Beachy Weather and Update on Chris!

First of all, I want to say that Chris is doing great! Kelli took Caitlynn and Hunter, to MCV today, to visit their Daddy. They all said that he looks really good and is not swollen at all (when he donated his kidney, he was VERY swollen). He actually got up and walked today. Kelli said that he donated 5-pounds of his liver. He hasn't talked to the recipient, yet, but is hopeful that tomorrow they will be able to see one another. I still haven't talked to him. I am going to give him a call tomorrow. I am so thankful that everything is going well. Thank goodness for answered prayers!!!

Now, onto our day! I had Brandon and Joshy and we had so much fun, while Emily and Ryan were in school. We played outside and they helped me pick up all the sticks from our back yard, which was a HUGE task considering we had a ton. They also helped water all of our plants in the front yard. We picked Emily up from school and went to the beach! Ryan actually went home with a friend to play, which is a BIG thing, because he really prefers to come straight home after school. Emily was the only one in a bathing suit, because I didn't have one for Brandon and Joshy, but I really didn't expect any of them to get in. Well, I guess I should rephrase that --lol -- I knew perfectly well that Emily would be getting into the water. She is my water baby and always has been. She swims the minute that she can and even if we go to the beach, just to walk on the sand (like in the fall or early spring), her feet always get in the water and she "accidentally" ends up all wet!! She's funny! So, anyway, she got in and the boys got pretty wet, too. I've added some pictures to show you how much fun we had. We only stayed for about 1 1/2 hours, because I had to pick Ryan up from his friend's house. We sure did miss having Ryan, Caitlynn, and Hunter with us today, but they will all be back tomorrow. We may have to go back to the beach with them tomorrow.

Well, that's the end of our day. Oh, before I close, to watch American Idol, I just want to say that after dinner, my babies were so exhausted that they fell asleep very quickly tonight!! Yippee for warm, spring days!!! Good-night!

Our Hero ~ Chris!

I want to write about something that is near and dear to my heart --- organ donation! If you aren't on the list, please consider doing so immediately!!! Here is the link: http://www.donatelife.net/ There are so many people on the transplant list that never get the life saving organ that they desperately need! Please consider letting your family know of your decision to be an organ-donor. I have been following the story of Tricia, who has cystic fibrosis, for a long time now. Her husband, Nate, has kept a blog about their story. Their link is on my page, if you'd like to visit. They are such an inspiration.

Now, onto the reason I wanted to share this post ---- Chris, my brother-in-law, is a LIVING organ donor!! That's right -- a living donor!! He gave a kidney, in honor of my diabetic uncle, 2-years ago. He wanted to donate it to my uncle, but was not a match. However, he still donated to an anonymous person, who had a kidney disease. This actually benefited my uncle, as well, for he was moved to the top of the transplant list (he had been on dialysis for 4-years and never got the call for an organ). My uncle got "his call" exactly 1-week, after Chris donated his kidney. What a selfless act on Chris's part. He is our hero!!!

Now, if that was not enough, he just donated again, for the 2nd time!!! He found out that he was able to donate part of his liver and wanted to help someone out, who was sick. He is in MCV right now, recovering from an 11 1/2-hour operation to remove part of his liver to give to a woman, who desperately needed it to live! What an angel on earth, my brother-in-law is!!! He had the surgery yesterday at 6am and it lasted until 5:30pm! I haven't talked to him, yet, because he is still heavily sedated. Please pray for him and for the woman, who received part of his liver! He is such an inspiration to other's and is our hero!!!

Our hero, 2-time organ donor ~ Chris!!!!