More Hawaii photos & Kristie update

Isabela was taking the photo...great job Bella!


The fun pony ride!

Gabriela and her Dad swimming...her favorite thing to do!

KRISTIE UPDATE
She had a GREAT time with Katie and Calla and Nich while we were in Hawaii. Katie is such a fantastic sister to Kristie! Thanks Kate!

Unfortunately, her creatinine level went from 2.9 to 4.1 before we left for Hawaii. The next step is to figure out just how much kidney function she has left. So this weekend we are doing the 24 hour urine test, then our doctor will be able to let us know more accurately if her kidneys are below the 20% functioning level. If they are, we can enter the transplant program and start preparing for that.

We've already asked the doctor if he thinks Kristie could get thru a transplant given her mental age of 8 to 10 years old and he said yes.

Got kidney? Anyone? We will be looking for living kidney donors, as well as putting her on the Northwest transplant waiting list - the average wait is 1.5 years to 5 years...yikes!

One step at a time...please keep praying!

Praise God that Kristie is not showing any signs of her illness...its funny that for someone who is supposed to be so sick that she's not...so our prayers must be working in that regard! Yay!

Kristie got home last night from Sacramento and is happy to be back to her normal routine. She's on the treadmill right now so I'm going to work out too.

Have a GREAT DAY! Love, Julia

Beautiful Hawaii

Grandpa and Isabela...aren't they cute? Isabela is almost 5 years old and LOVES pink!

Grandpa and Gabriela...aren't they cute? Gabriela is almost 2 years old and LOVES the sand!

The view from the top of Diamond Head. We made the mile high trek and survived!

That's me surfing...NOT! The surfing was awesome at the North Shore. This was taken at the Turtle Bay Resort where we stayed for two days.

As you can see, we had a GREAT time on Oahu over Thanksgiving. We had lots of fun playing with the grandkids and visiting with Diane and Fernando. Diane is due with their third child in March and she looked radiant! She also cooked a scrumptuous Thanksgiving dinner with all the favorites!

I'm off to pick up Kristie from the airport!

A year or two

Kristie's monthly appt was yesterday. The routine now is get her blood drawn, wait for about an hour and then see the doctor so he can review her preliminary lab work before deciding whether or not she gets the EPO shot.

She had to have the shot and she HATES shots. Its hard as a mom to watch your child cry and feel her pain.

But, she was brave and inside I am not.

This is the hardest thing I will ever do. Make decisions that affect my innocent child who lives her life making others smile that she cannot see.

Nigel and I had a discussion (Kristie was not present) with her doctor about the likelihood of her being able to tolerate dialysis, especially on a long term basis and he agreed that it is not the best option. He agreed that a transplant is her best option. When we asked him to give us his best estimate on a timeframe, he hesitated to answer because anything can happen, but said it would be probably be a year or two.

A year or two. This does make me feel a bit better but only for a year or two. My mind is already jumping to what will happen in a year or two and none of it is good.

This sucks.

The whole thing sucks.

And I wonder, once again, why bad things happen to good people. I read a book on that once and it didn't give me any answers...because there are no answers.

Kristie is flying to Sacramento today to spend Thanksgiving with Katie and her Dad's family. She gets to see Calla and I don't...darn it.

I'm counting the days until December 12th when I get to hold that little bundle of joy and hug her silly. I was listening to her sing over the phone the other day...talking and singing...just like her parents.

Amidst pain there is happiness. Its interesting how you can be sad and happy all at the same time. And its astonishing how feeling all these emotions wears me out. I'm not really good at feelings...not one of my strengths.

Talking Kermit the Frog - Anyone?

Kristie wanted a talking Kermit the Frog and the Shrek 3 DVD. So we went to Toys R Us. No Kermits at all! So if anyone finds a talking Kermit the Frog, please buy it and I'll buy it from you! We did manage to get the Shrek 3 movie though. Although, I must admit that I fell asleep during that movie at the theatre...I think the first Shrek was the best.


Hawaii, here we come! Nigel and I are leaving next Wednesday to visit Diane and her family on Oahu over Thanksgiving; we'll be there for a week. We're staying at the Marriott, then a couple of days on the north shore at Turtle Bay too. I'm looking forward to relaxing but will miss Kristie. Hopefully though this will be a good time to recharge.

I feel like this year has been one thing after another.

Nigel's mom was just diagnosed with uterine cancer and will be having a hysterectomy, possibly followed by chemotherapy. Please pray for her. She lives in England and we saw her this past March at Nigel's sister's wedding. The doctors are hopeful they will get all the cancer with the surgery.

Kristie's appt with the kidney specialist is Monday. Will also do monthly lab work but we probably won't get the results back for a week. Please pray that her levels have stayed the same - no increases please! She's then headed to Katie's in Sacramento on Tuesday where she'll spend time with her Dad too and attend her Grandma's funeral in southern CA.

Dancing with the Stars update. I was surprised that Cameron was voted off instead of Marie. Helio is kicking butt and Mel is still just as good - those two will be in the finals. I love that show.

It took me an hour to get thru QFC yesterday because I had to READ EVERY LABEL! Sodium, potassium, protein...I think I can go to work as a Dietician soon. (I'm sure Garrett will disagree though, since he went to school for it!) Then, I went to our neighborhood family meat market and the fruit/vegie stand. I was food shopping for two hours. Luckily, I like to food shop.

Amazon.com finally shipped my Deceptively Delicious cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld. So cool! I made the chicken nuggets last night. She's all about using vegetable purees and hiding them in food so your family gets their vegies in without knowing it! I'm excited to try the brownies with the hidden spinach in them. She swears you can't taste the spinach...I'll let you know. I was excited to see that she uses all low sodium chicken stock.

Nigel is painting the dining room red today. Its looking good!

I LOVE
Staying home when its cold and rainy
People who are decisive

I HATE
Being disappointed
Iron board covers that don't fit an ironing board

SALT IS OUR ENEMY!

Salt is our enemy. To Kristie's kidneys, its dangerous, as is too much protein and too much potassium.

I learned all this at the almost 3 hour Healthy Eating class I attended at the Northwest Kidney Center. I got a great cookbook too!


Normal kidneys clear out excess protein, sodium, potassium, and phosphorous. Excess sodium makes your heart work harder and your blood pressure go up. If your ankles swell, you're retaining fluid and probably had too much sodium.

Our dietician, Beth, said that it used to be they preached no salt shaker to those that had high blood pressure. Now, its not the salt shaker that is the problem. Its all the pre-packaged, instant, frozen dinner, microwaveable, canned food that presents the problem...they are all high in sodium.

Kristie is supposed to have less than 2000 mgs of salt a day. Let's review:

A small fast food hamburger has about 500 mgs
1/2 cup of canned chicken noodle soup has about 700 mgs (and who has 1/2 cup anyway?)
Chicken broth has 700 to 1000 per cup
Frozen dinners - most are over 1000 mgs for a serving
No smoked meats or sausages, too high in sodium

A salt substitute is a death threat to those with kidney disease as its made with potassium chloride, even a sprinkle is life threatening. Yikes.

To make matters worse the food industry is catching on that we want less salt in our foods so they're substituting potassium chloride and then not listing it on the label because they are not mandated to do so. At least they list it in the ingredient section.

Sigh.

The bottom line is this...read labels and choose lower sodium products; shop in the organic section more as most of those items have lower sodium foods. Limit canned or pre-packaged food and use fresh most of the time...hmmm, sounds like what everyone should be doing anyway.

Interestingly, the salt shaker is not a problem if you are limiting your sodium content as indicated above.

THE BIG POPCORN LIE! Microwave popcorn has too much sodium. Instead put regular popcorn (a couple of handfuls) in a brown paper lunch bag, fold over the top, stable one time. Put in the microwave and hit the popcorn button. Add about 15 seconds and you've got popcorn with no additional fat or salt. Beth suggested this and I've tried it twice now...works GREAT!

THE BIG COCOA LIE! Instead of buying high sugary cocoa. Put a cup of milk in a microwave bowl and heat until hot. Add 1 teaspoon or unsweetened cocoa and a packet of sweetener. use a whisk to mix it and pour into a mug. Yum, Yum! No more cocoa packets for us!

I LOVE
Cookbooks
Hot drinks like hot tomato juice, cocoa, soup, tea

I HATE
Being cold
Junk mail

Bibles & Dancing Shows

Kristie's birthday was Sunday.
Licking the cake batter is a tradition!
Thank you to Treena, Mason, September, Dana, Nicholas, and Louis who all made her birthday special this year!











So so cute!

Let's hear it for the Baby Bumbo chair!












and my beautiful daughter Katie!







I'm attending a Healthy Eating class at the Northwest Kidney Center this morning. Woke up at 5:30 and couldn't get back to sleep so I'm up early...sigh.

I got home late from a meeting last night and Nigel waited for me to watch Dancing with the Stars...it was SO GOOD! As anticipated, Marie needs to go, but certainly put on a brave front after having lost her Dad this past week. Helio and Julianne were awesome - the best dance of the week! Mel and Max were stunning as usual. And if Jenny Garth could just let herself dance from the heart, she'd be so good!! Cameron is cute and has alot of fun dancing so he's fun to watch but Helio is a better dancer. The results show is tonight and then next week they're having the Riverdance Guy on! I can't wait for that! We saw Riverdance a few years ago and I was stunned at how fantastic it was! So, I got tickets to see it again next February - can't wait. I love dancing shows! Probably because I took 10 years of dancing when I was a little girl...mostly tap though.

Say a prayer for Kristie as I have to tell her today that her Grandma died. Kristie has a soft place in her heart for Grandmas - and anyone that wears polyester is a Grandma - fyi. Life according to Kristie - LOL.

New discoveries
Blueberry Green Tea - get it at Trader Joes - it doesn't have that green tea taste - its light and great to drink anytime! (Another good tea line is "Mighty Leaf" which you can get at QFC - very good!)

Rice Milk - get the original and put on your cereal - can't tell the difference from regular fat free milk. Kristie likes it and its low in potassium (30 mg vs. 385 for milk!)

I LOVE
Bibles - Weird, I know. But I have a plethora of them and they all have their own special personality Lately, I've been reading the Living Bible which is so interesting. Then there's the Amplified Bible which I recently purchased from the Joyce Meyer website and has all her notes in it - so good! Then there's the standard NIV Bible (New International Version) which was my favorite until the others came along. The King James Version is not my favorite, too hard to read. And, in Ecclesiastes it does say there is a time to dance - sweet!

I HATE
That underlying feeling that something is about to go wrong & struggling to shake it
Feeling sad

Kristie LOVES Star Wars! This is her in 2006 as Darth Vader for her Halloween party...nuf said.

Nicholas won our hearts forever when he said he would have an all day Star Wars marathon with Kristie and then actually did it! Thanks Nich, you're the best!
















I took this photo today. Kristie loves playing the piano! She can play almost any song by ear. Since she owns all of the disney movies - she plays all those songs. Harry Potter and Star Wars too. Her new favorite movie is Fiddler on the Roof and she sat down the other day and played "If I were a Rich Man". I love that song.

When she was about 5, we had an old piano and one day I was attempting to play (but am not good!) and she crawled up in my lap and started plinking away.

I tried a couple of teachers over the years but she prefers to place her fingers her way if you catch my drift.

YOU TUBE

I have a confession. I knew nothing about You Tube until Oprah had the two founders on the other day. Although I have nothing to be ashamed of as Oprah admitted she was a You Tube Virgin herself. These 20 somethings year olds started You Tube a couple of years ago and recently sold it for close to 2 billion dollars!!!!!! Astonishing. They evidently still run the company.

So, this morning I logged onto You Tube for the first time and did a little searching. I searched for Oprah and watched her 6 minute video on how she was responding to and dealing with the abuse allegations at her school in South Africa. Very well done.

Then, I watched a 3 part video of her on the David Letterman show and afterward Dave escorted her across the street to the premiere of the Color Purple - very classy Dave! It was a great interview and anyone who is a David Letterman fan (Katie, that's you!) or Oprah fan would find it interesting. (FYI, Katie wanted to marry David Letterman in high school! Don't deny it Katie!)

Then, I did a search for debates and up popped the Democratic candidates debate hosted by CNN's Anderson Cooper and You Tube itself! They broke the debate into 10 minute clips and I watched 1-3 this morning; have more to go. I'm really impressed that this stuff is so easily accessible online!

In addition there are all the democrat and republican candidates profiles on the site as well. They're only 1 to 4 minutes long so it doesn't take much time. I know we're not voting til next year but it might be a good way for you to get acquainted with the candidates early.

And, speaking of Anderson Cooper, have you read his book yet? ITS FANTASTIC! Its all about how he came to be a news reporter and his rise thru the ranks with CNN. He also writes about some of the assignments that have changed his life and view of the world.

I LOVE
The Mitford books by Jan Karon - if you're looking for a good series, read these books! So good!
My heating blanket - especially the preheat setting!

I HATE
Trying a new cheese and then not liking it
People who don't RSVP

Formal or Casual? Shopping with Kristie

Are you Formal or Casual? I thought I was casual until I started listening to my audio of the month club CD by psychologist Pat Pearson! Pat was interviewing the author of "Bless the Stress" and her terms for personalities: formal or casual.

She explains it like this. If you're formal, you like to be on time (or early). You usually wait for other people. You are fairly organized. You have a place for your keys, a place for your receipts, a place for your mail, etc. You simply do not understand it when others lose things and have to look for them. You want your casual friends to "respect your time."

If you're casual, you don't mind being late. You'd rather get to the airport as the plane is boarding. You spend time "looking for things" and really don't mind it at all because when you're looking for things, you find other things and get so excited about finding them! You want your formal friends to "chill out" and just have some fun!

How do you know if you're formal or casual? Its easy if you're a woman, just look at the type of purse you are carrying. Does it have compartments? Is it shallow as opposed to deep? Is it wide/long? Is it made out of stiff leather or fabric? All of these allow you to be organized and find things quickly in your purse. Then you're a formal.

If you're casual, you probably have a soft fabric or leather purse that does not have compartments. Its a deeper purse and can be as tall as it is wide. this allows you to search for things in your purse. Its stylish so what's the problem?

She points out that neither is right or wrong, its just different styles! And if we respect each other's styles and can laugh about our differences then we can be less stressed.

Interesting. I'm definitely formal. My sister Sue is casual. My sister Laurie is formal. When Laurie and I get to spend time with Sue, we sigh alot but she's so fun that we just love her!

SHOPPING

Went bra shopping with Kristie today. Let me tell you, Kristie is VERY particular about her bras. No front closures, no straps that slip off the shoulders and since her shoulders are small and rounded ALL the straps slip off unless its a racerback bra. But racerback bras all close in the front! And let me just say she is WELL endowed! Sigh. We hit the jackpot at Nordstroms though. They had a bra with sort of indented staps that closed in the back.

If you think that's fun, wait til you go shoe shopping with her! Remember, Weebles wobble but don't fall down? Kristie walks like a weeble wobbler and has specific requirements when it comes to a shoe. Katie and I had a laugh attack a few years ago while shoe shopping in Macy's for Kristie.

And what about jeans? She has no butt! Don't get me started...

I LOVE
Dancing with the Stars! Said goodbye to Jane this week. Marie has to be next! Please!
American Idol. Its Kristie's favorite show and yes, we vote!

I HATE
Stuff in the freezer that you cannot identify
Leftovers (just ask Nich!)

I MISS
John Denver. Its sad he died, I know its been a while now, but I definitely miss him. Was listening to his greatest hits while working out this morning.

P.S. Its Kristie's birthday on Sunday. She'll be 27. How is that possible?

Pumpkins & Prayer!

Crustless Pumpkin Pie - only 1 point on Weight Watchers!

15 oz can pumpkin
1 can fat free evaporated milk
3 egg whites
½ t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. nutmeg
1 t. vanilla
2/3 cup baking splenda

Spray a pie pan and bake at 400 for 15 minutes then reduce to 325 and bake for 50 minutes.

THIS IS YUMMY! I especially like it cold but my sister Sue likes it any which way!

I LOVE
Coats (the older I get the more I love them!)
Hawaii

I HATE
Getting shots in your feet or for that matter, anywhere!
Figuring out what to have for dinner

The Power of Prayer

A special prayer for Kristie. This is a prayer that a nice lady at my church gave me over email the other day. For those of us who believe in the power of prayer but stumble thru it sometimes, perhaps this will help us to know what to pray for Kristie on those stumbling days...

I lift up Julia’s daughter before you. You are the great healer and you know all about her. I ask for your healing touch to be with her. I ask that her kidneys continue to function and even improve because you can do all things. I pray that you give her doctors wisdom and that her medication will keep her blood pressure down. I ask that you will work in her body and in her immune system and in any other area that may need your touch. I ask that all of your plans for her would be fulfilled. I know that you have plans for her welfare, plans to give her a future and a hope. I ask that through the miracle you are working in her life that you would be lifted up. I ask for peace and strength for her family at this time. Draw them into your warm embrace. May they find refuge under the shadow of your wings.. Thank you God for hearing this prayer. I humbly ask knowing that only you are able to do that which we ask. In Jesus name, Amen

Thank you to everyone who have been spreading the word about Kristie and getting her on prayer lists across the country! I appreciate it!

Many have asked how she is. Here's the scoop...Kristie knows she has kidney disease and that she has to be on a low potassium diet and that she has to get an EPO shot and blood drawn every month. She knows she has high blood pressure and has to take 2 special medications for it. She knows that we have to take her blood pressure every day. Other than that, she doesn't know the seriousness of the situation. Since she functions at about an 8 year old level, there really is no sense in explaining it to further to her so we have opted to take this one step, one day at a time. The only thing I've noticed so far is that she gets tired more easily thru out the day now.

Sign the Petition!

My very very favorite photo of Calla!

I LOVE
photos
little girls

I HATE
unhelpful, stupid, retail clerks (specifically at Target)
cute clothes that are too expensive to even consider

I've just signed a petition to the 2008 presidential candidates asking them to go on the record and tell us exactly where they stand on fighting extreme poverty and global disease.

You can take action on this important cause too by visiting http://www.one.org/ontherecord

Thanks! Julia

I love Calla!

Isn't she the cutest baby you've EVER seen! I mean really...she is just the cutest EVER!

I can't wait to hold her and love her and cuddle her in December! I'm counting the days!

Kristie told me today that in December I get to talk to Calla in my baby voice. She loves it when I talk baby talk to Calla and especially when I recite the Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed story to her. She meaning Kristie, well, Calla too.

Thank you Katie and Nicholas for giving us this wonderful gift! She's the best present ever!

I LOVE BEING A GRANDMA! Now, can they just move to Seattle???

Flowers make us happy! Exercising does not.

This is a photo I took while walking around my mother-in-law's neighborhood in England earlier this year. We went to England for Jackie's wedding, Nigel's sister. It was as England is - rainy. But, the wedding was lovely and it was pleasant hanging out with family in England.

But back to flowers...I planted about 100 bulbs in the yard yesterday. It was a fantastic Fall day in Newcastle, partly sunny and about 65 degrees (for a few hours). I had always wanted to order bulbs from Brecks Bulbs - you know that flyer you always get in the mail, then you mark everything you want but never actually order? That's the one! I actually ordered and the bulbs arrived the other day. Thank goodness it came with planting instructions! I've only planted bulbs one other time in the my life and am convinced I didn't do it right because I don't recall seeing the flowers the following spring.

I planted wildflowers and tulips and hyaciniths. My girlfriends, Tammy and Virginia, would be proud! They are yardaholics - they say working in the yard relieves stress. Eating popcorn (with real butter) and watching a happy Oprah show relieves my stress, that, and naps.

You know those exercise commercials where they say take time for yourself? Let me just say that exercising is not first choice when taking time for myself. Reading, Cooking, Eating, Napping, Shopping, Blogging, Watching a movie with Kristie, Playing with Calla, Talking to friends and family, but NOT exercising. Who are they kidding. Nobody likes exercising. We may like how we feel when we're done or a few hours later but nobody really likes it when they're going thru it.

We're going to see the Bee Movie today. Will let you know what we think.

Two friends, Spamalot

Katie sent me this link to http://www.onekidneysjournal.blogspot.com/ - see link to the right - and its awesome! Its all about two friends and how one is donating a kidney to the other. One lives in Portland, the other in Seattle. The surgery will be done in Seattle on November 9th. Please keep Anna and Nicole in your prayers. And read Nicole's blog - she's funny and its very easy reading. Nicole is the one donating to Anna who had complications with her lupus and thus kidney failure.

On a Kristie note, it looks like we're headed for a transplant ourselves; will talk to the doctor more about that on Nov. 19th and will keep you all informed. A living blood relative is the best donor and lots of testing will need to occur first. Dialysis is an option but a transplant is the best option so why not go for the best first?

Kristie and I attended a class yesterday at the Northwest Kidney Center called "Choices" and it was 2 hours of listening about dialysis options and transplant information. They advocate that transplantation is the gold standard and then home dialysis of which there are two types.

Kristie's creatinine level is now at 2.9, up from 2.5. Not good but not critical yet. Prayer would be good here.

Nigel and I went to see Spamalot a couple of weeks ago and it was one of the FUNNIEST plays we've ever seen! So fun and so goofy and so nonsensical that it was just FUNNY! Not just chuckling funny, but LOL funny! So if you just want to have a good time and laugh, go see this when you can. (It's Monty Python humor at its best!). This was completely sold out when Katie I traveled to NY for our mother/daughter trip a couple of years ago so I was glad to see it finally came to Seattle.

For those who don't know. I watch Oprah every day at 4 p.m. Don't call me during that hour b/c I won't answer the phone. I know that's annoying to my family (Sue, Laurie, Katie, Nigel) but get over it. If I'm not home during the 4 to 5 hour time period, I DVR the show each day and watch it faithfully later.

Anyway, Dr. Oz (whom I ADORE!) was on a few weeks ago and they did a special on people who had really bad cancer but were still walking around looking healthy and feeling pretty good but the prognosis was they had only a few months left to live. One lady who was in her 30s and had Stage 5 cancer in her liver said "I can't control this disease, but I can control what I eat, drink, and think." She said (and I'm paraphrasing) I choose to eat and drink only stuff that will make my body healthy and I choose to think about living every day. I take life one day at a time and live in the moment.

Hmmmm, my Life Philosophy has always been to take life one day at a time and the future would take care of itself. Life has always been a challenge with Kristie but when I remind myself of this each day, then its a little easier.

I LOVE

Broadway Plays

Blankies

I HATE

Crying every day

Talking and then not Doing