Time for sweaters!!!

It's the time of year for getting the sweaters out and I love it! Dawson happens to like sweaters on too. So with out even really thinking about it this morning when I got dressed we pretty much wore the same thing for the day!! We both had grey sweaters on. So I had to take a picture with him.

Happy Halloween!!!

As far as how I am doing... I am doing better and better everyday!! I try to go into work a few hours everyday and that goes okay, but get very tired very easily. I am so happy to have Katie and Robb, and Mom and Dad home now. It definately makes me feel better!!! I even was able to go visit my good friend Laura from high school, who just got married and moved to the Jackson, MI area. We thought we would make a trip out of it and go to Howell to shop!! That took a lot out of me to shop. But it was so good to see Laura and Troy!

Here are some pics of Kyle and I at her wedding! Kyle and I served Apple Cider and Donut holes at her reception!

We had so much fun attempting to square dance!!

Me and the beautiful bride!!

I miss her

Now that I have been home for a few days now , I was able to look back at Katie's blog and looked at the posts that she has written. Most of the ones that I looked back on were ones that were written while I was still in the hospital, still recovering and sleeping alot. So I didn't really have much time to look at the posts in depth at all. After reading the posts that both Robb and Katie have posted and seeing the pictures, I realize how much I want to be there with her still. I was there with her in the pre-op room waiting to go into surgery as we tried to come up with a name for my kidney that was going to be given to her. She was there for me while I had my I.V put in(which I was scared about and she knew that). We were in the same hospital only 3 floors in between us for the first phone call between us after the surgery but wanted to be right in the same room so I could see how she was doing. I took a walk with her, I watched TV with her, I laughed with her(even though it hurt both of us to laugh)and even though I was so ready to get home to my own house, my own bed, what I wouldn't give to be back there with her so I could walk with her and watch TV with her again. It's hard to just share e-mails back and forth when all you want to do is see her and just talk about what we went through. It was an amazing experience and gift that I could give her and I want that gift, Paco (which is what we named the kidney) to do amazing things for Katie and that God will bring her home to us soon!!

Leaving tomorrow

So we are leaving tomorrow at 10 a.m. by plane again. I am ready to get home, but also quite nervous about the plane ride and having to sit straight up in the plane for 2 hours with out being able to recline and relieve some pain from my incisions. Please pray that that will go well. This is definately going to be a bittersweet moment for me. I am so ready to be back home in my own house, in my own bed and get back to our dog.I am also so ready to get back to the people that are back in MI, like my sister Lisa!! We miss her so much and wish she could have been out here with us. But it also means that I have to leave Katie, Robb and Paco(my kidney). Katie hopefully gets out of the hospital tomorrow and we will be leaving:( So we won't really know how she will be doing being out of the hospital, only by phone. Pray that everything will go well with that, and that she will adjust to being in the hotel and that her pain will be minimal.

Thanks for all your prayers!!

I'm still here!!

Sorry for the lack of posts while in the hospital. I never really got the chance or felt like sitting up and typing a post. But I am doing good now! I am in the hotel room right across the street to the hospital, so I can still see Katie!!! She is doing soo good!!! I am just amazed at her sense of humor and her spunk, right after being in surgery!!! I don't hardly remember things that happened before surgery, but I do remember being at such peace and not being scared. How amazing is God for giving me that peace and not having any doubts and that he had this planned for me when I was born! What an amazing gift to me and to Katie!!! God you are so good!! I want to thank everyone for their prayers and prayers of praise with us as we went through this. Pray that the kidney will continue to be accepted by Katie's body!! So far so good!!!

And I also want to thank our family...(I will get into that later, i need to be able to see the screen while I am typing and not crying.) Let's just say that my family is just amazing. I am so glad that I was brought up in such a great Christian family that have this faith and we have so much to look forward to!!

Cute hair, huh?

We made it!!!

Well we are here!!! We got into Rochester Int. Airport around 8 pm (theirtime). When we got there my doctor ,(here at Mayo) that I met with a couple weeks ago walked into the airport and recognized Kyle and I. What weird timing for both of us to be there at the same time. Anyways, we got to our hotel, which is about 15 minutes away from the airport and right across the street from the Rochester Methodist Hospital that we will be staying at for the surgery.
The flight went very well. We flew in a 8 passenger plane out of Vriesland. We all wore head-sets so that we could hear everything that was going on between the Pilot and the air traffic control people. My ears are still plugged from the landing though, everyone elses have popped.
Pray for my sinus infection to be cleared up by the time I get blood drawn and start the pre-surgery stuff(which starts at 7am). Pray for a good nights rest (Tonight and ESPECIALLY tomorrow night) for both Katie and I .

God is good!!

Kyle and I will be leaving next week Monday to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota to donate one of my kidneys to my sister Katie!!!! I am so excited to have the opportunity to give my sister a normal life, back to what it used to be 8-9 months ago. God has given me the strength and the health to be able to do this, I am so blessed!! God has also given me peace to not have any fear at this point, which is also a huge blessing to me. The surgery will be on Wednesday the 8th and should be back in Michigan hopefully by the 13th. Pray for a speedy recovery for both myself and Katie and that her body will accept my kidney quickly!!! God has answered our MANY prayers!!!


I will be updating this as we anticipate leaving for Mayo, while we are at Mayo and the road to recovery for both Katie and I. Katie also has a blog that she has had for a while now, ever since she lost her baby boy Brenham Jay on Feb. 29.


Her blog is http://whenhellomeansgoodbye.blogspot.com/





Please keep both us and our family in your prayers.