The night before Nate was diagnosed with Cancer I was praying that we would finally be able to figure out what was wrong with him. I was hit with a very strong impression that this was something very serious but immediately I felt that it would be okay. I knew that Heavenly Father was mindful of us and that this was for our good.

I have never felt the spirit in the role of a comforter as strongly as I did that first week. From the moment after my prayer I felt like a two foot thick blanket surrounded me. Valerie offered to watch the kids if I wanted to go to the temple, but I seriously felt that the temple was around me. There were still awful moments, but mostly I felt very calm and guided as we went through the hospital experience.

When we got home that feeling started to fade and Nathan and I talked about how we were kind of sad that things were getting back to normal. However, at the same time, news of Nathan's diagnosis began to get out and people started praying for us. As that thick blanket of comfort was slowly wearing away, it was being replaced by the sustaining power of those who were offering prayers in our behalf. It has been an amazing experience for me. I've prayed for others before and have felt bad that might have been all I could do. I wasn't sure if my prayers even mattered.

Now when people tell me they are praying for us I sincerely thank them. I know that it is those prayers that are sustaining us. I am calm and patient. We are able to enjoy spending time together as a family instead of worrying. I still feel sick in my stomach when I read statistics, but I'm not going to think about that. Miracles happen, and someone has to be in that 17%. It might as well be Nate.

Besides the prayers we have other acts of service that have lightened our load and brightened our day. On Valentine's Day, our door was decorated with each one of our names. How fun! After Nathan got home from the hospital we were brought some meals. I felt kind of funny at first. I wasn't sick. I could make dinner. But the kids and Nathan were so excited. They were disappointed when I told the ward we didn't need meals after I had Peter. It was such a blessing. I was busy getting our lives back in order and it was a relief to answer the 4:00 "hey Mom, what's for dinner?" with "someone's bringing it!" I also discovered that picky kids are more likely to eat something someone brings than what I make!

On Wednesday we heard a sound like the finale of a fireworks display that I figured out was knocking at the front door. When I went to open it a dinner was on our doorstep and I heard lots of giggles. It turned out to be Nate's scouts. He was so happy to see them! He has really missed them and it was so cute when they came in and visited him.

We also had a very thoughtful chemo care package left on our doorstep. It even included thank you notes, which was great for me because I had planned on buying some before chemo on Wednesday and spend part of that time writing them.

We are so grateful for the love that has been expressed to Nathan and our family. Nathan has said that he wishes every one could go through this - minus the cancer.