Marty was placed on the transplant list. It is hard to believe it has been a year already, time has flown by. Most of you have been along for the journey reading and praying with us, I don't have to recount it for you. If anyone is newly following, you can search for posts with the tags: transplant and kidney disease.
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.
A modern day Pollyanna waxing poetic about her life.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The story of Kim part one
We all have family secrets and stories to tell, nobody has a perfect family. Our family has many stories and secrets, more than others in my opinion. One big story has to do with the birth of my sister Kim. It remained a family secret for 30 years, always around but never talked about openly. I have wondered if I should tell the story backwards or forwards, it has been a tough decision. I guess I will write it forwards and hope that it makes sense.
My mom's family moved from Kansas to Whittier,Ca in 1960 to follow my grandfather's job. He worked for the Fluor corporation as an engineer. They quickly settled into the suburb lifestyle making many friends. They were very involved in the Catholic church at St.Bruno's parish, there they met my other grandparent's Ben and Betty Brown. My grandparent's quickly became the best of friends and did everything together. My parent's have known each other their whole lives, spending many holidays, special events and going to Catholic school together.
In the summer of 1966 my grandfather was told he would be moved to the Netherlands for two years to work on greenhouses for tulips. The whole family would move and live in Holland during that time. Arrangements were made for my dad to help my mom's grandparents care for the family home during this time. So my mom and her family moved to Holland and lived in a hotel for 6 months until a home could be found. During this time my mom met a boy named Sef Franken who would be her first boyfriend. They lived in the Franken family hotel and the Frankens treated them like family. They taught them how to skate on the canals, cook Dutch food and showed them the country.
When school time came, it was decided that my mom, her sister and brother would travel by train to The Hague and go to the international school. They felt that would be a great experience for their children to meet other kids from around the world. So everyday they would get up and ride the train to school. While at school they met a boy named Fredrick Chandler, from Blackpool, England whose father also worked for Fluor. I guess, it was love at first sight for my mom but Rick had another girlfriend named Annamieka that he was dating.
They finally found a family home in Haaimstead, it was a five story house with scary stairs. It was at this time my grandmother contracted Scarlet fever. During her bout with the fever she fell down the five flights of stairs leaving her laid up and unable to tend to the kids. My grandfather was working long hours and the kids had free rein. My mom started dating Rick and hanging out with his band. I guess she eventually joined the band and started living a 60's lifestyle away from home. My grandfather eventually caught wind and was furious, his child would not act like that. He found Rick and told him that he was NOT allowed to date his daughter or see her outside of school.
My mother was heartbroken, she was a sixteen year old girl madly in love. As for Rick, I am not sure what he really thought because I am sure Annamieka was on the side. During school hours they would see each other and pine to be together. Eventually my grandfather caved and allowed them to see each other in limited amounts. Something happened, not sure what as it is still a mystery to me but things changed. My grandfather once again denied them contact, he really didn't care for Rick and forbade my mother to see him. During school hours a plan of gigantic proportions was hatched.
Stay tuned, part two will air tomorrow.
My mom's family moved from Kansas to Whittier,Ca in 1960 to follow my grandfather's job. He worked for the Fluor corporation as an engineer. They quickly settled into the suburb lifestyle making many friends. They were very involved in the Catholic church at St.Bruno's parish, there they met my other grandparent's Ben and Betty Brown. My grandparent's quickly became the best of friends and did everything together. My parent's have known each other their whole lives, spending many holidays, special events and going to Catholic school together.
In the summer of 1966 my grandfather was told he would be moved to the Netherlands for two years to work on greenhouses for tulips. The whole family would move and live in Holland during that time. Arrangements were made for my dad to help my mom's grandparents care for the family home during this time. So my mom and her family moved to Holland and lived in a hotel for 6 months until a home could be found. During this time my mom met a boy named Sef Franken who would be her first boyfriend. They lived in the Franken family hotel and the Frankens treated them like family. They taught them how to skate on the canals, cook Dutch food and showed them the country.
When school time came, it was decided that my mom, her sister and brother would travel by train to The Hague and go to the international school. They felt that would be a great experience for their children to meet other kids from around the world. So everyday they would get up and ride the train to school. While at school they met a boy named Fredrick Chandler, from Blackpool, England whose father also worked for Fluor. I guess, it was love at first sight for my mom but Rick had another girlfriend named Annamieka that he was dating.
They finally found a family home in Haaimstead, it was a five story house with scary stairs. It was at this time my grandmother contracted Scarlet fever. During her bout with the fever she fell down the five flights of stairs leaving her laid up and unable to tend to the kids. My grandfather was working long hours and the kids had free rein. My mom started dating Rick and hanging out with his band. I guess she eventually joined the band and started living a 60's lifestyle away from home. My grandfather eventually caught wind and was furious, his child would not act like that. He found Rick and told him that he was NOT allowed to date his daughter or see her outside of school.
My mother was heartbroken, she was a sixteen year old girl madly in love. As for Rick, I am not sure what he really thought because I am sure Annamieka was on the side. During school hours they would see each other and pine to be together. Eventually my grandfather caved and allowed them to see each other in limited amounts. Something happened, not sure what as it is still a mystery to me but things changed. My grandfather once again denied them contact, he really didn't care for Rick and forbade my mother to see him. During school hours a plan of gigantic proportions was hatched.
Stay tuned, part two will air tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
My kids will tell you.....(twofer tuesday)
This is momma's favorite song from when she was a little girl. Click play and watch the slideshow on the next post instead of watching this video. Really it is the melody that I love the most, I can hear it and instantly feel happy. I do have a favorite line in the song though: " I can't stand this indecision married with a lack of vision."
Monday, November 3, 2008
Vote
I am writing this to urge you to get out and vote tomorrow. Growing up in a very political family, I counted the days until I was eighteen and could vote. I knew no other way in life, even my husband grew up in a voting family and when we met he was already registered. Even if he was a registered member of the Green party, he was registered. We both love getting the sample ballots and talking them over together, listening to each others opinions on the issues. We take our kids with us to vote and hope that they will be excited to vote when they turn eighteen.
I talked a bit about this last year, but I feel the need to bring it up again. It really bothers me that some women let the men in their life tell them how to vote. I don't believe that people should let other people vote for them. I find it sad that there are women out there who feel they can't think for themselves. I also find it hard to believe there are people out there not registered. I understand in some cases why, like my Gramie whose parent's fought so bitterly over issues she never wanted to vote. As an adult I urged her to vote but she never would. I guess she was born only five years after women were given the right to vote and that probably played a huge part. I think of the women before us who were not allowed to vote and feel privileged to have the right.
On another note, I get tired of the whole bandwagon syndrome. Half the time I think people just vote one way on something because somebody else is voting that way. I wish more people would take the time to read the voter guides available to them. Read up on the issues, educate yourself, find your opinions on the subject. Don't just vote that way because it is the cool thing to do or somebody else is doing it. Think about your morals, values and the issues in your life vote based on those things before you vote. Also, I really don't think copied and pasted emails are valid voting information. I find it disturbing that so many people find those to be the gospel truth. Many of those emails are far from the truth and often bad information. Check them out on Snopes.com to see what they have found out about the email. Many,many times the information is completely or partially wrong, don't just blindly send them on.
Long story short, vote! Let your voice be heard but let it be your voice.
I talked a bit about this last year, but I feel the need to bring it up again. It really bothers me that some women let the men in their life tell them how to vote. I don't believe that people should let other people vote for them. I find it sad that there are women out there who feel they can't think for themselves. I also find it hard to believe there are people out there not registered. I understand in some cases why, like my Gramie whose parent's fought so bitterly over issues she never wanted to vote. As an adult I urged her to vote but she never would. I guess she was born only five years after women were given the right to vote and that probably played a huge part. I think of the women before us who were not allowed to vote and feel privileged to have the right.
On another note, I get tired of the whole bandwagon syndrome. Half the time I think people just vote one way on something because somebody else is voting that way. I wish more people would take the time to read the voter guides available to them. Read up on the issues, educate yourself, find your opinions on the subject. Don't just vote that way because it is the cool thing to do or somebody else is doing it. Think about your morals, values and the issues in your life vote based on those things before you vote. Also, I really don't think copied and pasted emails are valid voting information. I find it disturbing that so many people find those to be the gospel truth. Many of those emails are far from the truth and often bad information. Check them out on Snopes.com to see what they have found out about the email. Many,many times the information is completely or partially wrong, don't just blindly send them on.
Long story short, vote! Let your voice be heard but let it be your voice.
Update: I wrote this early today, I just now have heard a story about a man in AZ. He apparently tried to sell his vote on Ebay. That is the kind of people I am talking about, people who have no respect for the right to vote. These rights are a privilege and did not come freely, they are not something to take lightly. Fortunately, there are laws that prevent the sale of votes in AZ.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Waiting ( insert the Jeopardy theme song here)
Shhh....Do you hear that sound? It's the sound of nothing, silence, zip, zilch, nada. That is what is going on with the transplant? not much. Every month we get a little tube in the mail, Marty takes it to Holly the dialysis nurse to get a blood sample for Stanford. They use the blood sample to match him to donor organs on the registry to find a compatible match. I told some friends last week that it is the strangest, most indescribable feeling to be waiting. Life is moving by at a frenzied pace but feels like it is creeping by, the silence is deafening.
I often find my thoughts drifting during the day to thoughts of when the call actually comes. What day will it be? What will we be doing? Will we have plans? Will we be busy? What if the call comes and we miss it? The list goes on and on. For the most part we have tried to keep life very simple and commitment free as possible. We have put off classes, moving, traveling, ministries at church, etc., to be ready for the call. Maybe next year if the call hasn't come then we will start adding to the schedule again.
Actually dear reader, I thought by this time, this year we would be talking about the transplant in past tense. We really had hoped it would happen in October of this year, but October came and went without the transplant. I won't lie to you and tell you that November wasn't on that short list, we actually thought either of these months would be the time. November has just begun, so there is hope it could happen sometime this month. I really hope that it doesn't happen after the second week of the month or during the holidays. Not only for us but for the family that will lose a child, a parent, a friend or spouse. I would hate to see someone hurting during the holidays. So if not then maybe after the first of the year the time will come and we can start 2009 off right.
A big thank you to you for sticking with us during this time. Without our friends and family we would not have made it this past year and a half. You have supported us with prayers, thoughts, words, laughs and hugs. We are forever thankful,grateful for the love and support we have felt.
I often find my thoughts drifting during the day to thoughts of when the call actually comes. What day will it be? What will we be doing? Will we have plans? Will we be busy? What if the call comes and we miss it? The list goes on and on. For the most part we have tried to keep life very simple and commitment free as possible. We have put off classes, moving, traveling, ministries at church, etc., to be ready for the call. Maybe next year if the call hasn't come then we will start adding to the schedule again.
Actually dear reader, I thought by this time, this year we would be talking about the transplant in past tense. We really had hoped it would happen in October of this year, but October came and went without the transplant. I won't lie to you and tell you that November wasn't on that short list, we actually thought either of these months would be the time. November has just begun, so there is hope it could happen sometime this month. I really hope that it doesn't happen after the second week of the month or during the holidays. Not only for us but for the family that will lose a child, a parent, a friend or spouse. I would hate to see someone hurting during the holidays. So if not then maybe after the first of the year the time will come and we can start 2009 off right.
A big thank you to you for sticking with us during this time. Without our friends and family we would not have made it this past year and a half. You have supported us with prayers, thoughts, words, laughs and hugs. We are forever thankful,grateful for the love and support we have felt.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
First day, easy post
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