A Summer Bouquet

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a woman named Sarah who has an online Jewelry store called LuShae Jewelry. She wanted to know if I would be willing to review one of her items for her. Uhm... hello! Of course! What a fun opportunity.

She sent me the link and let me pick out any item of my choice. This was a tough decision. Everything was so fabulous! I was originally drawn to the earrings. Well, if you want to be specific, I really had my eyes on these. All you have to do is check them out to know why. But after a tough decision making process in which I enlisted to help of my fabulous Facebook friends, I decided on this beauty:

 

Yeah, I squeeled with delight. No joke! 

So, I placed my order and before I could even do a load of laundry my package arrived in the mail. It really only took a day or two. It was probably one of the fastest online purchases I have ever made (and I do most of my shopping online).

I opened the box and to my pleasant surprise the pendant was even more beautiful than in the picture. I tried to take pictures to show you but the lighting just wasn't doing me any favors.

I've been wearing it for the past month. One; because I love it and two; because I wanted to give it a fair review and make sure it was a quality piece. Now, all I can say is that I love it even more now than I did before. It's BEAUTIFUL! The colors go with everything and I love the sparkle from it (without it being overwhelming or too dressy of course). My thought is that it works for every day wear and also when I dress up a bit for date night or something. Hopefully the fashion guru's out there would agree because that's what I've been wearing it with.

My one and only complaint is that the chain it came with is a bit small for my pleasantly plump neck. It does fit and isn't as tight as a choker would be, but I would have preferred a chain that was a bit longer. Luckily, I happen to have one already so I easily switched it out. But in all honesty, I do like to wear my necklaces a bit lower than most so I doubt many would have an issue with the chain it came with. If it fit around my neck in the first place it must be a pretty good length.

I really do love my new bouquet of flowers. Sarah, thank you SO very much for allowing me this fabulous opportunity. I love your store, the ease and quickness of the purchase and above all, I love the necklace. Thank you, Thank you!!

Please go check out LuShae Jewelry. Look around at all the beautiful items and if you feel like getting something, rest assured that you are in very good hands. You can even grab a fun badge to add to your sidebar like I did.

Be A Hero. Be An Organ Donor.

To Shane

Watching you sleep on the couch tonight made me smile. This is the song that came to mind...

You're a falling star, You're the get away car.
You're the line in the sand when I go too far.
You're the swimming pool, on an August day.
And you're the perfect thing to say.

And you play it coy, but it's kinda cute.
Ah, When you smile at me you know exactly what you do.
Baby don't pretend, that you don't know it's true.
Cause you can see it when I look at you.

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You're a mystery, you're from outer space,
You're every minute of my everyday.

And I can't believe, uh that I'm your (wo)man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through,
And you know that's what our love can do.

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La
So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La


And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.
You're every song, and I sing along.
'Cause you're my everything.
Yeah, yeah

So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La



Be A Hero. Be An Organ Donor.

Be a Hero.
Be an Organ Donor.

This song is "Everything" by Michael Buble.

Random Thought Of the Night

I miss having a phone that I can blog from. Maybe...... Maybe I should go back to my BB Curve (since I can't afford a new one).



Be A Hero. Be An Organ Donor.

Be a Hero.
Be an Organ Donor.

It's Just My Luck

It may be just my luck but I mean it in more ways than one.

Shane and I made the difficult decision to have another baby. I say the decision was difficult because any time you have a child with health concerns like Noah, having another baby is a scary option. But we both have had very personal experiences that have convinced us that our family is not finished so we started trying for another.

I have some fertility issues known as PCOS (Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome). Big words that mean I don't ovulate. I tried for two years while taking fertility medication before I finally got pregnant with Lilly. Noah didn't take as long. So this time around, I knew what I needed to do to get started and I began taking medication that would help induce ovulation. I was very surprised to find out that it worked the first round!

I was six weeks along and on Friday night I began experiencing horrible pain that just came out of nowhere. BAM! It hurt so bad I couldn't move or breath but I know that my pain threshold (the level you begin feeling pain at) is very low so I tried to just live through it. The next morning I felt better but by Saturday afternoon, the pain was back. Hours and hours of it. Still.... I just lived with it. By this point, I figured I was just having a miscarriage. (Hence my cryptic Facebook post about being sad. Sorry about that. I hate being vague. I just wasn't ready to share it yet.) Anyways, I woke up Sunday morning and the pain was better. Still very tender but better. Sunday night it came back with a vengeance and I finally started bleeding. I called the OB Emergency Services and they confirmed for me that there was nothing they could do to stop it at only 6 weeks. There was no need to come in unless I began bleeding very heavily. So I went to bed.

Monday morning came and I wasn't bleeding anymore but my entire stomach area was so tender. It hurt to move. So I called my Dr's office and spoke with a N.P. that was available. She said she was concerned about the pain and wanted me to come in to have an ultrasound right away. I jumped out of bed and drove right there.

I had a vaginal ultrasound done, so they could see more details. Afterward, I sat and waited a very long time while she showed the results to the Dr. I knew it wasn't good. And it wasn't.

Not only did I have an ectopic pregnancy, but it had ruptured and I was bleeding internally. The damage was so bad that she couldn't even see any signs of a pregnancy that might have been there. All she could see was damage and blood.

I was taken over to the ER and admitted. While I didn't feel sick, just pain, I knew it was a very serious issue by how fast they got things figured out and scheduled. I was prepped and in surgery by 9:30pm. Luckily, my sister was able to go watch the kids and Shane made it up here in time to give me a Priesthood blessing and a kiss before I was taken into the OR.

As they wheeled me down the hall, I said a prayer. I told Heavenly Father that I wanted to pray that they would be able to fix everything and save everything but what it really came down to was that I just wanted to wake up and be able to go home and see my babies again. Then, I tried very hard not to be afraid and to have faith.

I woke up several hours later, groggy and itchy (darn anesthesia) but well. It turns out that they were not able to save my fallopian tube. It was beyond repair and wouldn't stop bleeding. But they were able to get everything cleaned up and fixed. And while it might take me longer to conceive again, it can happen. I am at greater risk now for developing another ectopic, but with early and routine tests I can go on to have another baby.

I've been told that I am very lucky. Most woman who end up having a rupture and hemorrhaging like I did, bleed out and even die. It's even more apparent just how lucky I am when you think that I suffered with it for 4 days before I came to the hospital. So while it was just my luck to actually have this be something this serious it is also my luck to have survived and come out of it okay. One more blessing, in a long list of many, that I can attribute to my Heavenly Father.

My life seems to be this story of never ending extraordinary blessings. I have several memories from my childhood of such events. Then of course, there is my car accident and unbelievable recovery and Noah and his miracle. Now this.

Thank you to those of you who prayed and sent up good thoughts on my behalf. Thank you to those of you who have offered service for my family during my recovery. My gratitude is beyond expression. I pray that God will bless you and give you the righteous desires of your heart. That you will be blessed for the kindness that you have shown to me. I love you all.

I may not know who said it but I know their message is true....

"When you come to the edge of all the light you know and are about to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things will happen. There will be solid ground to stand on or you will be taught to fly."
-Author Unknown

....because I am being taught to fly.


Be A Hero. Be An Organ Donor.

A Plea for Help

Two and a half years ago, my life was forever changed.

Someone I didn't know, chose to donate their loved one's organs and in the process, saved my son's life. Because of their selfless act, Noah has the opportunity to experience life and I've been given more time with my baby.

But even before Noah was born, I have always been insistent that I was going to be an organ donor. I have always felt that it was the ultimate act of kindness. That no matter how I died, I could do it saving someone's life.

Since then, I have realized that you don't have to wait until you die to save someone's life. And that is what I want to share with you today. You see, a little over a year ago I came across a blog called Living in Grace. It's written by a woman named Kelli who is in desperate need of a new kidney.

Kelli is the married mom of two and in Stage 5 kidney failure. She began dialysis in 5/06 and was listed at Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver to wait for a cadaver donor transplant in 3/07.


Since then, it has been determined that she can't have a cadaver kidney and will need a living kidney donor, so she began the process of being approved into the transplant program at OHSU in Portland, OR last January. Kelli and her entire family moved to Oregon to facilitate the process.

A few weeks ago, she finally got accepted and the hospital has begun testing possible donors.

Did you know that you don't have to have two kidneys to live? You only need one. And I believe with all of my heart that the purpose behind us having two is so that we can give one to someone in need. Maybe you could even consider giving one to Kelli. Consider being her hero and giving her more time with her children.

The ultimate gift. The gift of life.

If by chance you are interested in being tested to see if you are a match for Kelli, or someone you know might be, here is some information about the living donor process:

• She is listed with OHSU in Portland, OR. You can email her at jkbach@comcast.net and she will get you the contact info you need.
•  She needs a donor with the A or O blood type. If you don't know your blood type, they will have you get tested.
• All medical costs are billed directly back to OHSU where her insurance covers 100% of all incurred costs. This allows the donor candidate to have all testing up to the end done at their local hospital or Dr. office at no charge to them.
• Pre-screening involves an over the phone health questionnaire, then a simple blood test where her blood and the possible donor's are combined and cross-matched. If that is ok, then they will have a series of tests done locally (to the donor) and billed directly to her insurance.
• All this will lead up to a scheduled date for everyone to meet in Portland for transplant. The process, from the time a suitable candidate is found, is about 3 months to the actual surgery.
• Fundraising is currently under way for all costs not covered by insurance (all non-medical). This includes things like travel and lodging for the donor, her housing and support for the month or more she is required to stay in Portland after surgery, etc.

I know this isn't an easy decision to make. And if you decide you are not in a position to be able to be a living donor I hope that you will still consider helping Kelli in her quest. Help her spread the word or maybe even donate to her fund raising efforts. Someone out there is a match and can give this woman back her life. Can give her children one more day with their mom.

Maybe it's you.

Much Love,


Be A Hero. Be An Organ Donor.