Breaking the news to the kids

Sat. Sept 27 Today was really hard for us all. Grandpa and Grandma Faerber were able to bring both of the girls and Clint down for our “family meeting”. They were to arrive at around noon. We decided to go to Chuck-a-Rama first for some lunch and so we met everyone, including Josh and Kirby, there. It was good and gave us a chance to spend a little more quality time together before we upset everyone’s whole world. Then we went home and all gathered in the living room. I followed Dr. Rawson’s example and just came right out and told them. I said that they knew I had been sick for a while and we now knew what it was. I had cancer, and it was not a good kind. Julie gave them more details, and I tried to share my feelings as well. The important part was that I felt at peace. Though this was hard to understand, I had been able to accept it as the Lord’s will. I assured them that I was planning on fighting this and beating it if at all possible, but that now I had realized that Heavenly Father knew the bigger picture. He would guide us if we would turn our lives to him, and I felt I had done that. So, if it was my time to go home to Heavenly Father and He took me now, then He knew what He was doing and I would accept his will. I truly felt peaceful about that, and tried to encourage all of the kids to feel the same way. I also assured them that we were praying real hard to make sure that I was at least able to be here for Josh’s wedding, and that was our most important “short-term” goal. Then we called Grandpa and Grandma Cook and told them it was now ok to tell all my siblings. We had asked them not to say anything till after we had told the kids.