans will be.  That will be Saturday night and I do know that we leave at the crack of dawn on Monday!

Jackie with Melissa and Emily,
our Make-A-Wish Volunteers

I don't know if I can adequately describe what it means to have this wonderful organization do such kind and amazing things for my children.  I wish that every child who struggles could have someone reach out to them like this.
When our world was rocked by cancer - life turns inside out and childhood is forever changed.  Being granted a wish is like a shining light - warm and inviting - giving comfort and hope simply by knowing that people care.  It is funded by strangers who want to make a difference, and I want them all to know that the difference it has made for our family is significant.  We haven't been to Italy yet, and Greg's camera is with him at BYU, but our entire family's burden has been lifted by the generosity of people who do not even know us.
The world would be a better place if we all did one small, kind thing for someone else today, and everyday!  There is just something about service that makes life better for everyone!

Now it is Saturday night - Make-A-Wish came to our home with a dinner party from Jackie's favorite Chinese restaurant.  We ate and then they presented us with our itinerary which will include two days of bus tour around Rome and a one day "food experience."  The rest of the time is ours to spend as we like - so we hurried down to the bookstore for a Rick Steves book on Rome.  A limo will pick us up at 4 a.m. on Monday to take us to the airport - how fun is that?

Look Ma! No Tumors!

...and then sometimes, the news is good!

   Natalie was moved up to varsity tennis this year and having a great experience.  Then, sadly, tendonitis in her wrist took her out for the rest of the season, including districts.  As she used her brace the pain in her right wrist slowly subsided and she became aware of a very familiar pain deep in her right shoulder.  She lost range-of-motion and would suddenly collapse in pain while attempting push-ups.  We recognized the symptoms as those she had before being diagnosed with synovial chondromatosis in which her shoulder joint was full of cartilaginous tumors.  Last time we didn't suspect anything like this and spent about 4 months using BenGay and dealing with the pain.  This time we were not messing around - we called our surgeon at OHSU and he got us right in for an MRI.  We had to wait over Memorial Day weekend for results, and then did not hear until Wednesday night - what a relief to know that her pain is real but there are no tumors!  Simply inflammation in the rotator cuff.  We will go see the doctor next week and he will help us to know what we can be doing for the pain and to reduce this problem in the future.
But.... NO TUMORS!  This isn't news that we are accustomed to hearing.  Natalie broke out in a huge smile of relief, "Now I can play tennis!!"  Actually the list of "now-I-can" is much longer (for the whole family).  Suspecting another round of shoulder surgery and recovery we were feeling that too-familiar cloud pressing down on us.  Would she be able to have surgery prior to our extremely busy month of July so that she would be able to participate??  Would she be able to abide the pain until August if they couldn't get her in right away?  Was this going to recur every two years?
We have grown accustomed to setting aside future plans for immediate care and recovery.  We felt ourselves sliding back down into the abyss from we are so slowly emerging - this was like a great burst of energy.  A weight off of our shoulders allowing us to climb more quickly rather than being dragged down.  Suddenly summer is a beautiful gift to be enjoyed and we are humbly grateful to our Lord for this beautiful and tender mercy!!

Walking on Hilton Head - we found
a prehistoric animal that was new to
us - luckily a local answered our
questions.  Who can name it?

I am also grateful this morning for mountains!  I am always grateful for mountains.  I just LOVE them.  I am not being philosophical, I mean I love real rock-dirt-trees-and-water mountains.  I even love dry-sagebrush-covered mountains, especially when you get to see the rock formations.  I like to look at mountains, I like to hike mountains (not climb - I never said climb).  I grew up in the Rocky Mountains.  I loved my college years in Provo under the protective watch of the Wasatch Front.  I have spent most of my adult life enjoying the beautiful mountains and volcanoes here in the Northwest.

I don't have any ancestors
from the South, but I really
enjoy a bowl of grits on the side!

This is all on my mind today because I flew in last night from South Carolina.  Mark and I went to a tax conference on Hilton Head Island.  We loved it - and also had time to visit beautiful Savannah, Georgia which we also loved.  The landscape was nice and tame.  I always love seeing the green and trees of the Midwest and East Coast.  It was hot and humid and as we drove I realized that you didn't really ever see anything but trees.  You couldn't even see the businesses (which was an exceptionally attractive way to have all of that convenient big box store shopping without having to look at them.)  However, I found myself getting rather claustrophobic and bored - sometimes the trees were swampy and I hoped to see an alligator but did not.  I saw my first oyster beds, at both high and low tides, so that was cool.  The mossy trees in Savannah stole my heart!  BUT - no mountains.  Not even a hill.  Where were the vistas? the breathtaking views?  When the locals raved about their coastline I felt so sorry that they hadn't seen the Oregon Coast.  (I am so grateful that I have.)

Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah.
What an amazing kind of beauty!

Key lime pie at a little bakery in
Savannah - I had to buy the cookbook!

Flying home - seven hours in a window seat... I love those endless miles of farm country.  It is comfortable and homey.  We had a layover in Detroit and I love the Michigan fields and farms.  Hours later Mark and I were flying along watching a movie when I glanced outside and ahhh... there were mountains below us!  Rugged peaks covered in snow.  I kept glancing out the window and knowing that I was being welcomed home.

At a beautiful fountain in
one of the many parks found
in Historic Savannah.

Mark always says that the Portland airport is the most beautiful landing you can find.  I agree.  Now I am home and surrounded by beauty - I reflect back on the sights of last week.  Suddenly I long for a walk through a town square in Savannah or to feel the breeze take away the humidity on Hilton Head.  I can see those endless trees which looked a lot like giant stalks of broccoli - and I remember being with my husband and talking, laughing, driving in silence and loving every moment of it.

Home Sweet Home!
Mt. Hood at sunset (from airplane)

I love mountains, but now I have new places to love as well.  I believe that I learn to love a place after experiencing that place with loved ones.
Earth is magnificent in its beauty with all of the variety.  What a blessing to be able to appreciate it.  Where is my favorite place on Earth?  It is wherever I am humble enough to look around and give thanks for the marvelous experience of being alive.  It is wherever I am making memories with my family.  It is wherever Mark and I are together!