I talked in our last post about our new puppy "Milo." Later that week, when we took Milo to the vet for the first time, we had a great surprise! We found out that we didn't have a boy puppy, we had a girl puppy. You'd think it would be obvious, but really, we were told it was a boy and we never checked. Why would we? The dogs legs were only about an inch long so we just couldn't see it, we would have had to intentionally check it out, and we just never did. Anyway, Abby and I had a good laugh over that one! We now own a girl puppy and her name is Marli. She's probably the funniest puppy I've ever seen, great personality. She's the cutest puppy too! I think she's already doubled in size since when we first got her. Rebel still thinks she's annoying, but she'll grow up eventually.
One fun thing that Abby got to do this summer was that she got to go to our church's girl's camp. This was the first year that Abby's really been able to go. Obviously 2 summers ago she couln't go, and last summer she only was able to make it for one day. So, she was pretty excited to go this year. I'm also in the young women's so I got to go too. We had a blast! It was fun to be able to see Abby do one of those things that most girls probably take for granted. This was our group and what a great group it was! We spent the days hanging out and playing games and the the nights were spent laughing by the fire! We can't wait for next year.
The week before we went back to school, my dad decided that he wanted to take us on a trip to SanFrancisco. Unfortunately, Britt and Brock couldn't go because of work and football, so my mom and dad, me, Abby and my niece Mina, spent 5 days hanging out and school shopping in San Fran. We had a great time. The girls loved riding the cable cars everywhere and trying on every article of clothing in the stores. We ate delicious food, spent time at the Wharf and Pier 39, and the girls got completely spoiled!!!! It was the perfect get-away to end the summer. The only problem was that we walked so much that by the time we got back to the hotel, Abby's ankles were swollen bigger than her thighs. But, she would get up the next day and be ready to go again. Thanks dad!
After our trip, it was back to school! School started on Wednesday, the 14th, and on the next Monday, Abby had clinic, so we had to miss the 4th day of school. But, it actually ended up being perfect timing. My sweet Grandma Lambert passed away that same week and her funeral was on the Saturday before clinic, which was perfect for us because we were already going to be in Salt Lake. Her funeral was so perfect. All of my cousins and their families were there. I can't remember the last time we were all together. It was fun to catch up with all of them. During the funeral each one of the grandkids stood up and told a short memory of my grandma. It was so interesting to hear each of the things that stood out to us......It ranged from her obsession with Aloe Vera, to being a Ute fan, to stories about the cabin in Midway, to just the times we were able to sit and chat with her. My favorite part of her funeral was when the grandkids and great grandkids all stood up and sang the closing song,"Families can be together Forever." I know my grandma loved seeing that, it must have made her proud. Hopefully, it won't take a funeral to get us all together again.
Abby and I stayed in salt Lake all weekend, but Brock and Britt had to go home after the funeral. Britt was starting school again and Brock couldn't miss football. Clinic for Abby couldn't have gone any better. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING looked perfect! Her kidney function looks great, her heart is perfect, even her med levels were right on. Absolutely no problems. We don't have to go back for 3 months! The longest stretch ever. We also delivered another letter for Abby's donor family to our social worker. Maybe now, they'll be ready to make contact. We're not going to push it too hard, when they're ready, we'll be ready. We all feel like if it's supposed to happen, it will. We will continue to send them occasional cards and letters thanking them and letting them know of Abby's continued health, but we know that they'll contact us when the time is right.
Later that night, Abby was lucky enough to be able to speak at the Primary Children's Medical Center Foundation golf fundraiser at Jeremy Ranch. What a great opportunity for Abby! We thought that there would be other speakers there too, but when we got to the dinner we saw that Abby was the featured guest! We had written her talk together the day before. She was supposed to tell her story and talk about all of the things that she's been able to do since her transplant. There were about 60 + people there, most of the them were men. Most of them had tears in their eyes as Abby talked about what happened to her and how thankful she was for her donor family's decision to donate their loved one's organs. When she was done talking, they all stood up and gave her a standing ovation, it was awesome. I was extremely proud of Abby! She was confident, yet humble, and so sincere. I'm so grateful she was able to do this and we both hope she has even more opportunities to share her story.
To update what Britt and Brock are doing: Britt just started her 2nd year at Dixie State. She'll be applying for nursing school after this semester. We're hoping she gets into the nursing school at Dixie State, but this won't be easy. She's been working almost full time as a CNA at the Cliff View care center. I'm so thankful every day that she worked so hard in school and got a scholarship. We haven't had to pay a penny for her schooling yet, and we shouldn't have to for her first 4 years. I love it when hard work pays off!
Brock is a senior this year. They had their first football game last Friday and won 12-0. Brock played great. He's going to be fun to watch this year. I think the team is capable of winning the state championship this year, how sweet would that be for his senior year? For our friends up north, they'll be playing at West High on September 6th at 7:00 if you want to come watch. He won't play up there again until the state games in November. We're still not sure where he'll be going to school, we'll just have to see how he plays this season. Once again, his hard work should pay off when it comes time to go to college.
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| Game Night. Desert Hills 12, Stansbury 0 |
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| My favorite part of the game....Brock is #77! |
Although things are busy, they are good. We'll get back in the swing of things again here very fast. We're hoping and praying for a school year full of good health for everyone in the family and maybe even a little bit of peace and down time :)
