Sorry, this paragraph was written on April 23rd  (now it's May 20th:)  Chris had his last chemo treatment today - for awhile.  When you are done you are suppose to "ring the bell" but Chris told them "no, that he'd be back for more treatments in the fall."  His weight was good, blood count good.  He's been having bloody noses lately and right at this moment is throwing up (I can hear him:(  A lot of the pain that he has been experiencing has gone away - hip and neck.  His back still hurts on his left side but he can live with that he says.
Now it's May 20th.  Sorry, we have been very busy.  Mostly with Megan - I know, she's  gone.  We have spoiled her rotten in the MTC (she only gained 1 lb!!! Whatever she didn't eat she passed to the elders.  She said that they always told her "that they loved her" hee,hee).  Packages, letters every day, more packages, photos....... I had to spoil her in the MTC because once in Portugal it's over (I wasn't worried about her being home sick- she knows where she wants to be - yes, I'm a proud mama).  Have you seen the mailing prices for packages?????????  It cost $1.69 to mail a letter that will take atleast 10 days to get there. 
Well, now that I've started writing about Meg I will finish and then we can get onto Chris. lol.  Meg left last Tues (May 14) for Portugal.  She and 55 other missionaries going to Portugal (I don't know how many others there were going other places) rode the front runner from Provo to the airport.  She said there were some moms on the side the front runner as they passed holding Portugal flags (cool - next time I will do that:) We got to talk with her for about 15 minutes in the SL airport.  She was mostly crying because her airline ticket had a different time on it then eveyone elses (the other 55 missionaries-over half r sisters) and so she thought that she had missed her flight.  It said 12:15 and everyone elses said 2:25.  We tried to comfort her but thank goodness her companions father (sister Hayes) who travels a lot was in the airport at the same time and was able to get it figured out.  I'm still waiting to ask Meg this but then he flew with them to Dallas TX.  We don't know if he bought a ticket right then so he could help Meg and his daughter or if he already had it planned.  Any way he flew with them to Dallas and took Meg, his daughter and the rest of her district (8 of them) to a very nice steak house in the airport.  Meg said she got the cheapest thing on the menu and it was a fillet mignon!!  she also had a large piece of chocolate cake:) she hadn't eaten since 7:15 am so she was starved (it was around 5 r time)  he also bought her water for the plane ride and let her use his phone to call us.  That time we only talked about 20 minutes.  She said she would call us from London but it never happened:(  not sure why, still waiting to find out:)  Meg took two suitcases.  One weighed 49.5 lbs and the other 48 lbs.  She also had a carry on suitcase which she said was almost 50 lbs and a back pack.  The only thing she sent home was letters that she had received in the MTC and her planner.  She was able to fit everything else in her suitcases.  Tuesday, I stayed home alllll day and jumped every time the phone rang.  I did  A LOT  of cleaning.  More than I've done in a lonnnng time. lol.  (I am actually writing the blog as I wait for her email - lol)  We have a lot of questions:)  I have been "worried" (I knew she was safe and that she had made it - we tracked her on flightradar, but until you see the email that says where she is and that she's happy - I worried) since yesterday afternoon when I FINALLY received her email - a one liner ( I was ok with that) that said "I'm in the Azores on the island of Sao Miguel in the city of Ponto Delgada.  My companions name is Sister Davis she is from Riverton, UT.  I love, love, love being a missionary.  email you tomorrow."   Can I just tell you that email meant everything to me!!!!  I feel like a different person.  I can eat and I can stop biting off people's heads. lol  Oh, and I can stop crying.  If you said  Megan, Sister missionaries, missionaries or Portugal you got to see me cry.  Even the Deseret News paper was against me yesterday morning.  The Travel section was on ............Portugal!!!!!!!!!!!!! Meg then sent another "one liner" that gave us the Davis' phone number and asked us to call them and help them set up their skype so that they could talk/see their daughter for Sister Davis (the mother) mother's day call.  she still hadn't gotten that:(  so we went over set it up for them. had a great time swapping pictures and stories of r daughters.  I also took pictures of  Chris setting up skype with Bro Davis looking on and of their family so we could email them to Meg and she could see her family:)  Tyson, sis Davis' brother is a runner for Riverton HS and so Chris and Tyson talked and talked about all the meets.  We've probably seen Tyson running and the parents at meets.  Small world!!!  - 55 new missionaries - WOW!!!  I'm sure that mission president was very busy.  In fact, because their were so many of them they were staying in a hotel instead of at the mission home. (I keep flipping screens - hoping that she will email me while I am writing this and then I can give you more details - check her blog later today and I will have put her email on:)  So, Meg did a lot of traveling.  SL to Dallas.  Dallas to London.  London to Portugal and then Portugal to Sao Miguel (google earth it - it's beautiful and she is right on the coast) another 2 1/2 hour flight.  It is 900 miles from mainland.  She and Sister Davis are only the second pair of sister missionaries to serve there. It's been just elders.   Sooo, exciting!!!  I'm in this ldsmissionarymom email group and they put you with other mothers that their child is in the same mission as yours.  One of the mothers was telling us about a city that her son was serving in called Coimbra.  This city has the oldest University in Europe and it is where JK Rowling got a lot of her inspiration for her books - Harry Potter!!!  Students wear cloaks to school!!!  cool! Meg would love to serve there, I'm sure:)

Now onto Chris. lol.  He thinks I have forgotten all about him.  All I ever talk about is Megan:):) hee,hee.  I tell him "she is much more interesting" lol.  If I was to put 1-6 chemo treatments in worst to not so bad I would put them this way .... 1 was definitely the WORST and then I would rate 6 the last treatment as the next WORST.  So, much throwing up, bloody noses, pain, fatigue, .... I also had children having melt downs on 1 and 6.  Rating melt downs treatment 6 was the worst.  I had THREE children having melt downs at the same time and Chris moaning and repeating over and over how awful he felt.  You can read from the first paragraph that it was rough.  He had all the same meds and plenty of anti nausea meds but it was still bad.  He has lost  A LOT of hair.  You can see his scalp all over his head.  I told Meg that any hair she found in her food that I sent her was dads.  It can always be found on the kitchen counter:).  He had a PET scan on May 16th.  We have the disk and have looked at it several times but since we aren't doctors we aren't quite sure this time.  All tumors are smaller and the one that was in his lung is gone (or atleast really small).  There is one spot that is baseball size that lights up bright, bright yellow.  We aren't sure if it's the stomach.  We have an appointment on May 31st with the doctor.  I will probably call the nurse tomorrow and have her read the report to us (takes a few days for the doc to get it).  The tumor that causes tons and tons of back pain is still there.  Right in the joint.  He is in tons of pain especially the lasst couple of days.  Seems to be getting worse.  He just keeps plugging a long though.  He mowed the lawn last week (won't let the boys do it "they can do it after I'm dead"), rototilled the garden and planted seeds.  For mother's day he and Jacob planted flowers in the flower bed in front of the house.  On Mother's day Sunday he taught Tay's Sunday school class and my primary class.  Yesterday, he taught Gospel doctrine.  Wednesday is his bday.  He will be 46!!  Tomorrow is Katie's bday she will be 7.  Time is flying by!!

Just things that happened in past few weeks:  Meg went to the dentist before she left and later we found out that it wasn't covered by insurance because she isn't a "student."  Tay went to Youth Conference.  Jacob went on a scout camp out - first one.  He made it through the night:):)  and had a great time.  He told me that he was really cold on his camp out and I asked him "why?" he had taken a sleeping bag and it wasn't that cold.  He said that he had forgotten his pillow so he used his sleeping bag as a pillow!!!!!  I tried really, really hard not to laugh.  He is a genius but sometimes common sense isn't there:)  I told him next time he could wad up his clothes and use them as a pillow.  Poor boy!!  Tay spoke in Sacrament - he did a great job.  He wrote his whole talk by himself.  Dakota - Meg's boyfriend in Brazil decided to extend his mission one more month so now he will come home this October and Meg will come home next October.  She thought that was pretty cool. hee,hee. 
For Mother's day Chris took Katie and I out to lunch.  He kept saying that he wanted to celebrate mother's day for Katie also because he wouldn't be around to see her become a mother.  So, he spoiled Katie also - she loved it:)On Sunday, we sang I Am A Child of God in Sacrament meeting.  I had Katie on one side of me singing in English and Chris on the other side of me singing in Portuguese.  Yes, I cried a ton.  It was beautiful.  something I don't ever want to forget:)  I know that I've left out a lot of stuff but Chris says that this is toooo long. lol.  So, just two more things that I think are important:  Remember how I told you that Chris' phone went through the washer and was stuck to the inside of the dryer wall?  Well, we put it in rice for days.  I tried turning it on it didn't work (I cried tons), I put it in a drawer so I wouldn't have to look at it although I was reminded every time I wanted to talk or text Chris or have him look up something. I must say this is going to sound crazy but I prayed and I prayed for that phone to work.  Chris uses it when he is doing chemo.  When he is sick it distracts him.  I was sicker then sick to know that one thing my husband uses was no longer usable.  He never asks for anything.  He's in tons of pain and his life sucks (according to me:) He never wants anything new for himself..... Well, one day for some reason Chris decided to try it again.  And guess what???? Prayers were answered!!!!!!!  The phone WORKS!!!!!  I believe that it is a miracle.  Heavenly Father knows each of us.  He knows what we need.  He knew we didn't have the money to get a new one.  He knew how much Chris used it to distract him from pain and He knew how badly I felt.  IT is a MIRACLE!!!  You can think what you want but I saw that phone with its busted screen and how it was stuck to the drum of the dryer.  I thank Heavenly Father every time I see him use that phone:):)
 Chris and I were talking one day about how we didn't think that we could afford to pay $50 a month for Meg's mission (the other $350 a month is covered thanks to wonderful family members).  Ryan heard us and piped in that he would pay it.  We thanked him and asked him if it would be ok if he paid $25 since he still needs to save for his mission.  So, at the beginning of each month he now pays $25 towards Megs mission.  We are sooo proud of him.  Grateful for the man that he is becoming.  Proud parent moment.
It is now 8:30 pm in Portugal.  We didn't get an email from Meg and Sister Davis' mom called and said that they didn't hear from her daughter.  Pday is over and  I hope that next Monday we will receive a really, really long email.  I'm just grateful to atleast know where she is:)
This week we have FHE, Chris is helping with Jacob's scout group tomorrow, Tay has early morning band practice and a concert this week, Katie and Chris' bdays, Rye works.  Nothing to exciting but enough to keep us hopping. lol
"Don't be gloomy.  Do not dwell on unkind things.  Stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight.  Even if you are not happy, put a smile on your face.  'Accentuate the positive.'  Look a little deeper for the good.  Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, with great and strong purpose in your heart.  Love life."  Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley
Love ya,
Ricki
P.S.  ha,ha just got off and decided to look at yahoo one more time.  Just got an email from Meg:)  Check it out on her blog.  megsisonamission.blogspot.com:):) Mom is a happy, happy girl!!