1B Rejection... Biopsy #1million (it feels like it!)

We spent a very quick 48 hours in Palo Alto this week.  Owen is looking so good lately!!  His weight is dropping so fast and he has lost at least 12lbs since December (eek!).  He is eating everything in sight so it's not from lack of calories, I think he is just going to be a little guy.  Transplant clinic went well, his echo, ekg and labs all looked amazing!  Nancy (NP) heard a "whistle" and used her fancy stethoscope to record it on her iPhone app to show to the docs.  It's an "atrial rub" and it was interesting to hear his heart whistle.  After clinic on Tue, we visited Quinn and Tyler in the hospital and then headed to lunch.  We had dinner at the RMH with other heart families (one from AZ, one from MN) and caught up with everyone.  BINGO was a bust, but we saw more heart friends (Cemaia and her mom) and then we headed back to the hotel to crash.  

Wednesday morning was biopsy day and we were bumped later and later as the day went on.  We visited with a new family in the CVICU, a little girl waiting for her second transplant due to coronary disease as well.  Owen rounded with the docs for a minute and caught up with all the nurses.  He must feel like a celebrity everywhere he turns because people are yelling his name and are just so thrilled to see him!!  

We finally checked into biopsy and I got him to sleep by 1:15.  He had a super speedy biopsy and his SVC gradiant looked low enough that we didn't need to stent it.  He woke up and we barely made our flight home... it was a rush!

Owen's pressures are super low (2, 6) and his heart looks great!  His biopsy results came back with another 1B Rejection which is mild, but still there.  Bummer.  It seems like whenever we wean the steroids, his heart just isn't thrilled.  So we are proactive and try to stay ahead of it before it gets worse.  We will increase his steroids again and head back to Palo Alto in July!!  

Owen had a fantastic time, loved every minute of it, and now we are ready for school to end!  I have a lot of catching up to do over the next week since I finally have a little break as well.  :)  Stay tuned...

Logi had fun with Auntie Sussy, Kam, Connor, Ry, Tate and Daddy while we were away!  He barely missed us...

Happy Easter! (a little late)

I am back.  It has been a busy month!!  Why does it seem like time is just passing by so quickly this year?  Perhaps it's that I am just having a hard time keeping up with the daily "to do" lists, but at the end of the day when my head hits the pillow, I am OUT!  We had such a wonderful time celebrating the Easter season around here.  

Kam and I helped stuff eggs for the ward Easter Egg hunt and the boys had fun getting loads of candy that they would never eat.  We stayed after the egg hunt and Owen rolled down the grassy hills about 100 times and Logi ran around with friends.  I am pretty sure this was my first egg hunt ever.

We also made it a priority to get over to the Easter Pageant at the Mesa Temple. Owen hasn't been and this may be their last year for a while.  We grabbed some subs on the way and the kids loved arriving a little early to walk around and see the volunteers all dressed up.  We saw lots of familiar faces there and we had a great night.  A long night, but a fun one.  

Easter Eve was a late night for this bunny.  The Easter Bunny likes to send the kids on a scavenger hunt to find their baskets.  It makes for a fun morning wake up.  Easter fell on Conference weekend this year so we made apple cinnamon muffins with Carson and snuggled in to watch conference. 

My dad always cooks a fantastic Easter feast so we headed out to visit. It was at least 90 degrees, so the kids got creative.  Logi and Uncle Rog soaked the cousins on the trampoline.  My parents invited their missionaries for dinner and we were all stuffed.  It was a beautiful day and my kids had a new appreciation for the Savior and his sacrifice for us since we have been more active in church the past six months.  It was a great Easter season and now we are looking forward to Summer!

Life is busy and wonderful!!  I have more updates coming this week.  I love to have these memories  printed out for my kids.  They love looking back on old blog posts and will read for hours.  Thanks for reading and loving our little clan.

Spring Break!

Spring Break has come and gone.  We are so sad to see it end, but we are that much closer to High School graduation and summer break!  The weather has been so perfect and it's almost impossible to stay indoors.  I'd like to say that I got a lot done around the house, but I just finished up a couple classes and started more.  Biology at 38 is no joke, but I am so glad I knocked it out so it's fresh in my mind for Anatomy and Microbio.  

While Kam spent a day at the lake, the boys and I went to see Peter Rabbit... it was actually quite cute and Logi watched the entire movie.

Logi has been super interested in Owen's legos lately and there are Legos ALL over the house!  Owen spent some of his gift card money at the Lego Store and he mostly buys an entire set for one minifig or cool feature and then Logi builds the rest of the set.

Logan is also super into baking and "helping" in the kitchen.  He makes his own breakfast most mornings and loves making home made muffins with chocolate chips.

I got to go with Belle and Kam to the New Member Fireside this month.  The talks are so fun to listen to and to hear the conversion stories of others.

Logi sure loves feeding the ducks at the park by our house.  We had to get creative since bread is not good for the ducks.. who knew?  We had a bunch of seeds in our pantry (thanks Owen) and the ducks loved them.  I still remember when Gigi tumbled head first into this pond once upon a time.

We haven't been on swings in a REALLY long time and Logi was not a fan.  I jumped on to show Owen how to pump himself and realized I am too old for swings.  It's safe to say we will probably not head back to the swings for a while.

We did so much more than I can remember and I should be so much better about keeping up the blog.  My kids love reading back on old posts from 10 years ago.. a decade I have been blogging now.. crazy!!  It was a great break from school for the kids and Logi got plenty of "SheSher" time in with Kam.  He is going to love having her home this summer to snuggle with before college.  Life is busy and there is no other way I would want it to be.  T-8 weeks until Summer break!