Article from Herald Journal

Two Sundays ago, this article was printed in the Cache Valley Herald Journal:

A WONDERFUL YEAR IN SPITE OF SAD NEWS

This has been a wonderful year for our family. Last Christmas we were pretty sad, thinking that this was the last Christmas for MaeLynn. We struggled with the thought, "What do you give someone who is dying for Christmas?" We all chose gifts with that in mind and I will never forget the looks on Kendall's and Ellie's faces as they helped MaeLynn put on her necklaces that they had chosen for her. These necklaces will be theirs one day to always remember that they have a very special angel watching over them.
It seemed that every time we had a reason to get together and celebrate something this year there was that sadness knowing that MaeLynn would soon be gone, we all struggled with it, except MaeLynn. She approached every opportunity to be together as a family with an air of happiness and excitement. She was just happy, and many of us didn't understand how she did it. One day I asked her about it and she told me that once she had decided on her treatment, she was totally at peace and she just wanted to see her family grow closer together and to not let her diagnosis interfere with all the happy moments. I thought about that and she was right, we needed to just forget the sadness and enjoy the moment what ever it was. That was the beginning of our "wonderful year." We took every opportunity we could to just be together. We found excuses to celebrate---often even when there seemed to be none. MaeLynn wanted to celebrate the entire year while she felt good, and so we had her 30th birthday two months early in January. We have had extra Valentines, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, and Thanksgiving celebrations just for her. When the real holiday arrived we had a "real bonus" and celebrated yet again.
Looking back now on a year full of celebrations we have all noticed the same thing. We have learned to focus on enjoying every day no matter what it was. We have learned the value of love, and expressing that love to each other. We have learned to not look backwards on missed opportunities, but to always look ahead for the next happy moment. We gave each other extra hugs. We gave presents that really meant something special. We all learned the value of serving others---together. We even reached out and asked hundreds of our friends to join us in some of our celebrations. Through it all we laughed, cried, held hands, hugged, sweated, froze, and prayed. This Christmas we all know that the gift that means the most is the gift of family.
There have been hundreds of people who have given us their time and love this year. We have been the recipients of countless acts of kindness and service. We can't begin to thank the many volunteers who have been there to help us at every turn. We have had a truly wonderful year, and the lessons MaeLynn has taught us will forever be in our hearts. Christmas is not about the gifts, but rather in the giving. Our prayer for all of you is that you too have felt some of these yourselves, and that each of you will also have a most wonderful year in 2011.
Note:(Our daughter-in-law MaeLynn Harris was diagnosed with terminal neuro-endocrine cancer 18 months ago and has outlived the doctor's prognosis now by over six months. We are planning on celebrating another Christmas together with her this year.)

Lee Harris Family, North Logan