Our 2018 Christmas Card

 We've had a pretty adventurous year that started with Mark's birth in February. It's hard to believe he's coming up on his first birthday here soon. After a busy semester with a new baby and working on the side, I walked at graduation in April. We had a lot of family in town for Mark's baby blessing that weekend and had soup, rolls, salads, and Nicolina's chocolate chip cookies. It was a special time to have so many of our family there to celebrate with us.

At the end of May we moved from our home in Idaho Falls to Arizona for an internship. It was the first time that Heather and myself felt like we were walking into an oven on a daily basis. We experienced over 100 degree weather on a consistent basis. Unlike Joshua and Briana's experience in North Dakota (opening the fridge to get warm), we would open the oven to cool off. I think they watered the grass as the apartment complex at least three times a day to keep it alive.

Our ward was very welcoming of us and made us feel right at home. We had game nights, dessert nights and did our best to stay involved in the ward for the 10 weeks that we lived there. We also visited Emily Crapo's family and Annette Tingey (Uncle Royale's daughter) a few times. It was fun to catch up with them and spend time with their families. We saw a little bit of Mesa, Phoenix, and Tempe. I would commute to my internship using the Tempe metro. It was only about a mile and a half commute with a stop right by the campus building and the stop by our apartment was a block or two.

The internship was focused on transmembrane proteins. We worked in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic to develop a drug target for a protein that is commonly involved in cancer metastasis. The facilities at ASU gave me opportunities to be involved in many areas of research that I haven't had previous experience in. We did protein crystallization using a 96 well plate and a robot setup. I worked to purify proteins using a process called dialysis. It provided a good opportunity to have hands on time. I am not sure about further schooling, but it allowed me to see what that would look like in the future. I  officially graduated from BYU-I in July after completing my internship.

At the end of the summer we decided to store our stuff and move to Virginia temporarily while we looked for a job. We attended a fun family reunion in Maryland at Deep Creek Lake with the Cummings family. We had fun playing on the lake with jet-skis, canoes, and swimming. We played games, went on walks, and celebrated my in-laws 40th anniversary. Heather's parents have 11 children (8 girls and 3 boys) and 18 grandchildren. We designed the t-shirts for the reunion which turned out great.

After the reunion, I continued to search for a job while in Virginia. I had some leads and I met with a few people, had a few interviews, but I didn't have any offers. We planned to stay here in Virginia until the end of September until that came and went so we decided to give ourselves one more month. However, halfway through October, we found out that Heather had thyroid cancer. After her diagnosis, we decided to stay longer in Virginia with her family until we figured out how to proceed with the cancer removal and treatment.

During our time here in Virginia, we have been doing odd jobs around the Cummings' household. Heather has been a lifesaver-- jumping in to clean or make dinner when needed. I've done a few things outside to help out including stacking a large stack of wood (featured in the picture below).  I started working for Rich's catering business again around the beginning of November. During the holiday season, my busiest day was 17 hours long.

We have been very blessed to figure out how to proceed with the needed tests and treatments for thyroid cancer. We have also felt that the doctors that we have found and worked with are very well qualified.

Thank you for all your prayers in our behalf. We have felt your support.We know that Jesus Christ is Our Savior that He is the way back to the Father. Although difficult, we have developed a closer relationship to Him through this experience. We hope that we will all come to adore HIM even CHRIST the LORD.