A Chilean Miner's Sister

I was watching the news tonight on the rescue of the Chilean Miners who had been trapped in an underground mine for something like 2 months.

They were interviewing a woman whose brother was one of the trapped miners. She said, "When I saw him coming out of the capsule, I forgot all of the suffering I endured because now he begins a new life."

Her statement was so sweet to me, because she knew that she might not ever see her brother again. But at last, when the day came that he emerged and they were reunited, "I forgot all of the suffering I endured."

I instantly thought of the loved ones I have lost, and how grateful I am that I'll see them again. I have no doubt that when the day comes that we are reunited, that I will have forgotten all of the suffering that I have endured.

Ginger is Out of Surgery

Ginger had her ASD closure surgery today and, aside from the surgery starting three hours late, everything went fantastically. Ginger went into surgery at 4:30 and was out at around 5:30. Now she has a device about 25 millimeter tall blocking what was formerly a hole in her heart's atria. It's pretty amazing what they can do in just an hour! There is still quite a bit of follow up to do with the doctor to make sure everything is healing correctly and the blood is all staying where it's supposed to be, but the hard part is over. Ginger is looking forward to spending some quality relaxation time with her puppy over the next couple days as she rests and heals.

I'm so glad Ginger is OK and so amazed and grateful for what the people at that hospital were able to do for her! We're so blessed that we caught this before something terrible happened to her because of it and that the technology exists that makes fixing it such a relatively little thing.

Freddie's Adventures with Rat Poisen

Oh Goodness. Kent and I went to Cedar City this weekend to see what the Shakespearean Festival was all about. While away, oh how our bad puppy played.

We dropped him off to my family's business on Friday morning, where he disappeared and sent the family on a dog hunt through the warehouse and down the street. He turned up just hanging out in the warehouse, not caring that people were calling him.

That afternoon, my sister took him to my mom's house, where he happened on some rat poisen hidden under a vent. And since our little Freddie has to mouth EVERYTHING, this rat poisen was no exception.  Luckily, my watchful sister caught him, and called the vet who told her to induce vomiting by giving him 1 tbs of hydrogen peroxide. She did this, and after throwing up about 4 times, he was okay.

Saturday comes, and he finds a different packet of rat poisen hidden in a different area of the house, and the games began again. My little sister, Sherry, again came to the rescue and saved our puppy from imminent death (or at least a really expensive trip to the vet).

And this from Kent and I leaving for only one night ...

Oh, but he is darling!

ASD

Last Friday, Kent and I went back to the Cardiologist for our echocardiogram. We found out that I do NOT have a PFO ... rather, I have an ASD. The difference between a PFO and an ASD is that a PFO has a flap that opens and closes letting blood in periodically which increases the risk of stroke. An ASD, however, has no flap, and lets the blood flow freely between the right and left atriums of the heart. This can cause heart and lung damage, not to mention an even greater risk of stroke.

You can read all about an ASD here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/atrial-septal-defect/DS00628

Currently, I am 7x more likely to have a stroke than my peers without a holey heart. Pregnant women with this heart defect are 30x more likely to have a stroke, due to the extra amount of blood circulation/clotting that occurs in pregnancy. Also, many women suffer heart failure during childbirth, or a stroke after childbirth, if they have an ASD.

SO! I'm going to get this fixed! The good news is that the procedure is just like that of a PFO. They go in through your leg artery, and put a device in your heart that blocks the hole, correcting the blood flow issues.

I am currently scheduled for the end of August.

I feel incredibly blessed to have found out about this now; before having children and before any heart/lung damage (to our knowledge) had occured. I also feel so blessed to live in the day and age, where this can be fixed so quickly, and relatively easily (15 years ago, this procedure was open heart surgery!).

Freddie's New Bed & Other Ramblings About Our Pup

I bought Freddie a little cozy bed at Walmart the other day. I think he likes it.

This photo is of Freddie sleeping in his bed underneath Kent's desk in the office. I LOVE this picture. I think Freddie is saying, "Leave me alone ... I'm sleeping."

This week, we've taken Freddie to the Farmer's Market at Pioneer Park for the second week in a row, and we took him to Murray Park on Saturday night to listen to the strains of the Murray Symphony across the river. It was a lovely evening.

Oh, Freddie has worms. It is very sad. :( We took him to the vet yesterday, and they gave him a shot that should take care of the problem. We are going to buy doggie health insurance, because this pup just keeps getting more and more expensive. And we still need to get him neutered! The vet was quite impressed with how mellow Freddie was. He really is a rather mellow dog. He does so well around other dogs, children, cats, ferrets (he met one at the dog park the other day and quite enjoyed that), etc. The only thing that seems to scare him thus far is a razor scooter (we found that out last night). Oh, and he doesn't like to walk when he's tired.

I also bought some sparklers to test the waters with Freddie -- to see how he does with fireworks. The goal, however, is to get Freddie used to fireworks/sparklers so that he isn't one of the dogs that freaks out and runs away on the 4th of July.

This pretty much sums up our life right now. We are kinda crazy about our little boy.

Freddie's Favorite Spot

Freddie has claimed his favorite spot. He likes to snuggle up against the couch (and sometimes on top of our feet). He loves laying, sitting, and/or standing on our living room white shag rug. I have to admit, it is a cozy, soft rug.

Freddie is so cute because he follows us all around the house. If we are in the kitchen, he wants to be in the kitchen. If we are in the office, he is in the office, etc. However, if I'm upstairs reading, and Kent is downstairs watching tv/working on his computer, Freddie will come and check on me once and a while, but primarily stays downstairs on our big shaggy rug.

What a funny mutt. We love him.

This is a picture Kent sent me while I was at work today, with the caption "Freddie really wanted to say hi to you". Oh ... my cute boys.

Meet Our LIttle Boy!

Kent and I have finally bit the bullet and expanded our family with out little boy, Freddie Mac. He is an 11-week-old Mini Goldendoodle. We drove down to Provo last Friday, May 28 to meet him, and we ended up taking him home with us.  He was so mellow, and so tired all of the time. All he wanted to do was sleep on my lap. I had my suspicions that he was sick, and my suspicions were confirmed on his morning walk on Sunday with Kent when his 'business' included blood.

Poor puppy! We took him immediately into the vet and found he had a bacterial infection. They injected water packs under his skin on his back to hydrate him, gave him an antibiotic shot, and sent us home with two other medications to give him.

Come Monday morning, we finally saw the puppy in him come alive -- he felt so much better. He is now running around the house, mouthing everything like a puppy should. He is a good boy. He already knows his name and he knows where home is.

We are pretty crazy about our little puppy man, Freddie Mac.

Finally! Piano Photos!

I apologize that I haven't posted these photos much sooner. Here are pics of our beautiful Young Chang 5'9" piano. Kent has even been playing. It's lovely to have music in the home again.

Holey Hearts Club

It's official - I am a member of the Holey Hearts Club.

In other words, I went in to the Cardiologist last Friday and found out that I have a hole in my heart called, PFO (Patent Foramen Ovale).


During Formation of the heart, two pieces of the wall grow to overlap each other to divide the upper chambers (atria) of the heart into right and left chambers. Before birth, the lower divider acts as a flap or tunnel which allows blood to flow from the right side of the heart to the left side. After birth, right to left blood flow is no longer needed. The two dividers of the right and left atria fuse to form a solid wall (septum). The septum is fused in 90% of people by 18 months of age. However, the dividers which form the septum do not fuse in 10% of people leaving a flap or tunnel which may open and close as right heart pressure changes. This opening (flap or tunnel) is the Patent Foramen Ovale or PFO.  http://www.sorensenmd.com/procedure.php


I've had a persistent issue with migraines/headaches/fatigue which is what spurred me to get this checked out, and sure enough it looks like my brain isn't getting the oxygen it needs due to the hole.

The concern with a 'holey heart' is the risk of stroke. As such, I'll be getting an MRI/MRA in a few weeks to determine if there have been any brain damage due to mini strokes, and the headaches I've been experiencing . After that, I'll get an echocardiogram to learn the size of the hole.

The Cardiologist will look at the results of these tests to then let me know if I'm a candidate for surgery. I'll keep you posted!

Oh How I Love Thee ... Let Me Count The Ways

Richard Smith Fairbanks 1928 ~ 2010

Richard Smith Fairbanks, our beloved husband, father, grand-father, great-grandfather and brother died peacefully on April 2, 2010 after a brief but courageous battle with cancer.

He was born July 22, 1928 in Salt Lake City to Ortho Lane Fairbanks and Laura Vilate Smith Fairbanks. He married Fonda Ann Williams in the Salt Lake Temple on October 25, 1945. He and Fonda have three children, 16 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren. He is survived by his wife, Fonda; his children: Craig (Mary), R. Dana (Linda), and Gina; his brothers: Ortho (Myrna), Vaughn, and Grant (Lucy); and his sister Virginia Peterson (Harold). Preceded in death by his parents and his grandson, Steven.

Richard was a builder, a salesman, and an entrepreneur. He loved to work and served as a host at Temple Square for six years on a Church Service Mission and as a Temple Worker at the Jordan River Temple. He loved art, international travel, riding motorcycles and anything work or play with his family. He was always active and busy - traveling, riding dirt bikes and four-wheelers, and even felling trees with his sons and grandsons well into his seventies.

He inspired us with his tremendous energy, his work ethic, his kind heart, and his loving and adventurous spirit. He is dearly loved and very much missed.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. at the Mesa Park Ward, 1850 East 8600 South, Sandy, UT with the viewing one hour prior to the service and on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Interment: Salt Lake City Cemetery.

I love you Grandpa. I was so blessed to have you in my life.

Drum Roll Please ... The Piano Has Landed!

A few weeks ago, we finally bought what I consider to be the pride and joy of our home ... our grand piano. After about 3 months of research, I finally settled into a 5'9" Young Chang. It's shiny black, and just a dream to play.

The hardest part of this piano purchase? To watch the piano being delivered. Our main living area is up a flight of stairs on the second floor. Kent was kind enough to post this video up for our viewing enjoyment of 4 brawny men pushing and pulling our piano up the stairs. Kent and I just stood in the background, hands over our mouths, and I was just nervously giggling out of pure joy that the piano made it, but out of pure fear that the piano and our walls would be ruined.

The video doesn't do justice the actual drama of this event. The piano movers joked to us that perhaps we should go out for lunch and come back - to spare our nerves. Instead, I walked over to my kitchen and put some cookies in the oven.

Happily though, everything and everyone made it up the stairs safely, and our piano peacefully sits in our living room.  And we all celebrated with freshly baked cookies and cold, cold glasses of water.

Kent and the Grill

This weekend, Kent got himself a grill. To my good fortune, Kent loves using his grill and I believe it has ingnited his passion of outdoor man cooking! In fact, I came home from work last night to grilled salmon, polenta, red bell peppers and zuchinni. And boy - it was awesome.

Yay for summer! Yay for grills! And yay for coming home to delicious, man-grilled dinner!

This may have been the best money I've ever spent!

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

I'm going to start by saying that I am so over peanut butter. I loved peanut butter back in college, but now I have no need for it.

However, Kent's mom and dad were staying with us this week while were visiting from out of town and Kent's mom made us these cookies.

All I can say is, wow - delish! They really hit the right spot. The peanut butter is not overwhelming; in fact, it just gives it a nice undertone of richness and nuttiness.

Give these a try! Now fail recipe in my mind!

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup (two sticks) butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and eggs on medium speed of electric mixer until well blended.
Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended.

Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Daily Puppy Post

You may have noticed that I put a daily puppy on the right side of my blog. Can I just say that this makes me exceedingly happy when I log in? Nothing like a cute little puppy looking back at you to start your day!!

I hope you enjoy the daily puppy as much as I do!

Can't Get Enough (and Miscellaneous Items)

I just can't get enough of our house. I'm always so excited to come home to it every day after work, and see it peek around the corner as I drive up. I also like that it is currently the ONLY red house on the block (out of tons of units that are all the same). I like red. Did you know red is my very favorite color? They even gave us a deep red door (the other door colors are green and mustard - SO happy to have red).

Kent and I are settling more and more into the neighborhood; slowly yet surely getting to know people in the ward. We were both called as Ward Missionaries, and it looks like it will be a big calling; but a calling that will give us opportunity to meet and become more involved in the ward.

The bishopric keeps telling me not to worry; that they won't give me a piano calling and it makes me a little sad every time they say it. I like piano callings! And honestly, I've noticed that the Lord gives me the talent/inspiration I need when I need it. If I won't need it, does that mean my piano inspired days are over? I just worry.

Speaking of pianos, the piano hunt is ... coming along. I'm looking at an intriguing offer right now, but I need to play it first. I'm playing it on Friday, so I'll let you know how that goes.

We have gone to the animal shelter 3 times now to look for a new addition to our family. We haven't fallen in love with our little Moxy yet(Moxy is the name Kent came up with for our dog, and I thought it was fabulous). We are looking for a hypoallergenic dog, which are typically smaller dogs, and the more I look at them the more I realize that I am a 'big dog' person. We look in the small dog room, and I get bored (could be because 80%+ are lousy chihauhas). But we walk into the big dog room and I am in love with every single dog (golden retrievers, black labs, german shepherds, huskies --- oh my!). I might be holding off the dog hunt for a while.

Random post, I know. But now you are all caught up!

For Rachel

Here is a photo of the finished outside of our house. Our unit is the end one that is the more reddish color, with the dark red door.

Also, I've decided that I'm going to lock our blog since we've now got things like photos of the house up. So if you want access please let me know.

Thank you!!

Flooring ... Check!

Kent and I went over to the house at lunch today to see our new floors! Here is a photo of the laminate wood that is throughout the second level. We also got to see our carpet, as they were getting ready to lay it when we were there.



Fun Fun! 11 days to closing ... and counting!

Oh, how do you like our paint?

Finally -- Pictures of the House!

I'm such a slacker with photos ... I know. And I apologize.

Here are some photos of our house. The exterior has since been painted, so it does look a little different but at least this gives you an idea.

This photo is a great picture of our end-unit. It is 3 stories, and our unit has 27 windows. Quite a change from our current 3 windows! We'll be putting up faux-wood blinds.


Here is the north side of the house. Our unit is the end unit on the left side of your screen (with the white van in front of it). The white van is where our patio is going to be. You can also see a door on the second floor, which leads to a balcony. That's where we'll put our grill. Kent said that's where he'll stand on Halloween night, and he'll lower a plastic pumpkin full of candy down to the trick-or-treaters. :)


This is the soaking tub in our master suite. We decided to upgrade the master bath with ceramic tile flooring, a matching tile mosaic backsplash for the tub, and granite counter-tops. HGTV tells us the best re-sale areas to fancy-up are the kitchen and master bath.


Last, but not least, the KITCHEN!!! We found this house just at the right time. They hadn't yet picked materials, so we got choose everything from the colors/style of the kitchen cabinets, to the countertops, light fixtures, paint colors, flooring, etc. It was pretty exciting, but pretty scary. As we see elements installed, we really like the scheme we chose. However, the flooring and countertops aren't in ... so we'll see how it all ties together!