Keeping Busy.....

We are keeping very busy these days, passing the time and going on with life as usual as we anxiously await the call for my surgery.  My Mom is still here and has been for almost a month now.  That's been a huge help!  I definitely have days when I don't feel my best, but for the most part I'm doing everything I would normally do and feeling pretty good.  I get tired easily and I'm usually exhausted by the end of the day, but that doesn't stop me from trying my best just to be NORMAL.  

My MELD score has reached an all time high of 31, which is almost unheard of for this area of the country.  Typically, people in the southeast are transplanted by the time they reach a MELD in the mid 20's or at the very latest, the late 20's.  I never imagined that I would be sitting at a 31, still waiting.  I don't think my doctors expected this either, as they seem as surprised as I am.  But, you can't just make a liver appear from nowhere, so we continue to wait for the right match, which means my blood type as well as my body size.  There are some scary statistics out there that say that the average life expectancy for a person at a 31 is three months.  I feel sure my call will come before three more months pass, but at the same time I never even thought of the possibility of death in the process of waiting.  I know that is unlikely to happen to me, and it only makes my passion for organ donation that much stronger!!  Think about how many people have probably passed away in the two months since I've been on the list.  Thousands.  If all of them had been donors, I most definitely would've had my chance before now.  I'm not complaining because as most of you know I'm in no way excited or even ready for this surgery.  As much as I want to feel better and get on with my life, I am terrified of the surgery itself, the recovery and the time I will be forced to spend away from my family, my home and my "normal" life.  I don't think I will ever be fully prepared or ready for any of that.  

So, with all that said here's how we've been keeping busy and keeping our minds occupied while we wait!  Yesterday was an especially busy day.  We started off the morning with an attempt at strawberry picking.  Kyndall and I have been waiting for MONTHS on end for the local strawberry patch to finally open so that I can take her on her very first strawberry picking adventure.  I've called nearly everyday to get the latest update on when the berries would be ripe and ready to pick.  Earlier last week they announced that this past Saturday, May 3rd, would be the opening day.  Kyndall and I were both SO excited!!  The farm opened at 8:00 a.m. and we got there just before 10:00 a.m. only to be greeted by a big sign that said "SOLD OUT".  Apparently we weren't the only ones looking forward to that day!  I couldn't believe they picked ALL the berries in TWO hours!  Kyndall was heartbroken and there were lots of tears.  The owner told us to come back Monday morning so we will try that I guess.

To cheer up my disappointed little girl, we made a stop by the garden center at Wal-Mart and let her pick out anything she wanted.  She is absolutely obsessed with flowers and plants and all things that "grow" lately, so she was in Heaven walking through the rows and rows of beautiful flowers to choose from.  Of all the colors she could've chosen, she picked GARNET and GOLD marigolds!  =)  I promise, we didn't persuade her at all!  I assumed she would go for something pink or purple but instead she chose our beloved NOLE colors!  Daddy helped her pick out some pots and the right kind of soil and she was a happy girl once again.  

We had LOTS of errands to run yesterday, as I'm learning with this whole waiting game that you absolutely cannot put off until tomorrow what needs to be done today!  So, I had a very long list of things to do and not a whole lot of time to do them since we had a birthday party to attend in the afternoon.  Before we even got started good, my Mom ended up having a flat tire which meant we had quite a delay as we waited for the roadside assistance to come put a spare on, and then of course we had to go straight to the tire store to have the original tire fixed.  As we were waiting by the road for the spare to be put on, Kyndall (of course) announced that she needed to go potty.  So, I walked with her down the road to the nearest gas station.  

As we were getting ready to leave, I told Kyndall to go grab a drink from the cooler and I also got one for myself and my Mom, as it was getting quite toasty outside and I knew we would be waiting a little while.  There was a lady in front of me with her son who looked to be a little younger than Kyndall.  They placed their items on the counter and I noticed she had two juice boxes, a few bags of chips and a drink for herself.  I wasn't exactly sure what happened, but after a few minutes of talking with the cashier, the lady walked away and left her things on the counter.  The sad little boy cried and stretched out his arm for his juice box as his mother pulled him away and walked out the door.  The cashier was about to call someone over to put the items back when I decided to ask her what the problem was.  I said "did she not have enough money to pay for those snacks?"  The cashier replied that the lady was trying to pay with food stamps and the store didn't accept food stamps.  I told her to please ring up the items and put them on my tab.  She looked shocked, but did it anyway.  I paid for her items and for ours and went searching for the lady and her little boy.  I could still hear him crying so I followed the cries into the laundromat which was next door.  I found the lady and her son, along with another little boy and presented her with the snacks that she wasn't able to pay for.  Her face lit up and immediately the little boy's whaling turned into excited giggles.  She thanked me over and over and I had to hold back my tears as I told her it was my pleasure.  As Kyndall and I walked back to the car hand-in-hand with our drinks, I explained to her what had just happened.  I reminded her that not everyone is as fortunate as we are and that even something as small as a juice box is a wonderful, rare treat to many children out there.  I think it really made her think and it was definitely one of those teachable moments.  It really put things into perspective for me as well.  So many times I think nothing of dropping 5 or 10 bucks fast food, Coke Icees, candy, etc without even giving it a second thought.  But when I saw how badly that little boy's heart broke when he realized he wasn't getting his beloved juice box that he had so carefully and excitedly picked out, the Mommy in me just couldn't walk away without helping.  I'm only sharing this to hopefully get you thinking as well.  There are so many opportunities right before our very eyes every single day to ease another's burdens yet we get so caught up in ourselves and our busy schedules that we overlook them.  I encourage you to look for these opportunities and take advantage of them.  I promise you will not regret it!  It's a great feeling when you look beyond yourself and do something for the greater good of humanity!

ANYWAY.....Once the tire changing fiasco was taken care of, we grabbed a quick lunch at Steak 'N Shake and headed back home to get ready for the birthday party.  We didn't get a single errand done.  Uggh.  

At 2:30 we arrived at Jackson's 5th birthday party at Donnell Century Farms.  We've been there once before during the fall to get pumpkins and walk through the corn maze and we loved it!  The whole family went this time---Me, Kyndall, Matthew and my Mom.  Lots of our friends from church were at the party so Kyndall had a great time with all of her little buddies and I enjoyed catching up with my girlfriends.  It was a great party and we will definitely keep it in mind as a possibility for K's September birthday this year!

That tube slide is FAST!  Every picture I snapped of her was a blur!

I love the "corn sandbox" as much as she does---NO MESS!  So much better than sand!

Hayride time!  My big kid and my little kid =)

Off to check out the animals with Daddy..........

She loved the baby chicks, which were still dyed all sorts of crazy colors from Easter

She wasn't too crazy over the big trampoline last time we were there, but she gave it another try and seemed to like it a little better this time

Kyndall and Tyler =)

Dirty from head to toe and for once, she didn't even care!

A ride on the cow train

I finally got the birthday boy to slow down long enough to grab a picture, just as we were leaving!  Happy birthday, Jackson!  We had a great time at your party!

After the party we came back home to do what Kyndall had been patiently waiting to do ALL DAY......Plant her flowers with Daddy!

GO NOLES!!  =)

She was totally in her element, loving every minute of this little project!

In addition to the flowers that she chose, she also picked out some seeds so that she can watch them grow and bloom.  Daddy helped her plant those as well.

She was so so proud!!  I've never seen her so giddy over something so simple!  She is definitely my little nature-lover, whether it be animals or plants.  She is fascinated by all of God's creation and even more fascinated that WE get to help take care of it!

We explained to her that these flowers are now her responsibility and it's her job to check on them everyday and make sure they have plenty of water and sunlight.  She's taking the job very seriously already and it was one of the first things she asked to do this morning when she woke up.

I had been wanting a new plant for my front porch so as part of my early Mother's Day gift, my Mom let me pick out some pretty new flowers as well and she treated me to them.  

These are the ones I chose!  I've never seen or heard of them before, but the tag says they're called "Double Date"  

I just think my porch looks like a happier place now!  =)  Thanks Mom!

We ended the evening with dinner at our favorite local Mexican hang out and then Mom and I ran out to finish those errands that we never got around to!  Whew!  It was a busy but productive day!

Today has been beautiful so we spent the entire afternoon outside soaking up the sunshine and enjoying a relaxing day at home.  We needed it after yesterday's adventures!

We recently had our yard completely re-landscaped by professional landscapers and it looks GREAT!  The plants and flowers are still very tiny right now, but as soon as they're a little bigger I'll post pictures.  In light of that, Matthew has suddenly gotten on a home improvement kick and has been working outside almost every weekend.  Today he started tackling some projects in the backyard and of course my little green thumbed girl was right there with him, sweating it out and working just as hard as he was!

Taking a break from the heat!  This little one will sleep well tonight, I can guarantee it!

Kyndall also loves watching the birds, so Grammy bought her a traditional bird feeder and Matthew got her a hummingbird feeder.  We set them up outside our kitchen window this afternoon and Kyndall is very excited to dine with the birdies as soon as they discover their food!

We also worked on some teacher appreciate gifts this afternoon for Kyndall's wonderful teachers at Englewood.  We surely appreciate everything Mrs. Lila and Mrs. Christy do and Kyndall is totally crazy over them!  I can't believe there are only two more weeks of school left before they break for summer!!  

What's inside is even better!

We have a busy couple of weeks coming up as the school year comes to a close, dance class winds down and we get ready for summer break.  Kyndall's very first dance recital is May 17th and I'm praying so hard that I will be here to see it!!  I know that sounds crazy, but I've waited this long so what's another two weeks?  I will be so brokenhearted if I get called away and have to miss it.  I've been dreaming of her very first dance recital since the day I found out I was having a girl---no lie!  So, the thought of not being there just about brings me to tears.  What an awful tease it will be to get THIS close to recital day and then be called away at the last minute and have to miss it.  Two more weeks is a drop in the bucket compared to the two months I've already waited.  I know it sounds strange to most, but it's not to me.  I also know that the Lord knows the desires of my heart and He knows how important this is to me.  His timing is always perfect and He holds a perfect plan.  I just hope that plan allows me to be there!!  I've even joked about turning down an offer for a liver if it comes before the 17th.  That didn't go over very well with my family!  =)  

We also have Mother's Day coming up, which I'm looking forward to!  My Mom has been here almost a month and is planning to stay until I get the call, so I'm happy that she'll be here to celebrate such a special day.  My in-laws and my Dad will be coming up the following weekend for Kyndall's recital, so we have a lot to look forward to over the next few weekends!

Tomorrow I go for more blood work so we will see what things look like after that.  I have a feeling my score is probably up even higher than it was last week, but again that really doesn't mean anything to me.  I am going on with life as usual and not allowing some number on a paper dictate how I live my life.  As long as I can do the things I want to, I plan to continue doing them!!  There will be plenty of time for me to lay around and feel miserable AFTER my surgery so I'm making the most of my freedom while I still have it!

Hope everyone has a great week!  Remember to hug a teacher and thank them for all they do!