"Son Donates Kidney to Dad"

Doesn't that just give you chills to even read?  

So many of you have wondered how my dad and brother are doing that I thought I would post a little blurb on the latest...

Yesterday Dec. 30 was the day of the surgery. It really happened this time!

It was a long day for everyone.  My brother and my dad had to be at the hospital at 9:00 a.m. They took Matt back at 11:00 and got him started.  Me, my sister Sonnet, and my brother Ryan headed over to the hospital around 11:30 and were able to see my dad right before they took him back.  He really was in good spirits and didn't seem nervous at all! All he could talk about was how cute his doctor was! (That's just my dad!) So, we all spent the day in the waiting room with my mom and Matt's wife Angie.  There were lots of laughs, and tears while we were waiting.  I'm just glad we could be there with them to pass the time.  My brother Rhett joined us later, and my brother Mike couldn't come until the next day because of work.  The doctors were great about keeping us updated on their conditions.  As soon as we heard that Matt's kidney was out and they were putting it in my dad... we were all just like "WOW this is really happening!  The surgery for Matt took a little bit longer than expected.  He had 2 arteries connected on each end of the kidney (most people only have 1) that made it harder to remove.  We were all anxious during this time to hear how he was doing. Matt's doctor came out and told us he was done and was doing fine, and that he would be in the recovery room for a couple of hours before we could see him.  By 5:30 my dad's doctor came out and said they were DONE and that my dad was doing great, and that we would be able to see him in about an hour.  We decided to leave the hospital for a change of scenery and went to Mimi's Cafe for dinner.  We went back to the hospital and were able to see Matt, but were still waiting on my dad.  We went in his room and visited for a bit, but he was still really sleepy from the anesthesia.  He was able to talk but couldn't keep his eyes open.  It wasn't until this time that I realized what a sacrifice this was for my brother to give his kidney to my dad.  I didn't realize how hard it was going to be on him.  The recovery time for the donor is a lot longer than for the recipient. Once my brother decided to donate his kidney, he never looked back.  Not even after all the tests they had to run on him to make sure he was a match.  I respect him for this decision he made to help prolong my dads life.  

My dad didn't get out of recovery until about 9:30.  He was having a hard time breathing and his blood pressure and oxygen levels were low.  They had to get him to where he was stable before they would let him come up to his room.  The nurse had called and talked to my mom, so we were all anxiously waiting for him to arrive.  They both just kept wanting ice chips, and you couldn't give them fast enough! We were relieved that they were both in their rooms and were through the initial part.  We left the hospital about 11 and called it a night, hoping they could both get some rest!

What a miracle! They are both doing really well today. I just got back from the hospital tonight from seeing them and they are both up and WALKING already! The new kidney in my dad is working wonderful, it is just amazing!  I don't have any pictures, because my brother requested that no pictures would be taken of him!  Oh well, it is the memories that we will have to remember right! 

 This is truly a Christmas we will never forget! It has been so great having the family all together, and spending time together.  That is what it is all about!  We have truly seen the greatest "gift" ever!

Thank you for showing your concern, and pray for a quick recovery for both of them! :o)

I Love You All!!!

Yesterday when I went to the mailbox, I didn't have ONE christmas card! It was the first day in a couple of weeks, that I hadn't gotten at least one!  I was a little sad, but today made up for it!  We were leaving to run some errands today, and I realized I hadn't gotten the mail yet, so as I was pulling out of the driveway I decided to "drive" by my mailbox.  Hence the big snowstorm we had yesterday I wasn't thinking about the big snowbanks on the sides of the roads... we got 12 in. in one day! My kids were in heaven, they were outside playing in it all morning, until I made them come in and get ready for our family party we had that night.  So, I drove up to the mailbox, just like I always do, but didn't even make it that far! I totally got stuck right in front of our house! I felt like an idiot!  After spinning my tires for 15 min. and flipping snow everywhere and getting NOWHERE, my neighbor had to come and TOW me out with his truck!  Yes, I said TOW! He and Zach tried pushing a few times, and he could see I wasn't going anywhere, so he said he would go get his tow rope and be right over! I felt so stupid, but I was so glad he was there to help us!  Would've been a funny picture but...

So, when I finally got my mail (which Zach had to climb through the snowbank to get) and brought it to me, I got 15 Christmas cards today! I was so happy, it was so fun to hear from you all! Me and the kids had so much fun looking at all the pictures, and reading about your lives! So, I had to take a picture of all the envelopes cuz I am a dork!  Thank you for making my day!

Merry Christmas!

7 things I love about my 7 year old!

Today my little girl turned 7! Zach and I went into her room to wake her up and sang Happy Birthday to her! I had blown up balloons last night and put them all over her floor, but after she woke up and saw them Zach decided it would be fun to cover her with them in her bed!
We had church at 9:00 so there was no time for Brinley's favorite birthday breakfast before, so we had it when we got home! They sang to her in Primary and she loved that it was her birthday today! She had waited to open her presents until after church so she would have more time.  Zach could have never done this, you would think it is Christmas morning the day of his birthday, and he is up at 6 ready to open his presents! He has been this way since he was little!

Brinley even let me take pictures of her in her new dress that my mom gave her for her birthday before we opened presents!  She was so cute and thankful after every present she opened she would come over and give Morgan or I a hug and say "thank you".

My kids favorite thing for breakfast is Puff pancakes, and they always choose this, whenever I give them a choice... especially for birthdays!  

Brinley also decided it would be fun to make homemade pizzas for dinner, so at her request I got out my BOSCH and made some pizza dough! I have decided that this is alot of work, and that's why I don't do it very often! But it is so yummy, and if I would do it more, then it wouldn't be such a chore! I felt like I spent all afternoon in the kitchen! So, while the  dough was rising I read Brinley her new books she got for her birthday.  I got her the American Girl Kit series of books, and I loved them just as much as she did! We snuggled on the couch for a good hour and read, it was so fun! 

I talked her into letting me make her a cake this year! She wanted a Littlest Pet Shop cake, so I told her I would buy her the little figurines to put on top, and she was happy! She is my chocolate girl, so we did a chocolate cake with the yummy chocolate frosting recipe that is on the Hershey's cocoa box.  It turned out cute, and was way easy!

My sister came over this afternoon and brought Brinley a scrapbook kit for her birthday, Needless to say she had never done it before because I haven't scrap booked for so long! She loved it! I got out some pictures I had developed and she used some of them, and did about 3 pages by herself! No one even showed her what to do! It was so cute, she was so into it!

After cake and ice cream, and singing Happy Birthday for the 10th time today ( I think we sang to her all day long) we watched Home Alone with the kids! They were laughing their heads off! They had never seen it before, and it had been awhile since I had seen it, it was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid!  

It was a fun day! Thanks for letting us spend the day with you sissy we love you! 

Here are a few more pictures from the day..
I loved this picture of Zach and Brinley!
My sister with the kiddos! And Boston picking his nose! ha ha!
Brinley with her cake!
Zach, Brinley, and Boston

Brinley in her new birthday dress! Thanks Grandma Udy!

7 things I love about my 7 year old!

1. She is beautiful!

2. She is a friend to everybody!

3. She is a good sister to her two brothers!

4. She is goofy (especially when it is time for bed!)

5. She loves school!

6. She likes to clean!

7. She is my princess, and she makes me smile!

I love you Brin! Happy Birthday sis!

Let the Celebration begin!!!

So, Brinley decided last night that we were going to start celebrating her birthday this morning instead of on her real birthday because it is on a Sunday! Pretty smart girl, she knows that she can get 2 days of fun and celebrate all weekend long! :o)

We started by waking up this morning (bright and early) I swear my kids can never wake up for school, but for some reason on the weekend they wake up at 7:30 just fine!  Morgan had to work this morning, so my sister and I took the kids to McDonalds for breakfast and took them to go see BOLT! We had already seen it, but my sister hadn't, so we willingly went and saw it again! SUPER cute movie!  When we came out of the movie at noon there was a blizzard outside! It had been snowing the whole time we were inside the nice warm theatre (yeah right, when is the last time you sat in a WARM theatre?) And it was dang cold outside, the wind was blowing like crazy!  My sister needed to finish her Christmas shopping, so we went our seperate ways.  My friend Jessica and her family were supposed to be moving into their new house this weekend, and since it was snowing, we thought we would stop by and see if they were still going to be able to move their stuff over.  Sure enough, they were moving! I think Jess is so ready to get in her house, she was moving, SNOW or not!  So, the kids ran around while I helped her clean for a bit until Morgan got off work.  Brinley had decided she wanted to go to Jump on It! So, we took the kids this afternoon, and had a blast! I jumped with them the whole time, and man did I get my workout in! I don't think it even phases the kids, but after an hour I was ready to quit!  Then we went to Brinley's favorite place to eat... Tepanaki.  So, yummy! I don't know what she likes better, the food or the entertainment! She has been counting down the days to her birthday just for her special yummy dinner here! They sang Happy Birthday to her, and brought her out some ice cream with chocolate and whip cream, her favorite! She was grinning from ear to ear the whole time! Of course I didn't have my camera with me, so I don't have any pictures from today, but I have the memories, and that's all that matters right?

She wasn't very excited that her birthday was on a Sunday, I think just knowing that we couldn't go out and do anything on that day.  But I think she will enjoy getting to be home, and hey they will get to sing to her in Primary!

I just got done blowing up balloons to put in her room, and wrapping presents, and I am very tired... so I will post some pictures from tomorrow for sure!  I can't believe my little girl is turning 7!

Getting the mail has never been so fun!

K, I feel like a slacker, I haven't even taken the time to blog since Thanksgiving! And here we are almost 2 weeks from Christmas!  I LOVE this time of year! Every day this week I have literally ran to my mailbox to see who is going to send us a Christmas card next! I have gotten at least 2 or 3 every day, so please don't let me down! Keep 'em comin! :o)  It is so much fun to hear from everyone! I didn't get our Christmas stuff out before we left for Arizona for Thanksgiving, so the day after we got home, I made many trips up and down the stairs bringing all my Christmas stuff up! I've decided it is alot of work!  The kids and I put the tree together, well it was mostly Zach! I think he could have put the whole thing together himself!  I will have to add some pictures from Thanksgiving later.  We had a great time!  I was so set on getting my cards out that I opted not to do a letter this year! I have done one ever since I can remember, but I had to let it slide this time! And anyway, with my blog I feel like I have been catching you all up on what has been happening in our lives!

Brinley's birthday is on Sunday, I can't believe my little girl is going to be 7!  I will for sure do a post for that!  Happy hustle and bustle to ya'll!