Update on Kori

This morning I read an encouraging update about my friend Kori who, as many of you know, is awaiting a heart transplant in Salt Lake City. I covet your continued prayers for her and her family! ~Resa

Dec. 9 (6:45 p.m. Mountain time)

Posted 14 hours ago

This is Kori's dad. I arrived yesterday in a snow storm. Kori and Brenda met me at the airport. Kori and I went directly to her physical therapy appointment and Brenda stayed at the airport to catch her flight to Denver.

Kori very much enjoyed having Brenda here. See cleaned everything throughly and even prepared food and froze it. She must have known that I know nothing about cooking and was concerned about Kori's well being with me in charge of food service. That was very thoughtful of her; and accurate.

Kori and I had a full day today. T-Ann, one of the Lvad coordinators, had Kori visit with a 13 year old boy who has very severe congestive heart failure and has had an Lvad device implanted. He was feeling pretty low. We went on a tour of the medical air transport facility and even went outside, with the young man in a wheelchair. I think Kori improved his outlook. Alot of the people in surgical ICU that worked with Kori were amazed at how well she is doing and how good she looked. I can see a great improvement in her vision and mobility since the last time I saw her. We were in a room with a technician and 3 Doctors while Kori was having an echocardiogram and Erin, the other Lvad coordinator, came in. Kori said to her, "You got a haircut, I really like it." The Doctors were amazed that she could see that.

After the echocardiogram, the three Doctors met in private and then Dr. Selzman (Kori's cardiac surgeon) spoke with Kori and me. He said they are excited about how much her heart has improved. The damaged area is now scar tissue, but the remainder of her heart is "squeezing" very strongly. Next month, they will re-admit her to the hospital and see if her heart can function without the Lvad. Dr. Selzman said he didn't want to get our hopes up, but that this was worth exploring. If it turns out to be a 50-50 proposition, they will still recommend a transplant. They don't want to do this unless they feel there is an 80-90% chance of success. They will try to repair the damaged area and let her heart take over. Even if this is successful, he said she might only get 2-5 years out of her heart, but that would still be a benefit. If the Lvad is successfully removed, it should also help her antibody count. Do miracles really happen?

She's Reading!

My Elena girl is reading! Only just over three months in to our "official" start of homeschooling (I like to say we've been doing it since day one almost 6 years ago, but I digress), and we get to experience the joy of watching all those letters and words come to life for her! She may frown and say she doesn't like school, but she's very excited and proud of herself...and always wants to do handwriting first (so I save it for last). You Go Elena!

Baby Bellies

This is the first time Jodi and I have been expecting at the same time...so we can always be genuinely empathetic to each other as we share the trials of being pregnant & still being "on" as mommies to our other munchkins. Though, I have to admit, I think I have it easier than her since they are remodeling their house, potty-training Stella and she's due in only 6 weeks (isn't that right?).

So here's our cheesy baby belly picture taken at Thanksgiving. These babes will hopefully be great friends like our other kids are. I'm hoping we both have boys...but just one day around Kai and Jo is hoping she has another girl! (He has that affect on expectant mothers for some reason!)


As for our husbands...well, we just don't know what to say...

Top 10...

My Top 10 Pros & Cons to Pregnancy

PROS
10. People do stuff for me now
9. Front row parking at HyVee
8. Now people say I'm "so cute" (not sure if that's a PRO or CON)
7. Napping feels wonderful!
6. Rarely having to shave my legs...my hair just stops growing!
5. Feeling the new baby kick (courtesy of Elena)
4. Her can't ice skate (courtesy of Kai)
3. Picking out cute baby clothes
2. I can eat whatever I want, like I didn't before
1. Bigger Boobs!

Okay, that's what I get for leaving my blog window open. Those were mostly written by my dear husband. Though I was going to say that my girls are back!..just not for number one. My true number one is feeling the new little life flutter then kick & punch around.

CONS
10. 1st Trimester Nausea
9. Support hose everyday
8. No Riesling when dining out
7. Lack of comfort sleeping
6. Bloody noses, a lot
5. Body aches & pains...and only Tylenol to kick them
4. Feeling Frumpy (unlike "feeling groovy")
3. Just not being able to do so much
2. My legs look like someone beat them with a baseball bat--varicose veins strike again
1. Quack, quack, waddle, waddle (will I ever walk normally again?)

Baby Mayla!

Baby Mayla Leigh! She is our newest niece...bringing the total to 6 nieces, 1 nephew and one surprise due in January!

Holiday Cakes!

Some Thanksgiving turkey anyone?

I had been wanting to make this cake for a couple of years...it was one of the first cool things I saw on the cake site I like to frequent, CakeCentral. The directions were great and it turned out even better than I imagined! How fun is that? I don't know if I'll ever roast a real Tom again, might just stick to this version.


These gift package cakes were for a corporate holiday party down on the Plaza. A friend of mine from High School, Erin, planned the catering and thought of me. I was so pleased with how they turned out...and how great to get back in touch with an old friend!


This shot is just without the flash, you can't see the shimmer on the gumpaste bows quite as well, but I like it better. Oh, these are the yummy flavors...chocolate with whipped chocolate ganache filling & chocolate fudge frosting; classic white with lemon filling & buttercream; almond cream cheese with buttercream. Delish!

Hippopotamus Butt!

We don't have tons of trees in our yard, therefore, leaves are something my kiddos wait around for with great anticipation come fall. When our big maple finally drops (Starr, if your reading this, it's the one we dug up in TN & planted when we moved here...already big enough for a swing and climbing!) the kids go to town making piles and having fun!

Elena is so ticklish that getting buried in leaves makes for a giggle-fest!


Kai, on the other hand, quietly lies in wait as the self-proclaimed "leaf monster"...ready for ambush!


Arrrrrgggggrrrraaaa! The leaf monster awakes! Watch out!


Both kiddos love to climb up in the tree...at this point they still need a little help getting up there though (probably a good thing!) Now, here's the hippo butt part of my little story...have you ever tried to get these two to both smile without making silly, goofy faces or just dead-panning the camera? Well, it's a trick. So this day, I decided to try getting them to giggle and said "Say Hippopotamus Butt!" and it worked! Now, every time someone is grouchy or sad (usually Elena), Kai pipes in with a cheerful "This will make you feel better 'hippopotamus butt'! Giggle, giggle, giggle". They are just loveable!

Piles of People!

What a blessing to have a large family! We have bunches of people to love on both Eric & I's sides. With the holiday season beginning, we probably both see them more AND have our camera out more often....so here you go...Piles of People from our life!


On Thanksgiving Eve, we treated our kiddos to ice cream sundaes for dessert. Who want's whipped cream?

While the "big kids" were out on the first-ever Turkey Day Scavenger Hunt around town (much fun!), I made pumpkin-pie scented play-doh for the little kids. Later on though, guess who played with it more? (L to R: Nate's nose, Brad, Eric, Mark, Bo)


Being a teenager is tough, but you have to admit that my sister Paige is just slightly loved by her neices and nephew!


Naomi & Elena in a rare pose sans funny faces!


Grandpa Mark reads stories the BEST!


Another stack of cousins at Grandma Charla & Grandpa Mark's house: Zaritha, Kai, Will being held by Chrissy, Elena, Lily & Eric.


This is most of our family on Eric's side. We were celebrating Eric's aunt & uncle's 30th wedding anniversary. (Chrissy & Will, Cheri & Chuck, Elena, me, Kai & Eric)


Eric's mom's family: Chuck & Cheri, Mitzi & Pat, Nancy & Vaughn (their anniversary), Bill, Grandma Jean, & Brenda (she's with Bill). Cheri has one more brother, Jimmy, but he wasn't there.

Update Day!

This morning is blogger update time...so I'll be posting a bunch of stuff...some old & some new!