Sunday, July 31, 2011

Something Is Wrong With These Pictures...

This has been my view of George and Lorie's home.
Though I am not one of those neighbors who is over all the time or calls ever day.
I always knew they were around and they were o.k. with me being this type of a neighbor.
This week  in the middle of my bout with the flu and being down in bed or at the hospital
something terrible sad happen. I knew that it was coming but not like this. 
What is wrong with this picture? Their big black lab isn't laying under the tree.
and it's Sunday morning...most Sunday mornings you could hear George's lawn mower
cruising around the yard. George's yard always looks so well groomed.

The river is like glass...where is Lorie? She is usually enjoying the view with her fishing pole in hand.
Over the years we have had several different neighbors, each bringing something different to the lane.
But, George and Lorie they brought a glow to our lane. They shared an unconditional love with everyone. They both have a great love of God and it was evident in all they did.
A couple of months ago a "FOR SALE" sign was on their dock...But, it was gone about a week later.
 My thought was it must have floated down the river and they just set it there until someone claimed it.
A week or so later Kirk came home and said, "George and Lorie sold their home". I just looked at him thinking yea...what ever...they love this home.
It wasn't until the 4th of July that I asked about Kirk's silly comment.
Yes, it had sold and they would be gone by the end of the month...
and here we are...
without the most amazing neighbors anyone could ask for.
So, you who live across the country who now have them as neighbors
you LUCK, LUCKY PEOPLE!
But,
I never got to say good-bye...
maybe it's the easiest way...
but, boy I miss that feeling of knowing they are right there.
Miss you.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Happy Birthday Dad

 Today my dad is 70 years old.

picture is aprox 8 yrs old

Happy Birthday!
I do love you.

Not MIA just

For the past couple of weeks I have been fighting a serious sinus infection...
and then to top it off I now have the flu.

Hopefully I have learned that as a transplant recipient "a LITTLE sick" is a LOT sick for me.
I have never been one to just run to the doctor...that is something I will have to get over.
I promise as soon as I feel up to setting very long I will be back to blogging...

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Happy Anniversary, to the amazing man in my life

 30 years ago
 Kirk and I stood in front of Bishop L. Hinckley, at my home in Spokane, Washington.
It  may not have been
 in the "right place" or
 the right time ( do NOT plan your wedding or reception the same night as a BIG ball game)
BUT IT
most certainly was the right person.
Kirk planned a stunning honeymoon in Glacier National Park and Waterton Park in Alberta, Canada. 
Our first night we stayed in a one room cabin with a HUGE feather bed, a sink and a shower.
the views were beyond amazing.

I still can not believe I took this picture with a Polaroid Instant Camera.

While in Canada we went on a moon light cruise
 that took us across the US and Canada borders and around the Upper Waterton Lake.


US/Canadian Border is in the middle of this valley.

10 years later 
we went back to where we had gone on our honeymoon.
This time with a little more money in our bank accounts we stayed in some of the castles that are in
Glacier National Park and in Waterton Park, Canada.
We stayed at Glacier Park Lodge
There are no words to describe the lobby to this hotel.
The pillars are trees that are so large I could not began to reach my arms around.
It makes me sad that the pictures of this trip I have not been able to find for years.

We stayed in the Prince of Wales Hotel
what a beautiful hotel.
Kirk and I stayed in a tiny (maids quarter) but we had an amazing view of the forest and lake.
We woke to a beautiful morning  fog lifting ...AMAZING...
for our
20th Anniversary
We went on a cruise with our family.
The food was amazing, true...
I learned a very important thing: I am not a cruise person.
BUT, two of my favorite parts were being with my family
and "there's the boat"...
See the bridge in the background of this pic? It is still the best laugh that we as a family share...
We crossed the bridge several times before we could get on to the road that would take us to the dock of the cruise ship.
Maybe  someday we will try another cruise.
On this cruise we also went with  Josh's demo team, I am glad we did not miss it and the kids LOVED it.
I can guaranteed if I ever do go on another cruise it will not be a baja Mexico cruise
 EVER..can't say that one enough.


I bet you can not wait to hear where we spent our
30th Anniversary
You will notice that there are not any pictures...
It is because I spent the past 2 days in bed!
And are you ready to hear where that was...
.......DRUM ROLL.......
part of it at home and the other part
in the E.R with a 102+* temp.
They ran a HIGH POWERED anti-biotic through my IV,
 tons of  fluids, due to extreme dehydration, and let me go home with another anti-biotic for
 a sever sinus infection.
I must be doing a little better because I have been able to stay awake long enough to do this blog,
and my fever has broke. (my heart blood work test came back great)
My heart hurts for poor Kirk.
He had a wonderful Southern Idaho road trip planned. 
Taking the back roads and seeing sight that I have wanted to see for 30 years.

Hopefully, I can make it up to him at the 40th.
Happy Anniversary Sweetheart,
and YES I would do it all again.

thanks to google images for several of my pics

Friday, July 15, 2011

This Is JULIE...and she IS AMAZING

The Chief Inmate
stolen from Hessesmadhouse

Julie is one of my blogging buddies. She has been invited to go to Japan to help with the tsunami clean-up that is still in progress. I think she is pretty amazing. One of her first thoughts was, how do I come up with the money for a plane ticket and all the costs of this type of a trip?
How easy would it have been to just ASK people to GIVE her the money,  I mean it is for a good cause right?
But, this just goes to show what kind of women Julie is...she has started putting a cookbook together and all the proceeds go to the expenses of her trip.
I love it! Talk about being a giver and not a taker.
If you would like to order one of her cookbooks go to her blog she has a pay pal account set up just for this.

Besides, who doesn't love a good cookbook?

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Thank You and the Winner Is:

Thank you for each of you who commented on my Blogoversary post.
Those of you who posted please
email me your address

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Happy BLOGoversary!!!

It all started HERE
I can not believe I have been Blogging for 4 years!
So, I believe I need to have a giveaway.
I am not one of those cool bloggers who have tons of sponsor's who donate all kinds of things to give a way,
but I do have a creative mind (when it is working)
and I am quite sure I can think of something to send :o)
So, tell me your favorite post on
One Moment At A Time
the winner will be named July 14, 2011.
I am so excited....

Letter To My Donor's Family


I could hardly wait for the day when I could write my donor's family and hopefully find a way to express my gratitude to them. It took me about 2 weeks to finally get the words on paper to say a little about how I felt...
I have debated sharing it here, but this where I keep important things that are happening in my life...and writing this letter was very important.
I then had to send my copy of the letter to my transplant social worker, who had to approve it (notice no last names, state names...ect...there are LOTS of rules to writing this letter) and then forward it to the Intermountain Transplant Coordinator who also has to approve the letter. It then goes to the donor's transplant coordinator and then is mailed to the donor family...WHEW...just to say thanks.
My donor's family has the choice if I get to know anything about my hero.
being the control freak I am, this has been very difficult for me, because of yet, I have not heard from them.

Yesterday, while I was in Utah for my latest heart biopsy, I was setting and visiting with my brother, Ro...
He asked if I had heard anything about my donor and I told him, "No, and it is starting to drive me crazy".
He just looked at me and said, "Maybe you are not suppose to know, and you shouldn't worry about it any more".
Just matter of  fact like...
I was just walking back to my car to start my 3 hour drive home and at that moment I thought,  He is right...it shouldn't matter, the fact is that a family somewhere has read my letter and they know that their loved one's heart is beating strong and that may be enough for them to move forward.
My selfish thoughts of who was this person should not be a weight but a peace that they have shared a part of themselves with me...without knowing ANYTHING about me.
Life is good and I am grateful.
If you want to read my 3 page letter here it is..

 
May 14, 2011
To my hero’s family and friends,
I have anticipated writing this letter for the past year and all the things I wanted to say to you, and now that I can, I cannot find the words to express my gratitude to you and the feelings I have for my donor and their family.  How do you say thank you enough? How do you say I am sorry for your loss? How do you say you are always on my mind? How do you say your loved one is my hero?
There are so many things I would love to know about my donor. If they were a boy or girl, how old they were, what they liked to do, even what happen that I now am the benefactor of their heart?  These are thoughts that I have had each day for the past year.  There are so many things I want to tell you about the past 6 years but more importantly this last year.
My name is Janiece, I am a 49 year old, daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother and friend.  I enjoy being with my family, cooking, baking, taking pictures, researching history and gardening. I love being around water, be it a quiet lake or a rushing river and I believe in miracles.
I had a heart attack in April of 2005. It was caused by blood clots in my heart that caused extensive damage. It was a short time later that I was referred to the cardiology team that I see now and that manage all of my transplant visits.
Towards the end of 2009 I knew that my heart was “getting tired”.  I no longer had the energy to even do the simplest of things such as grocery shopping, taking care of my home, going out with friends or even taking a shower.
In February 2010, I was told that I would need to be added to the heart transplant list. Because of where I live this would mean that I would have to relocate closer to my cardiology/transplant team. I have a wonderful extended family and left my home and husband to live with my brother and his family in another state. As you can imagine this was a difficult choice to make, but after many long talks with my husband, children and my extended family we all knew that even as difficult as it was I would someday get to come back home.
On May 13, 2010 around 7:00pm, I received the phone call we had been waiting for. As I listened to the voice on the phone, I could only just stand there with the phone to my ear as I heard, “Janiece, do you understand what I said to you? “We have a heart for you”.  My daughter and her husband had just arrived from Argentina two weeks before to be closer to me; she quickly called my husband and sons and told them to start the drive to us. As I packed my bags and started to get ready to leave for the hospital the most unbelievable feeling came across me, here we were all excited with tears running down our faces, and I could not stop thinking of you… undoubtedly having tears running down your faces too, but not with the feelings we were having. I said a quiet prayer for you for comfort and of gratitude for the choice you had made.
 My husband and sons arrived about 3 hours later. We had a nice visit but because my heart rate had become very erratic they kept me somewhat sedated.
On May 14, 2010, I receive my hero’s heart. I do not remember going into surgery.
Waking up from receiving this amazing heart the thing I remember most was that it “ROCKED” my body. Really, it was beating so strong that I was rocking in the bed to its beat! When the transplant team came into visit after I was awake they said, “It was a perfect fit”. I was in surgery for only 4 hours and 45 minutes. My recovery went really well. On May 18, 2010 I walked 2 miles around the ICCU!!  I couldn’t believe it, only a week before I could barely walk around the house. The other thing that I noticed was the color I had in my face and lips. I joked that I was going to have to buy a different foundation because I would look like I had a clown face.
I was released from the hospital 10 days after the transplant. I went back to my brother’s home for another month to recover and become stronger.
On June 21, 2010 I became a grandma. My son, Josh and his wife Ali had a baby girl. I couldn’t believe that I was a grandma, and that I would get to live to see her grow up.
The first part of July I was able to rent an apartment where my daughter and son in law stayed with me. This gave me the independence to take care of myself and it felt good to know that I could. I loved being out and doing things. We went on hikes, shopped all the things that I had not done for such a long time.
In September I was able to move home. Oh how I had missed my husband, family, friends and home. I could not take it in enough.  I would love on my little granddaughter and tell her about my amazing heart and because of someone very special I would get to play with her all the time. At this time our youngest son, Derek moved back home from Arizona. When we visited about him leaving his job and things there and what were his thoughts, he just said, “Mom, I just want to be closer to you and the family right now.” I will admit I was excited to have my children close by again.
As each holiday came around I thought of you. I talk to my heart a lot. I would ask, “So what do you like to do for the holidays? I hope you like turkey because we will be eating turkey. Hey, we are going to the mountains to get a Christmas tree, It will be lots of fun and a good work out for both of us! New Year’s Eve…was really a night of refection for me…almost melancholy with such gratitude for the past year.
February 9, 2011 my 2nd granddaughter arrived to my daughter Kira and her husband, Sergio. Again, my heart was full to know I would get to watch this sweet baby grow up.
A year later, and we are doing really well. I make trips a couple of times a month to the transplant team for appointments and biopsy’s. My rejection levels have been good.  I love the days that they do the echo of this amazing heart. When I used to watch the echoes of my old heart I would wonder if it would even be able to make a full beat it was so slow (yes that was with the pacemaker helping it!) But, I can’t stop smiling as this heart just beats all over the place. It is strong and I love watching it.
Plans for the summer, yes I have plans. My son Josh will receive the title of Master in Taekwondo which I will be able to travel with my family to see him receive. I watch and play with my oldest granddaughter during the week and marvel at all she has learned in one year. My daughter Kira, her husband and baby have moved back to the states. I enjoy snuggle on their sweet little girl every day. My youngest, Derek stayed home went back to school.  My husband and I are happy and loving being together; we now talk of the future, what we want to plant in our garden and where we would like to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary this year.
I know none of this would be possible without the sacrifice that your family has had to go through. Again, I am not very good at writing my feelings, but I hope you can feel my gratitude and love for this remarkable gift.  I promise that I am going to live my life to the fullest that there will never be a question if I took for granite the opportunity to have my hero’s amazing heart.
With Sincere Gratitude,
Janiece


Monday, July 11, 2011

Hanging Out In Seattle

After Josh had received his "Master's" title at the tournament Kirk, Kira, Sergio and Miss H and I took a drive back into Seattle to see some of the sights we had missed the day before.
Like the Space Needle....funny it was only about 4 blocks from where we had been the day before,  yet we never looked for it.
A gentleman made a flower bracelet for Kira...Miss H LOVED it ...and was used for much entertainment for the next week. (Thank you Mr. Balloon Man)
We parked the car and road the Monorail to the mall.
Grandpa had so much fun "showing" everything to Miss H.

and let's not forget the view
It was really strange, but Miss C really didn't want much to do with me on this trip
 (couldn't be that she had her momma to love on her and daddy close by)
so she stayed at the tournament with her parents, Derek and  that went with us to Seattle.
I wish this video was turned the correct direction... but this little guy was so entertaining.
Life is good...and I must still be simply entertained...

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Aunt or Tia

My granddaughters are pretty lucky to have 'Lene as their Aunt or Tia.

the most beautiful sister ever

Last week I get a text message asking what size the girl's are.
and a couple of days later these cute outfits arrived in the mail.
I was glad she "couldn't resist"
 because I think they both look so darn cute in the little dresses.
Miss C is growing up and it is so cute...she is getting where she wants to give "loves"
I am so excited to watch these two girls grow up together.
Miss H will see Miss C when she gets here in the morning and her little face just lights up.
and
"C" has been saying "Haz-elle" for at least a month.
I can see two cousins being as close as sisters.
and so darn cute!

4th of July

I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July.
Mine was fantastic!
Our day started with Kirk and ALL the boys being up VERY early 
 putting a turkey, pork roast and beef roast in the fire pit to cook for the day.
Kira, Miss H and I left for Rupert for the parade.
Sergio had to work but the parade route went by where he works so he was able to watch it with us.
I have said it before and I will say it again,
 I LOVE a parade and my favorite part is the color guard.
I love the American Flag, it truly makes me happy.
I like small town parade especially, that you hardly will ever see a hat on a real man,
 or someone without their hand on the heart;
a sign  that they have been taught respect not only for our flag but being an American
 and importantly not afraid of those who might "tease" them.
It was so fun to watch Miss H at her first parade. 
and of coarse she looked so darn cute!
At 4pm the meat came out of the pit
 and the family and friends started showing up with tons of  food.
and we ate and visited and laughed!
even Miss H was enjoying herself..

Josh, Ali and Miss C had been out of town and arrived in time to be with us for the fireworks.
Miss C loved her sparkler.
and could hardly wait for the fireworks to begin.
and when I say fireworks I mean FIREWORKS!
I do not want to know how many dollars went up into the air, but I will say...
THANK YOU MONTE AND KIRK...best show I have seen in FOREVER!are you ready for some of the sites we enjoyed...



One Bad Mother-in-Law
I have to tell you about this firework...As the guys were "staging" the fireworks (yes, they had them in order of how they were going to be lit off...Sergio walks over to me carrying this "Box" he says, " I do not understand what this firework's name means..." with a smirk on his face...HAHAHA....
and my favorite...
STARS AND STRIPES!
how many stripes are on the flag?
An hour or so later...
it was time to clean up and again the fire pit was put to work.
It was a GREAT 4th of July!