Year Three, Reflecting on the Journey

The evening we got engaged, Marty and I stood in the Huntington Beach pier parking lot discussing our future. Marty popped another questiong that night, '' If you want to marry me, you have to realize that I don't want to live in California forever and be willing to move away someday.'' I agreed with trepidation and fear that I would be able to leave my family someday.

We had a journey ahead of us that most will never go through in life. Burying his grandma and dad before we were twenty one. Moving away for the first time to Visalia, Ca with our young son Conner in tow. Starting out with nothing, losing a baby, battling Type 1 diabetes, working hard to make a life for our family. We finally had realized our dream of me staying home and Marty working in law enforcement, life was looking up. Plans were being made for me to go back to school and gain a career in case anything ever happened to Marty, that was just passing conversation, nothing serious.

Then a high blood pressure test at work, followed by a trip to the doctor the next day and a phone call on a Wednesday afternoon that threw our world upside down. End Stage Renal Failure at 31 years old.....in one moment our lives were turned into a dark tunnel. I always liken it to being in a metal air conditioning shaft with no way to turn or move, the only way is to crawl forward looking for a way out.

We were 30 and 31 years old,  Conner was 9 and Elizabeth was 6 yrs old.

We knew immediately that a transplant was the best solution. We started seeing a Nephrologist who mumbled and looked like Santa Claus with a fiery temper. We were misled by the office staff about the kind of transplant he should have. We wanted him to be transplanted in LA but God closed that door and we were turned to Stanford University, the best in the nation. We traveled in  zero visibility fog getting rear ended in a rental car in one of the multi car pileups on the 99 corridor between Kingsburg and LA. We limped our way to Stanford, shell shocked and thinking our lives were over.


A doctor came into the room and asked a simple question, ''Why doesn't he want a kidney/pancreas transplant? he is the perfect candidate for one.'' We explained that we didn't have seven years to wait for that and were informed that we were misled. The wait for kidney pancreas was one year versus seven years for just a kidney. We agreed and waited to be told he was accepted on the list. He was listed October 8, 2007 and the wait began.

There was a hope he would never have to go on dialysis, he still had kidney function left and there was a chance that might happen. Unfortunately it wasn't to be and he started a regimen of dialysis at home every four hours. It was a nightmare experience filled with terrible things we would like to forget. Machines beeping, waking up every four hours sleepless nights, high blood sugars, passing out at work, high blood pressure that scared us, swollen legs. We wondered would our miracle come?

We put our lives on hold. We didn't leave our town for two years unless we made a trip to Stanford. Our house became a prison of sorts for us.

During this time Marty started dreaming. One day while cooking in the kitchen he said, '' I think that if I get better, I want to move to Peachtree City,GA'', that dream kept us going, it gave us something to cling to and dream about in a very dark time.

We kept hearing that people in southern states were waiting short times for organs and the wait list wasn't as long. It seemed like a good choice all around.

Every day after October 8, 2008 was sheer torture. One year turned into two years and two years turned into three years. We spent so much time waiting for our donor, praying for that family, we always sensed it would be a man. In September 2010, Marty was taken off the wait list briefly due to a doctor calling him non compliant because his phosphorus number was high. We thought for one weekend, death was very certain. One day in December 2010, our family laid in our King sized bed and cried together, Marty's toes were black in a place and we thought he wasn't going to make it.

Then a premonition from Elizabeth on December 17, turned into a call from Stanford on December 20th, Marty was next on the list and we were on stand by.

The call came 1/1/11, forever to remain our lucky day. One last night of dialysis, a morning spent trying to lower his insanely high blood sugar.  1/12/11 Marty was wheeled into the O.R. for a nearly twelve hour operation. He came out with a working kidney and pancreas. The months after were tenuous and stressful, thanks to so many people and help from all over, we made it through.

We took a trip to Georgia, started planning to move in 2013. God had other plans, it wasn't meant for us to go to Georgia. That was just a dream to get us through but the dream of moving became reality. We took a chance at a job offer and moved to Knoxville, TN. Our dream finally became reality.

It has been a tough year of transition and growing pains. We have learned some tough lessons but grown all the way through. We have laughed, cried, prayed, grown, and had adventures together. Everyday we think of Jerry, our eighteen year old donor who gave Marty new life and his mother Debbie, who in her time of grief made a difficult choice. Dialysis and insulin are now things of the past and only hope remains. We are grateful for this gift of life and can never tell you enough.

Our year in review: http://flipagram.com/f/J94jNLGGpT#

Register to become an organ donor: www.taylorsgift.org

Thoughtful Throwback Thursday: Long Classroom Day Makes Jules Rambly

Who am I kidding? It doesn't take much for a rambling, wordy blog from me! The past two weeks, I have spent eight hours a day in a classroom. Now I have homeschooled for 11 years but we don't sit for eight hours straight. It has been a challenge for my mind and body, definitely see runs in my future next week.

The new job is going well, definitely can see a long future with this company. Today I met my supervisor, she was talking about how transplant drug calls mean a lot to her. I immediately got the chills, she then said, '' My daughter was an organ donor.'' I knew right then, I am in the right place with the right supervisor. My friend Melani said, ''It seems like it was just meant to be.'' So true, I love the environment and can see a long career ahead there.

Sometimes I have wondered, ''Why do I keep blogging? What is the purpose of this blog? People must be really tired of me talking about my life!?" and ''Where is this thing going?''

My main purpose is to share my struggles and triumphs with others. If I can make a difference in someone else's life then it is worth it. Just wanting to spread joy, positivity, love and be upbeat. Truly wanting to encourage others. For every difficult thing I have shared on this blog, there is so much more to my story of life that many don't know. As open and transparent as I am, there are dark parts of my life that very few know that I don't share. I would rather talk about happy things and bring a little light into this dark world.

My blog for my friend Jim really touched him and his family. I am still getting comments days later and it has really been encouraging to encourage him.

Then today a former member of Candace's website came to me on Facebook. She told me how much she admired me and how I helped her through her first tour of duty in Iraq. I was floored, sitting in the break room at my job crying. My co-worker looked over and said, ''Are you crying?" obviously my co-workers have yet to learn of my teary nature. I had no clue that I had impacted anyone much less a soldier in Iraq. Amazing!

It was so encouraging and reminded me of why I blog and tweet, it made my day and gave me focus to keep going. Also my friend Rebecca told me last week on the phone that I am making a difference and to keep going. So I march forward in my one girl band!

The talk about transplant reminded me, I have been angry with myself for being upset over trivial things recently. I remember what it was like just a few short years ago, I tend to over think everything and recently my over thinking has been out of control! Today reminded me to not go there and stay positive.

As I was sitting pondering ''WHY DO I BLOG EVERYDAY IN NOVEMBER'' yes, I was #CAPSLOCK yelling at myself in my head. Then it hit me, that still, small voice, one I know is greater than mine. '' Go back and read your old blogs. See where you have come from and remember what is good.''

November 6, 2007: "Marty has been accepted for dual transplant and will be listed as soon as one lab comes back! YAY! This is the best news we have had in a long time."

November 6, 2008: "Something that did come to me since I wrote the last post on this subject. Most of last year was filled with many unknowns and stresses. The unknown of dialysis, now that has passed and we know the answer. The unknown of when he would be able to get his heart test done, that has passed and we know the answer. The unknown of when the transplant will happen remains left standing.Above all I know, God is in control and I am not. Worrying gets you know where and no matter what things always work out."

November 6, 2009: "Today marks two years of waiting. Really short in comparison to the family who will live forever without their loved one. Pray not for us but for them. Our wait is short compared to theirs."

November 8, 2010: "Today marks 3 years of waiting. Three years ago today, they told us it would take a year and here we are still waiting. It has been a hard, challenging road, running on pure faith and pressing on toward the goal. Sometimes there aren't many words to be said. Our prayer is that God has used us to minister to others, that he has changed us permanently and that we can use this to help others.

Our prayer is always for the donor and their family. Today I think of them and the time they have left on this earth.

Today we are at UC Davis looking for a second listing. We are hoping this will speed things up, maybe God wants us to move transplant centers? only he knows but he has opened the door for us to come here.

I hope next year on this date we will be celebrating together."


November 6, 2011 " I left my Southern California hometown and headed to my Central California home. No matter how long I am away or how long I have lived here, Whittier will always be my home. Doesn't mean I want to live there just means I love to go visit.

Since September 24th I have seen almost every member of my family. Aunts, Cousins,Nephews, Nieces, Parents,and both siblings. I've only missed seeing one aunt, one uncle, one cousin and two nephews. That really blows my mind. In fact, I have seen one entire side of the family and all of those cousins!

I praise God for his faithfullness. He answered prayers about my Dad's health and did it at the perfect time. I could leave Marty, I was missing home and now Dad is on the right track to wellness."

By that post, Marty was well again. He had been transplanted on 1/12/11, our life was back on track and I could travel again. My Dad was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure and I was able to go care for him.

The point of this exercise was to remind me, look where you've come from and keep blogging everyday in November. Good reminder to self, life could always be so much worse!

PS Life is good! I love my new job and cannot wait to start my new schedule.

Donate Life Day 2013: A Tale of Two Families

September 23,2010 A family in California is in the midst of a dark valley waiting for a much needed kidney/pancreas transplant for their father and husband. In Texas, another family is in the darkest journey of all, struggling through grief after the loss of a child.

That afternoon, while I was on Facebook, a link to a video was shared with me, I watched it and sat weeping. The Storch family from Texas meeting the recipient of their daughter Taylor's heart. In March they had donated their 13 year old daughter's organs after her death in a skiing accident. I anxiously awaited Marty's return home from work to watch the video together.

I will never forget sitting on our couch that afternoon, watching the video together and weeping. This family had lost their child and yet given a tremendous gift to others at the same time. It brought home the price that would be paid for Marty to live a new life. Our son Conner was almost 13 at the time, the same age that Taylor was when she died. It was just too close to home. During this time, Marty had been recently re-listed on the transplant after huge misunderstanding with doctors and we knew his time was coming near. It brought reality, so close to home. Four months later, Marty received a life saving Kidney/Pancreas transplant.

We found out her parents had started an organization to raise awareness for the need of registered donors. I started sharing their posts on social media as often as possible. Who does that? Lose a child, donate and give life and then starting a foundation? Todd and Tara Storch, that's who. These amazing people in the midst of dark grief gave so much. It inspired us with hope, they became our donor family in a way, donor's of hope. We don't know them but we feel such a kinship with them.



This week, I picked up the new book written by Todd and Tara sharing intimately their journey with losing Taylor, organ donation and the donor's stories themselves

I started reading yesterday afternoon after Marty and I came home from a Nephrologist appointment at the University of Tennessee. We were there to check on his new kidney and make sure everything is as it should be. We got a great report and that always makes me think of Jerry, his mom and the Storch family. Where would our family be without organ donation?

The second chapter of the book is a look into the life of the recipient of Taylor's Kidney and Pancreas. The chapter gave me the chills. It was an honest look into life before transplant of a Type 1 diabetic. If you ever want to know all of the things I've never shared, read this book. It shares in detail many scary experiences that Marty and I ourselves lived with low blood sugars and other things. I couldn't have written it better myself.

I couldn't put down this book and stayed up until 2:30 in the morning reading it. Our stories are so tightly interwoven in the dates. During the time they were grieving their daughter, we were in the darkest time of our lives. So many of the dates mentioned in the book that they were struggling, our family was struggling as well in a very different way. Something that really hit home, this is the journey of donor and recipient  We trade places in suffering. 

The pain of losing a loved one is forever, while the pain of waiting for transplant is temporary. Thankfully our family always had a good perspective on this. The minute we were told our donor was only 18 years old, the wait meant nothing to us. Our donor died in a horrible way but in his very last act on earth, he was a hero to a family of four.

We are so thankful for people like Todd and Tara. Our family tries to give back by supporting their foundation in any way we can. Today is Donate Life day but it also is Taylor's birthday, she would've been 17 years old today. Instead of wearing the traditional blue and green today, our family has chosen to wear Taylor blue in her honor.

Elizabeth, Marty ( Kidney/Pancreas recipient), Julie and Conner with love to the Storch family

Her life has impacted our lives in a huge way, we never knew her in life but in death she has given our family so much hope. Reading the book and hearing about her personality, she was very much like Conner and I as a person. She was the friend to the friendless, lover of the underdog and champion of the unseen. In her death, she has really changed so many lives and will continue changing lives as the years go on.

Please go out and buy Taylor's Gift the book, register to be a donor on the foundation's website: www.taylorsgift.org, buy a Taylor's gift shirt ( I love mine, you can see it on my Twitter avi and I also make a guest appearance wearing it on the Taylor's Gift site as well) or donate to the cause!

Thank you to everyone who has registered to be a donor, to the family's who've donated and never heard from the recipients, we thank you. To the families who've made the selfless choice to donate, thank you. Thank you Storch family for making a difference and helping to promote organ donation. To Debbie, our hero mom, we thank God for you and Jerry every single day.

A/N as you know, I am a Twitter/cycling Junkie. When I started my cycling twitter, I just so happened to become tweeps with Jonathan Finger one of the recipients of Taylor's kidneys.

Year Two: Embracing Life While Dreaming of the Future

One year ago today, we traveled to Stanford for our normal monthly appointment. We celebrated one year with the doctors who saved Marty's life. We called our transplant social worker and handed her a letter for our donor family. We always knew that someday we would know our donor though we knew it was a longshot the family would reply.

Just over a month and half later, we spoke to our donor's mother Debbie on the phone for the first time. What a long emotional conversation that brought such peace and completion. We no longer have wondered who our donor was? We know his name was Jerry and he was 18 years old for 24 days. His final act in life was that of hero, he saved this family of four and showed thousands that miracles do happen.

Bolstered with those facts, this last year has been a year of planning and dreaming. I remember when Marty first got sick, one of the first things we realized is that we had wasted so much time. Yes, we had lived a very full and wonderful life. We had wasted so many years of our twenties worrying about things that weren't important. We spent so much time focused on jobs and money that we had wasted away some of the really great days of life with worry.

When Marty got sick, I realized the foolishness of my ways and set forth to no longer worry. Of course, that was difficult when he was sick and I had some really bad days. When he got well, the new struggle was to not worry about rejection and our new found freedom being taken away. We spent  year traveling to and from Stanford only once really worried.

As the first year passed and the completion of knowing Jerry brought life full circle. We set out to achieve our dreams born from adversity. These are dreams to live big, dream big and achieve things we have always wanted. These dreams are ones we refuse to worry about instead embracing our precious gift at a second chance.

We are fortunate to have this second chance as a family. So many people die waiting for transplant and never get this second chance at life. We have it and are going to use it.

So I sit in a house littered with boxes, lists galore as we plan to drive off east to Knoxville,TN next month and put this new life to use. We have to do this, for us, for our kids and for Jerry. Life is short, too short to just sit on our dreams.

Marty is healthy, still no complications. Everything is going well and for that we're so thankful. We are looking forward to having a transplant center to visit in our new town at the UTenn. It will be nice to not have to travel 660 miles round trip to see his care team.  Just another one of the reasons we are moving.

Thank you all for being there, listening, reading along and supporting us along the way. We're always grateful for the support.

Thank you Debbie and Jerry, our lives will always be lived for Jerry. So thankful for the gift you gave our family.


One year ago today, I registered online along with a dear friend of mine to be an organ donor. I had done it through the DMV but have been told the best way is to register through a donor registry. We are huge supporters of the work being done through Taylor's Gift. Todd and Tara Storch donated their daughter Taylor's organs and then have gone on to promote organ donation in her memory. We love the work they are doing on behalf of those waiting for organs. Please visit their site and register to be a donor.

Their slogan is " Be a Hero, Outlive Yourself' " click on the picture to be directed to their site.

A/N; I have chronicled our journey with transplant on this blog. You can read the entire story by clicking on the tab titled "Marty's journey with renal failure and transplant''  above

When the Phone Rings.....It Can Change Everything

Sometimes I am jumpy when the phone rings. I know all too well, that a phone call can change everything..........I still am on edge with the phone all these years later. I don't turn it off at night, though the feeling of waiting for that call has long passed.

A balmy May evening, a Wednesday evening to be exact we got a phone call that turned our lives into upheaval. Marty had see the doctor the day before and his blood work wasn't good. They wanted us to come in the next day. The next day, they diagnosed him with End Stage Renal disease, kidney failure.  He was thirty one and felt his life was over.

The next call was to tell us that Marty was listed for a dual organ transplant at Stanford University. The told us the wait would be one year. We thought it may come that fall and told everyone we couldn't do anything. I remember everyday past that one year mark felt like torture.

Once Stanford called on New Year's eve  to check in...........I remember my heart was racing and we thought this was it. They just wanted to check over everything and let us know they remembered us.

Then on my birthday weekend in 2010, Stanford called to tell us they were removing Marty from the transplant list for being "non complaint" because his doctor had a bad day and wrote that in his chart. It was a short battle to get him re-listed but horrifying none the less. Marty felt he had been handed a death sentence.

Two months later, the first glimmer of hope came when Stanford called to tell us Marty was second on the list and a backup for the transplant happening that day. It wasn't his turn that day  but he was next in line.

Twenty two days later,Two years ago today,  the phone rang at 4:45 p.m. on 1/1/11 and it was "The Call" and our lives were turned upside down. I shoved the kids out the door to Heather, called my friend Di to have her update Facebook and Twitter. Took the 99 to the 152 praying the whole way. It was a clear January night, we headed in the pitch black to the unknown.

Here we sit two years later, our lives have changed for the better. We were given a second chance at life that so many don't get. We had a positive outcome and now can live our dreams, take chances and embrace that second chance. Three months ago, we got another phone call of the very best kind and now are headed to TN to chase our dreams.

Bad phone calls can bring your worst nightmares alive. Good phone calls can turn that all around and bring glorious things you never imagined to reality.

It All Lines Up

As I was sitting around being lazy on my day off today, I was wondering what I would blog about today. I have a outline of sorts for the month but it isn't firm. I knew sometime this month that I wanted to blog about this story that happened surrounding Marty's transplant. It's a long story that eventually all adds up. It even involves other families and friends. Truly amazing to see how beautiful a tapestry this story is and how it was all weaved together.

I was wanting to post this on the date it all started. This afternoon as I was wondering what to blog about and  I decided to just blog about it today instead. I went digging knowing it happened during November of 2010 and what I found brought me to tears. God always knows better than myself. The story started two years ago this very day, I know it isn't coincidence it came to mind.

The story started with a phone call from our friend Danielle in Georgia on November 12,2010. It was 7 a.m. on a quiet Friday morning, we were in bed and I jumped when the phone rang so early. My friend Danielle was breathless, talking a mile a minute. She had been waiting hours to call us, she had this overwhelming feeling that a phone call would come in 48-72 hours and she need to call us and tell us that. I believed her, she rarely calls and she was beyond herself.

We thought "the call was coming" and waited on pins and needles for a couple of days. I wrote about it on my blog but didn't tell too many people. We just waited and prayed.

72 hours later at 7 p.m. our friend Michelle from church called me bawling. She was so teary that she could barely get the words out. She said she had been praying that night and God told her "everything is ready for Marty's transplant and it is soon" The thing is Michelle doesn't own a computer or go online, she had no clue about the phone call 72 hours earlier. When I told her, she was bawling even more. I remember standing outside in the cold on the phone with her that night. The sky was crisp and clear but the night was very dark.

Our life was very, very dark at the time and we didn't know how things were going to end. We had a hope that God would heal Marty but we didn't know how or when? I remember one day, things were so bleak that Marty, the kids and I laid in our bed and cried, we just were so weary.

On December 15th, two of my dear friends Janeen and Viviana both strongly felt a decision had been made. They didn't know what but felt like a decision had been made and that Marty was going to get the call soon, very soon.

Two days later December 17th, Marty and I were doing dialysis in our bedroom and Elizabeth came knocking on our door asking to come in. She never did this and we yelled out "come in". She came in the door, pale, shaking and visibly shaken. This was abnormal behavior for her and we were scared. She said "Momma and Daddy, I was sitting playing my Nintendo DS in the kitchen and God told me "your Dad is going to get his transplant in one month" I heard it Mommy, I really did"

We were shocked, we immediately believed her, comforted her and prayed with her. If ever someone would hear from God, that is the response you would expect. Shock and awe.  We told nobody but my parents and prayed really hard.

Two days later December 20th, Stanford called to tell us Marty was the backup candidate for a transplant. He had someone ahead of him but be prepared in case. We called everyone excitedly including our planned childcare people. Nothing we had lined up was ready and our dog ran away for two hours in the pouring rain. We deep down knew it wasn't his turn and one day later that was confirmed. The did say he was next on the list. We prayed that it wouldn't be during the holidays for the donor family and for the kids.

January 11th, 2011 almost a month to the day later THE CALL came and our lives were changed. We thought the story was so amazing as it was but God wasn't done yet. Sadly, part of the story is that my dear friend Janeen's ( the one above on December 15th) husband Bucky died the next day from lung cancer. We had both been dealing with sick husband's and praying for miracles. Marty and Bucky were already connected by sharing a birthday and now our lives were even more connected by the dates.

It wouldn't be until one year later, the story became even more deep. On the day of the one year anniversary sadly our friend Viviana lost a baby while we were up at Stanford. It was deeply sad and connected the dates even more.

 We had written to the donor's family on the anniversary and his mother called me out of the blue one month later. During our conversation, this story came up. What happened next still gives me the chills.

We always sensed our donor was a male. Even that night on the phone with Michelle, she was talking about a him. We always referred to our donor as a him and that night on the phone his mom confirmed it.

When I got to the part about December 15th, his mom stopped me. She told me that on December 5, 2010 her and Jerry had a conversation. He told her if anything ever happened that he wanted to donate his organs and be a organ donor. A decision had been made indeed.

When I told her about Elizabeth, she stopped me. That happened the day before Jerry's 18th birthday, he turned 18 the very next day on the 18th. She was sobbing, it was very hard for both of us to see how this drew our family together. Jerry died on the 30th anniversary of my Grandfather's death January 10, 2011. The dates just kept connecting us. She was amazed by the story and I just couldn't believe how it all came together and  everything came true.

When I went to call Janeen and tell her this amazing thing about the dates, I got the news her beloved mother had passed away that morning. Once again connecting our two families indelibly. Just another thread in this amazing story.

It just makes sense it would come to mind to write it all down forever today. I just smiled and shook my head when the date popped up at the top of the post. I sat here crying typing it all out and feel privileged this happened to us.

 Some of you may not believe and that is okay, I know those of us this happened to believe none of this was coincidence and that our lives all inter connected for a reason. I hope this story blesses you, brings you a smile and shows you that "all things work together for good" even though sometimes we don't
see the bigger picture. In the end, it all lined up.

Elizabeth's prayer was answered

Celebrating with Danielle in Georgia

Janeen and I seeing each other for the first time in person

Goodbye 35, The Best Year of My Thirties

It is no secret, I have a long, complicated history with birthday's. Usually they don't go very well and end with me crying. I wrote more about that last year here. I finally came to terms, Marty was well and things had been going very well. Everyone kept telling me " 35 is going to be your year" and of course, I didn't really want to believe it.

35 was my year, the best year of my thirties by far. It started on my 35th birthday when my all time favorite singer Curt Smith wished me a Happy birthday on Twitter. Two days later, for the very first time I saw them live in concert. It was amazing to stand there and listen to them live with Marty, I really thought things couldn't get much better than that. I hated the picture after the concert and how big I looked, the thought of changing that still hadn't crossed my mind.

In October, we took our first family vacation in over 7 years to Georgia. It was amazing to be able to travel and be free. We had such a great time seeing friends and being free to explore the world again.. Our lives were normal again and we had no worries anymore.

We came home from vacation and my Dad was hospitalized, it was a bit scary at first but then the relief that he finally had gotten the care to get him healthy again. It's been nice not having to worry about his health anymore and knowing he is on track again.

I came home from LA and just a few days later was introduced to Janet Evans on Twitter. Through a series of tweets, she helped motivate me to get fit. Just a few weeks later, I took her up on her offer to swim with her and that started me swimming again. Not only did I start swimming again but I started training for my first triathlon. I never expected we would become friends along the way.

In January, We celebrated the first anniversary of Marty's transplant and sent off a letter to our donor family. A couple of months later, we heard from the donor mom and learned about our donor Jerry.

In March, I completed my first triathlon with a huge sense of pride and accomplishment. Who would have ever thought I would do that? certainly not me. I had been losing weight and working very hard at getting fit. To date I've lost 40lbs and counting, all due to one tweet that changed my life.

April brought about a interesting turn of events. Easter weekend forever changed the course of the year and brought about amazing healing of my heart that I had long prayed for. The peace that weekend brought still amazes me to this day. Also, one meeting outside of the Hard Rock Cafe followed by a series of tweets changed the course of the rest of the year and the repercussions are far reaching.

Thanks to the kindness of three strangers, one evening in Los Angeles another dream came true. I sat in the same room as my teen hearthrobs and  even hugged them or shook hands ( at one point held the hand of one) with two women who would become dear to my heart and my sister of the heart. Little did I know,what this one event would lead to.

In May, Conner and I once again traveled to see our beloved Amgen Tour of California. This year was special because our cycling friends came to stay with us and we got to meet so many in the cycling community. Then one day later, led to the crazy story of Operation Cookie bake and how not to make promises to Jens Voigt that you don't keep.

My kids grew, no more elementary school for us after the school year ended. They have been such great company this year, helping me get fit. Helping me out around the house more after I returned to work from being a SAHM for many years.

In July, our dear pen pals from France came to visit. Fanette and her boys came for 11 days, we had such a good time touring California and showing them the sites. The kids and I got to go to Universal with them and then my long awaited return to my childhood haunt of Disneyland with them. It was wonderful to see such good friends and spend time in special places together.

Then last month, I was able to travel to Hershey,PA for a long awaited girl's trip with my good friend. It also was with the two women I had met on Twitter who had become good friends also. It was wonderful to see NKOTB again, another dream come true. I also met so many wonderful people and made friends for life. I also got to meet my dear friend Janeen for the first time.

Then this past week, I was able to travel to LA once again and see my Mom celebrate her Disney anniversary. The best part was getting to be at Disneyland after it was closed and enjoy some one on one time with my mom.

None of this would have happened without the support of my loving husband Marty. He has been gracious to let me live my dreams, supported me while I was off having fun and worked hard to pay for it all. Thank you for loving me selflessly and letting me have fun. This year has been a wonderful gift and I am forever grateful for your support.

Finally, I was able to live fully, spread my wings and fly, experience new things, laugh, cry, challenge myself, share my story, try to make a difference and really enjoy life to the fullest. Thank you to all the people who helped to make this the best year of my thirties. I am so thankful and humbled by your support and love, I am just Julie, a simple girl who cannot fathom that she is loved by many.

 I cannot imagine that 36 can top 35 but I cannot wait to see what happens. I hope to make some of Marty's dreams come true this year and sit back and watch him fly. 

"Someday, it will be your turn!"

Those are the words that would make me want to scream not too long ago. When Marty was sick people would say that to me over and over. When NKOTB reunited, I had to tell Andrea "no" two times about NKOTB concerts and it was really hard for me. She would say " That's okay, someday it will be your turn and we will see them together." It was hard to think that day would ever come.

Then we met them at Town Hall together thanks to the kindness of the Twitter Blockhead's. It was truly a beautiful night that convinced me someday our dream would come true. This weekend, that dream came true. Andrea and I traveled to the Mixtape festival in Hershey,PA to see NKOTB. For me, it was the first time seeing them live in 22 years. I knew being there with one of my best friends, seeing them live with new good friends would be emotional. My new friend KTDQ captured the moment on film, the picture says it all.

This was taken when Joe was singing "Please Don't Go Girl"

A beautiful moment in a beautiful friendship. Photo: KTDQ

Andrea, not many friends keep their promises and make it happen. You made it happen and beyond my wildest dreams. I loved experiencing such a wonderful, intense, exciting weekend together. Thank you for letting me share in the other side of your life. It was fun seeing others enjoying meeting my wonderful friend and knowing you made many happy. Most of all, you made your sister of the heart over the moon happy. I love you and thank you!

Together with Andrea, I experienced the weekend with five wonderful women. They are new friends to me but because of them, I got the experience this weekend. They brought me laughs, joy, happiness and fun memories for a lifetime.

A2, I love seeing your face watching Jordan Knight sing. I love your love for NKOTB. Thank you for taking me to Town Hall and starting this whole thing going. I am forever grateful. Thank you for introducing me to so many wonderful people. The best moment was finding you under the A2 sign in Harrisburg and the worst moment was leaving you there.

LL Fancy, it was instant love when we met. A immediate connection, a bond so intense that I truly can say I never have experienced something like that ever. You are so fun, witty and make me laugh. Thank you for helping me have a good time this weekend. My favorite moment was meeting Joe together once again and getting our picture together.

MVP, you are hilarious. I am so glad to have met you this weekend and had fun watching you have fun! I cannot wait to see you again. My favorite moment was you during the after party dancing like crazy!

KTDQ, I loved watching you dance, have fun and your sweet spirit. Thank you for all you did to help make this weekend better. I truly think without your help, it would have ended very differently. I look forward to knowing you more and more. I loved our chat at lunch on Saturday and it was nice that you understood where I was coming from and that we have the same outlook on life. My favorite moment was watching you dancing during the shows brought me so much joy and made me dance!

Under the Taybles Mixtape sign with MVP, LL, KTDQ,A2 and AB

While in Hershey, another five year dream came true. One of the people who often told me "Someday it will be your turn" was my friend Janeen. We have been in a online prayer group with eight other ladies for years and never met. They have all met numerous times in the years Marty was sick and we couldn't travel. Every year I would watch them go off to meet and see pictures of the gathering. I felt like odd man out, that my turn would never come. Late last year, I was able to meet two of the people from the board. I just recently said to the others, I didn't think my turn would ever come to meet them.

Janeen's daughter Christy contacted me before I left for Hershey  and asked if I could meet them. She agreed to drive her mom to Harrisburg and meet me. So Sunday, my group of friends and I went to meet Janeen at Cracker Barrell. It is the place everyone in our group always meets and it had to be there. I will let the pictures speak for themself

tears of joy

Rocking on the porch

Thank you to Christy and Janeen for coming to meet me. I would also like to thank Nichole for coming along to meet them with the group and for sitting beside me during one of the most important moments in my life. We just met but you came to such a wonderful moment and now we are forever bonded.

I am proof that dreams do come true. Someday my turn did come, it blew my mind and was beyond my wildest dreams. I chose to do the right thing in the dark times and when the sun broke through the clouds and the rain went away, the sunshine was far brighter than the dark night.

As always, thank you Debbie and Jerry for giving our family new life. Without the selfless gift of organ donation, I wouldn't have gone this weekend and experienced this mountain top experience.

Thank you to Lori for making it all possible. Thank you Taylor, Justin, Matt, Jennie, Wade and Tina for being our companions and helping us have the time of our lives. Thank you to Lisa, Teri, Heather and Hope for the great tweetups, it was nice meeting you in person. Thank you to Howie D. for helping me make Melly's dream come true, you are gracious and to Joe Mac for making my 25 year dream come true.

If you are in the darkness, know that you will survive and that there is hope.

I will do a all Mixtape picture blog this week to show you more of my time at the festival.

His Name is Jerry

His name is Jerry, he was 18 years old for only 24 days and he is our hero. Last night, I spoke with Jerry's mom and she told me her son's story. On December 5th, 2010 he told his mom he wanted to be a organ donor should anything ever happen.

One short month later it did. His final act in life was being a hero and he saved Marty's life. I hope it brings his mom some peace and comfort knowing he lives on inside of Marty. We talked for about 45 minutes in a very emotion filled phone call. We hope this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

This is about all I will be sharing for now. I want to respect his family's privacy and not share anymore details. I will ask you to please pray for his mother and siblings. This has been very hard for them and they need a lot of support.

I told her that thousands of people read my blog and have been praying for her for a very long time. I think that was a comfort to her and quite a surprise. It was quite shocking to check my voicemail yesterday and hear her message. I had been told by my dear friend Andrea that it would come out of the blue and she was right. The donor's mom just got the letter yesterday.

This is all very new to all of us and really a lot to process. We are hoping she will agree to meet with us and meet Marty face to face. He hasn't spoken with her yet and needed some time to process the information also. This is all I will share, I had to share something with you all since you have been such a support. I wanted you to know about the contact.

If you have any questions, you can email me at jules@julesmpg.com

How my Tweeps Saved Me

Yesterday, I was talking to a new Twitter friend I've made in the past year. She was sharing some of her struggles with me and venting a bit. I told her that it was okay not to long ago, it was me in her shoes. I started to write this blog yesterday and ran out of time. Something happened this morning that showed me it was time to share.

In order to tell this story right, I need to go back to square one. Four and a half years ago, my friend Di
( notice a common theme her. She is a trouble maker.) told me she need me to "follow" her on Twitter.
 " What is that?" was my first thought. Her and her husband Eric ( the real ringleader) have some friends in the industry and always are finding the "new" social media platforms first. Back then Twitter was really just a bunch of bloggers using the service. We quickly latched on to the idea and loved having a place to share our daily lives with each other. I keet it private and just talked to a small group of friends.

In 2007 when Marty was diagnosed my friends on Twitter would support me through Dr.'s visits, trips to Stanford, waiting to be placed on the list, Marty having surgery and going on dialysis. Everyone else did this too but later it would become something more.

Flash forward to 2008 when I met a lady named Tanya. She told me to follow her on Twitter and quickly introduced me to a bunch of people I didn't know. Through her I made several new acquaintances all over the world. I met Nekol whose husband was also waiting for a transplant who became a great support as our families waited together.

Sometimes when Marty was sick, he couldn't breath at night, spending all night coughing and awake. I could go on Twitter and talk to someone at all hours. They would listen to the really scary things I didn't want to tell my family or friends. When Marty passed out at work they were the first to know and talked to me during the long drive to his work. Marty didn't want our close friends, family or people on Facebook knowing and this was a way for me to vent.

Those were very dark times for our family. I was weary, worn, spun tight, and a bit depressed. Thanks to this lovely group of men and women, I could stay sane.  They talked me through each dialysis treatment and sleepless nights when Marty was so sick. They were there for the call, while I waited alone, in the hospital, and talked me through being away from the kids. They saw some of the very darkest times I have ever lived through.

Recently, I think they are some of the people who see the biggest change in me. They know what I was like before and they see what I am like now. One of them Becca told me that just this morning, she said " Look at you now blooming with positivity".

Recently my role has changed, I am now the person who can support my "tweeps" as I call them, in hard times facing health crisis, joblessness, family difficulties etc. I have been able to minister to a lot of people and relish this role of being able to pay it forward.

One of the people I met along my journey was a young lady named Ally in Perth. Ally was introduced to me because she loves the British Royal family as much as I do. She was struggling with illness when we were introduced during the time Marty was sick. Recently she had been tweeting a lot and I really thought she was recovering. This morning we were told this isn't the case and her prognosis is grim. It was so shocking that I cried for three hours. I've never met her but I cared and she had become a lovely bright spot on my timeline.

I often have wondered how I never had to take any anti-depressants or how I didn't end up going crazy. I truly believe I owe that to this special group of people. Each one of them comes from a different walk in life, with differing beliefs and opinions, yet we always find a common thread to hold us together. They are great secret keepers, sounding boards and most of all friends. We have become a little family. When they are happy, I am happy. When they are sad, I am sad. They are often first to pray for things or offer a encouraging word.  I thank God for them each day because in so many ways, they helped saved me.

Pay It Forward Monday

This morning my dear friend Viviana directed me to this blog. This family was involved in a car crash on Christmas eve. and their one year old was killed. They made the brave choice to donate his organs to other families. This blog moved me beyond belief and I wanted to support this family by getting their story out and thanking them for the choice to save another.

Please read this, pray for them and support them in any way you can.
http://packoffixations.blogspot.com/2012/01/anatomy-of-car-crash-part-5.html

One year later update.

One year ago we had this to deal with everyday

One year later, much fewer pills to deal with

This goes to show you how well Marty is doing. The doctors at Stanford were thrilled with his progress. He has gone from once a week testing for months, to twice a week testing for months and now he gets to be tested monthly! He also is allowed to check his blood sugar only one day a week, down from three times plus a day before and after transplant. He got yet another medication discontinued!  

All good news! We couldn't be more thrilled. Life is good and we are enjoying every minute.

4:45 pm 1/11/11

I was standing in my kitchen trying to cook yet another renal friendly meal. Marty was sitting in a chair at the dining room table, Conner was being Conner and Elizabeth was  standing by the table talking to her Daddy. The day had started with a dialysis treatment at 7 am. We were tired and weary.

We had just gotten home from yet another Nephrologist appointment where we had heard discouraging labs and high blood pressures. It was just another battle weary day until my phone rang......

It was a 650 area code and my heart skipped a beat. I told Marty, " It's Stanford" and gave him the phone. Elizabeth started jumping up and down, " I knew it, I knew it" and Marty starts saying, " Okay, uh huh, yes, here let me give my wife the phone"

He gives me the phone and the call drops! Oh NO! he says, " That was Stanford and they have a offer" immediately the phone rang back and the nurse started asking me a million questions and my heart started racing. This was "THE CALL" not a false warning it was " THE CALL".

I hung up the phone and we all started crying and praying together. I called my back up sitters because my planned sitters couldn't sit. My back up sitters couldn't do it either. So I called my best friend Heather and she agreed to take the kids, while another would take them while she worked the next day until my Mom could get here.

We started throwing clothes and things in a bag. We had to take dialysis treatments with us and actually had to skip a treatment to go. Stanford said, " How soon can you be here?" I said, " We can leave in a hour" which was met by dead silence on the other line. I said, " We will leave in 45 minutes" and the nurse said, "That's perfect".

We literally shoved the kids out the garage door into Heather's car and it was so crazed we didn't even get to kiss them goodbye. I plugged in my headset and started calling people. I called my friend Di to update my Twitter friends, I called my friend Ruth to update our prayer group and she literally started screaming and fell to the floor in praise.

One of my greatest fears is that when we got " The Call" it would be foggy. We had been in a accident on the way to Stanford in the Tule Fog before. God heared my prayer and the road was crystal clear all the way to Stanford. I remember at one point Marty was talking to our friend Keith and it rained a bit. Other than that I drove shaking and fearful all 333 miles to Stanford.

We were scared, we truly believed we would get there and be told no. We didn't really believe it was going to happen. We were put into a room and the parade of doctors began. Lots of questions from Nephrologists and surgeons. We met Dr.G for the first time that night. They hooked Marty up to the evil machine one last time. I sat on a cot with my laptop in my lap and updated everyone. We barely slept that night with the evil machine going off all night. Which was funny since we had lost many nights of sleep to that machine before.

In one instant, with one phone call our life was forever changed. Hard to believe it has been one year already, time has flown by with so many good things that have come since that day. It really was our lucky day and we couldn't fully see that until now.

I got up this morning, dragging out of bed, not wanting to work out or be up. During my bible study time it hit me, like a ton of bricks. One year ago today, I couldn't even fathom life today. I would have been getting up to do dialysis instead.

As I got on the treadmill, I vacilliated between joy and grief for the donor family. I thought about how our lives were switched now. It's really hard to think of and something I will never fully wrap my mind around. All we can do it live our life in honor of their child and grateful for their gift.

Simply put, a random, selfless act of kindness changed our lives for the better. My challenge and my challenge to you today is to Pay it forward.

Hope For The Hopeless

I've met so many new people in the past year. Often they don't know our story or where we have come from. They see us so happy and have no clue why? or what things were like before we met them. This post contains several links to blog posts leading up to January 11, 2011. I really hope if you are struggling today, you would take time to read them and see there is hope! If you want to read about life today read this http://www.julesmpg.com/2012/01/other-half-of-just-jules-and-transplant.html after you read this blog

Last night as I came home from swimming, I thought about how a year ago it wouldn't have been possible for me to go swim. Marty was so sick, up to four times a day dialysis that I couldn't have left home for two hours to swim. At that time I couldn't imagine tomorrow much less a year later.

I was pretty exhausted, weary and worn down. I wasn't even thinking of exercising or getting fit, I was just thinking about what our future held and where we were going as a family. Would Marty be alive in one year? Would he make it to transplant? Was he going to have to go on hemodialysis? A good picture of me then would be this blog on how I was feeling . I wasn't feeling much giddy, happy, grateful instead I was heeding  to God and his will.

We weren't sure when? but that point we knew change was coming soon and the first call had come. It wasn't our turn that time but our chance was coming very soon. Hope was being renewed and there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

I cannot shout praise from the mountain top enough. I cannot drink in the joy much faster than I am. I am so grateful and filled with joy. Marty and I have been working on our letter to the donor family, we are taking it with us to Stanford on Thursday. We cannot thank them enough for their gift. They may not even know the impact of the decision they made. I hope we can help them see that their loved one lives on through Marty.

I keep hearing this song on repeat in my head. " There is hope for the hopeless, there is rest for the weary and love for the broken hearts." " There is mercy and healing"

God hears your prayers and someday he will answer them. Keep hanging on.

The other half of Just Jules and Transplant

    Last week, I asked Marty to write a post about his transplant experience and this is what he wrote;

     So, there I am one day minding my own business, (Famous last words, Right?) sitting on the couch sipping iced tea blissfully listening to Julie type away on her laptop.  Very common in our house except for the fact on this day Julie stops typing and says to me, “Why don’t you write a guest blog for me about your thoughts on your transplant and your donor?”   My immediate response, “What is there to say, that you haven’t already mentioned?”  I thought about it for a moment and realized everything Julie has written about our journey is from her perspective.  Maybe, some of you would like to hear from me?  Well, here goes…..

     Let me start by sharing a few thoughts about dialysis.  For me, renal failure and having to go on dialysis was and still is a lesson in humility.  I quickly went from being “The Man” of the house to solely relying on my faith, Julie, my kids and close friends. Dialysis whether it be hemo or peritoneal, quickly drains the strength out of you, both physically and mentally.  If you are reading this and know someone who is on dialysis give them encouragement and be strong for them when they are having a difficult day.  Having a beautiful wife, family and friends like these are part of what saved my life.

The Transplant:

     Right now the average wait time for a person in need of a kidney transplant in California is seven years, I waited three.  Originally I was told I would only have to wait about a year for transplant due to the fact I was receiving a K/P (Kidney and Pancreas) transplant.  Well those of you who have kept up with Julie’s blog know that one year turned into three.

     In the middle of my wait time life sort of became mundane for me and my family.  Day in and day out, not able to take a vacation or travel since I had to do a dialysis treatment every 2-3 hours.    I spent the first two years on dialysis working, remaining on duty at my job.  I did this not because I had too but because I needed to keep myself busy instead of feeling sorry for myself.  I did not tell anyone I was sick until right before I went out on medical leave three months before the transplant surgery.  I did not want anyone feeling sorry for me .  If I wasn’t’ going to feel sorry for myself I wouldn’t allow anyone else to.

 I guess part of why I worked is so the kids wouldn’t have to see me at home sick all the time, at least that’s what I told myself.  Conner and Elizabeth were smarter than that though, they knew how I was feeling and felt just as desperate for the transplant call to come as much as Julie and I. It was only towards the end of my wait time when things started getting really bad for me health wise that I became a whirlwind of emotions.

Not physically able to work for the last three months of my time on the wait list, I spent my days being tired, worn out, scared and even angry at what was happening in my life.   I felt like a prisoner of this disease always on a leash to dialysis treatments.  The once reassuring words from the nurses at the dialysis clinic telling me the “Call” would come and that it would be, “Out of the blue” started becoming cliché.

     On January 11, 2011, I got the call we had been waiting for, the call that would change my life and wouldn’t you know it; it was out of the blue!  All the planning and preparations made by Julie and I flew out the window as we barely had enough time to find friends to watch Conner and Elizabeth before rushing off to Stanford.  That evening was spent. On January 12, 2011, after a 9 hour surgery I no longer needed dialysis or insulin injections to live.

      I have been asked before what it was like to finally get the call for transplant.  The best way for me to describe it is like being a young child going on a roller coaster or thrill ride for the first time.  You spend hours waiting in line filled with anticipation and excitement, until it’s actually your turn to get on the ride.   It’s at that point, nerves, fear and butterfly’s set in.  It wasn’t until they were actually rolling me back to the operating room before I was convinced the transplant was actually going to happen.

     After a week in the hospital I was released to go stay at the apartments subsidized by Stanford for extended stay patients.  The first day out of the hospital Julie and I ventured to the grocery store to buy food and staples for the apartment.  Julie had the grocery cart filling it with meat, vegetables and other wise “healthy” food.  While I on the other hand followed in my electric cart filling the attached basket with ice cream, cookies and other sweet morsels of delight.  After being Type 1 diabetic for 25+ years, I was literally a kid in a candy store.

     A quick side note about the electric carts.  I give props to those who depend on those things for mobility.  During the first few days out of the hospital I had a chance to test drive a few in a couple different stores.  Getting in and out of aisles or racks of clothing is tough in those carts.  Let’s just say there is a store with a “Target” as their logo in the bay area that is now short several displays because of an unknown hit and run driver  with road rage.

     The only other interesting story I have about the transplant process is the Saga of the Catheter and the Stint:  What goes in, must come out, but that’s a blog for another time.

The Donor:

     This is the hard part about writing this blog, putting into words the bitter sweet joy I have living a renewed life.  There is not one day that goes by where I don’t stop to ponder the enormous sacrifice made by a complete stranger and their family.  To give me the opportunity to see my kids grow up and see my grandkids being born.

     Julie and I have always felt during my time waiting for transplant that when the call came it would be God ordained.  We constantly prayed for the person who would become my donor.  I have to admit that during the last few months waiting for transplant I found my self asking God in prayer, “Why me, why have you made this so hard and the wait so long?”  I was soon reminded that God is control, I am not and if I was I would screw it all up.

      During my time in waiting I have always just assumed the donor would be someone my age if not older.  The night before the surgery while the doctors were running their final tests and getting me ready for transplant, Julie and I had the chance to ask Dr. G if there was anything she could tell us about the donor?  After a pause to think about the question, she very cautiously said the donor was 18 years old.  Julie and I suddenly realized the gravity of what she just told us.  When I was questioning God about having to wait  way to long ,and why me, why so long actually meant three precious years for a parent to enjoy watching their child grow up.  At that moment I thanked God for his timing and his sovereignty.

     When I started the whole transplant process Julie and I have always had the intention of meeting the donor family.  We were quickly made aware that the sharing of information has to be mutual between donor family and recipient.  Julie and I wanted to wait one year after surgery to contact the transplant coordinator expressing our interest in meeting the family of the donor.  We wanted in order to let the donor’s family grieve over the holidays spent without their loved one. 

It is my hope that some day soon we will celebrate with the donor family the blessing of a gift of love, a life lived and a life living.

So I suppose that’s about it.  I can’t think of a better ending to this blog than the last sentence…..Marty

One of the Best Year's of My Life

2011 has flown by! Seems like just yesterday we were ringing in 2011. The end of last year wasn't a good time for me personally. I was tired, weary and worn out. In fact, I broke a tradition and didn't write a end of the year blog as I usually do. I was so overwhelmed with life it probably didn't cross my mind.

2011 will forever be remember as one of the best years of my life. It broke a five year long streak of bad years and was glorious. The first 10 days really weren't great but the next 355 were wonderful. I would say we really started living again on January 11th when Marty got the call. We had stopped living life way back in 2006 and really never could get our head above water.

This year we LIVED! We haven't stopped going since the minute Marty left the hospital and especially since we came home on February 14th. We started biking daily, reconnecting friendships, eating new things, making new friends and seeing new places.

The Packers won the Superbowl, We once again  traveled to the Amgen Tour of California, I saw my first love live in concert, I started swimming again, Elizabeth did a triathalon, Marty stopped taking insulin, Conner played water polo.

Our highlight as a family was traveling to Georgia, seeing new places, friends and family. It truly was a wonderful vacation and getaway for our family. The kids and I traveled to Yosemite will our good friends Heather,Kenny,Chris and Chloe.

I don't want to be redundant, harpy or annoying. It has to be said, the impact has been too powerful and it really has changed our life.

NONE of these things wouldn't have happened without the choice of a complete stranger. A parent or family member on the worst day of their life made a choice. They made the choice to donate the organs of their child,sibling, friend. They made a choice to give something to a complete stranger. How many of us could do that? I have to say it, because it completely overwhelms me. I carry that with me every single day. Every time I laugh, take a deep breath and look at my husband, I think of this choice. I don't think any amount of preparation would have prepared me for this. I'm constantly overwhelmed with gratitude.

Soon I will let you hear from Marty. I think he will be making a guest blog soon and tell you from his heart how he feels.

If you would like to look back at past years New Year's posts, here they are;

2006: http://www.julesmpg.com/2006/01/happy-new-year-2006.html
http://www.julesmpg.com/2006/12/2006-will-be-remembered-as-annus.html

2007: http://www.julesmpg.com/2008/01/everything-is-coming-up-roses.html

2008:http://www.julesmpg.com/2008/12/stanford-calledto-check-in.html
http://www.julesmpg.com/2009/01/my-first-post-of-09.html

2009:http://www.julesmpg.com/2009/12/blog-of-decade.html

2010: It was bad. End of story.

Christmas Letter 2011

As long as we have been married and sent cards, I've written a Christmas letter. The last few years, I 've just posted the letter on the blog. I like having them all in one place. Here is the 2011 version:

D- is for donor. January 11 at 4:45 pm came the phone call we were waiting for. A donor that matched came available for Marty. Almost a month to the day that God had told Elizabeth the call would come. We rushed to Stanford scared, worried and excited. 8 am on January 12th Marty was transplanted with a new pancreas and kidney from a 18 year old donor.

Nothing could have prepared us for the changes and joy this would bring to our life. We are so thankful to all the people who prayed for us, waited with us, stood by and held our hand. This Christmas day pray for the donor family who will be missing their child. We are eternally grateful to them for giving the gift of life to our family.

O-Old. Conner is now 14 years old and in 8th grade. He played Water Polo this summer and loved it. He enjoys watching Cycling, going to pro-cycling races and riding his bike most of all. He is always making us laugh and a very handy young man. He can fix almost anything around the house and is a big help. We find it very hard to believe we are parents of a teenager who will be able to drive in two years. Makes us feel very old even though we are still very young.

N- Normal. We just love normal everyday life. I can never get tired of saying that life is boring, normal,mudane and slow. We don't miss the dialysis, worry, sadness, dark times at all. We enjoy each and every day Marty is well.

A-A new endeavor. I ( Julie) have recently started swimming with a local swimming club. This all started after meeting Janet Evans on Twitter. Her endeavor to return to the Olympics at 39 inspired me to get fit. I get up every morning workout after Marty leaves for work. In the evenings I go swim with  kids that are 12-15 years old. I have been enjoying being back in the water and working out.

I've also been working very hard on turning this blog into a job. Inspired by a friend who blogs for a living I have been trying to follow her plan to gain advertising. So far its a lot of hard work that I hope soon pays off. Now that life has changed I have several goals and plans for myself to accomplish. I feel as if life is a blank slate and I can do anything I want.

Another highlight was seeing my first favorite band Tears for Fears in concert on my birthday. I had waited 20 plus years to see them live. It was such a magical, happy moment.

T- Travel. Oh how we love that we can travel. We now understand why we couldn't travel before, we had to get to Stanford as quick as we could. We lived at Stanford for a month, then traveled once a week for a month, once every two weeks for a month, then once a month until August. In October we took our first family vacation in 7 years.

We traveled to Texas,Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Colorado. We had a great time seeing friends, family and new places none of us had ever been. It was so fun to be free with not a worry in the world. Marty's favorite part was the Georgia Aquarium, Elizabeth's favorite part was the Georgia Aquarium, Conner's favorite part was seeing Hincapie sports and World of Coke, Julie's favorite part was seeing her friends, Sarah,Kim, Melissa, Danielle and her family in Tennessee.

E- Elizabeth is 11 years old and in the 6th grade. She competed in her first triathlon in May something she decided to do all on her own. I helped her train and she did great on the big day. We couldn't have been more proud of her. She also played tennis throughout the summer something she really enjoys doing. She loves to read books, hang out with her friends and baby our dog Oscar. She is a very creative young girl with a sharp wit. She comes up with the best one liners!


L- loving life. We are just living life to the fullest. Again, it may be repetitive, redunant and get old but I will NEVER stop enjoying saying it. We are trying new things, going new places and planning for the future. The minute Marty got sick our life changed. Suddenly we realized that in the past, we had let little things bother us and steal our joy. Now that Marty is well, we don't sweat the small stuff and just enjoy each day.

I-in March Marty and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. We celebrated with a trip to Stanford for Marty's monthly check. We did go out to dinner and had Pinkberry for dessert though.

F- Family. We've been able to see our family more this year. We were able to see Marty's aunt Sheila for the first time in 5 years and meet her new husband Rick. We were able to travel down to Southern California just this month to see our family there. We've also had several visits from Marty's mom this year.

E- Every time we are happy, we remember that this is a gift from God and the kindness of a stranger. If you have never thought about being a organ donor we encourage to think about it. We cannot give back enough or say enough about how it has changed our life. We look forward to becoming ambassadors with Donate Life next year. We also encourage you to visit www.taylorsgift.org and register to become a donor.  We hope someday we can help another family like someone helped us.

We wish your family a very merry Christmas. This year our family will have a VERY merry Christmas celebrating the gift of Jesus, the gift of life and the gift of love.

Parenting Through Crisis

One question I frequently get asked is how did we guide the kids through Marty's illness? Now that things are better I can blog about this topic and share our advice.

We were honest from the very beginning. Elizabeth was 7 years old and Conner was 9 when Marty was diagnosed. We explained in terms they could understand. Their first fear was that he would die. Of course, we couldn't promise that wouldn't happen but explained we had to trust God for everything.

I remember spending a evening with them in my bed crying. It was tough for them to process at first and we did a lot of praying. As time went on they as well as we accepted the diagnosis. We adjusted to our new life and took it all in stride.

There were times they worried, when they did they came to us and we prayed together. I think hiding things would have compounded the issue. That way they knew nothing was being hidden and they didn't have to hide their feelings from us.

Constant dialogue and open communication is key. They went with us to appointments, helped with keeping dialysis supplies stocked and understood times when we had to go away.

Truthfully, the hardest part wasn't until the very end. When Marty was transplanted and they had to stay away from us for a month. That was the hardest part and the thing they struggled with the most. Thankfully we had many family members and trusted friends who were there for them during that time.

Prayer, honesty and open communication are key. Hiding and sheilding them would have only compounded issues. It was something God ordained in our lives and they had to learn at a young age to trust in him and walk through difficult times.

I hope this serves them well later in life. I think they both will handle tough times in stride and weather storms a bit easier. They've learned life lessons that most kids their age haven't. They are still just kids who love to be kids. They just understand how to deal with difficulty situations when they arise.

Maybe this will help others facing trials and tribulations. We did the best we could under pressure and the kids seem to have survived just fine. We directed them to our heavenly Father and taught them he is sovereign and in control.

"Train up a child in the way he should go and he will never depart from it." Proverbs 22:6