Heart4Ash (Skwig)

I know it has been a whole entire month since I have posted anything and let me tell you it has been non-stop. My brother got married, we went to spread my grandpa's ashes in Pueblo, my mother in-law and grandma came into town over Halloween, we got ourself a house and we are still unpacking, but most of it is done. So first I want to give a shout out to my brother really pulling the trigger to get married and his wife Danielle is a very nice girl and is going to fit into our crazy family just great. It was a lot of fun because I was able to hang out with my bestie Scottie and we met up with another one of our good friend Jess for breakfast. The day of the wedding the weather said that it was going to be cold and the ceremony was outside, but it all ended up great without anyone freezing. I am so proud of my brother and I wish him nothing but pure happiness. Brother  Mother  Hubby  Scottie The whole family  The weekend after...

If you saw my instagram  page you know that Steve and I ran the Fit One half. I was a lot of fun running with Steve, rather than my lonesome self. We ran and walked, by the 10th mile I tired, but kept going and got myself a personal record. I believe it was all Steve pacing me while we ran. My parents got a Tesla for 24 hours so they decided to come up to say hi to us the first weekend in October. We had a fun time showing them the town. My mom has been up prior, but it was my dad's first time coming to see us. We hiked half way up to Table Rock until the boys decided to turn back. My mom, Wrigley and I kept going and we made it all the way. I never knew that Table Rock was at the bottom of the Idaho Lake forever ago. After our hike we went to meet up with Kate, Matt and Boggs for breakfast at the Griddle. We all had a good time chatting about how we like being in Boise. The same weekend my parents came into town was Conference. I absolutely love how a few of the ...

Over Labor Day weekend, Steve, Wrigley and I went up to Stanley, Idaho to go camping. Sound fun right? We were way under prepared, for example, we didn't have a tent, we brought up a hammock, but forgot one of the ropes to secure it to a tree. I was thinking this idea of mine was going to be fun, but it was more stressful. I am glad we went because even thought we had the worst night ever and Wrigley was a pill, we had fun in between, plus memories! I started playing soccer again and it is amazing. I play on a women's 4v4 and an COED 7v7. It is fun because I am meeting new people. Before my heart transplant, I looked at sports as if you lose you are a loser and I would get disappointed in myself. Now all I want to do is have fun and just get out there and be grateful for my ability to kick the ball around. Steve and I have been slacking on training for our half marathon at the end of this month. We have been thinking about maybe running the 10k rather...

My mother and I did a 45 mile bike ride on August 12th for the Wildflower Pedalfest up in Morgan, Utah. We both had a blast spending time with one another. It was great just spending the whole day with just us two and talking about each others stress of life with a lot of laughter and joking. We got to see an old soccer buddies mom riding the ride too. It was nice to see how she was doing and her daughter the girl I played club soccer with was doing too. My mom is amazing and I am so thankful that she is able to do all the many things she does. My mom, me and Sharon  I had a doctors appointment on the 17th and got to see my favorite doctor. Dr. Kia is an awesome doctor and way cool guy. We chatted about my bike ride and that I am training to do another half in September and that I that last time I had a doctors appointment I have missed my morning dose of pills twice!! I feel normal again but Kia told me that I am not normal that I traded another disease for a transpl...

What a great weekend! This past weekend Steve and I went down to Salt Lake and spent time with my family. It is my mom's birthday this coming Tuesday and it will be Pioneer day this Monday, so we decided to go down any celebrate both with my family. We went for a hike on Saturday morning to the Living Room trail right above the U of U and what a view we had of the valley. After our hike we met up with my Aunt LoLo and had breakfast at Ruth's Diner up Emigration Canyon. It was soo  good seeing her and visiting. My mom and I went to the Bulterville's Day parade that afternoon to see the cool floats and eat some candy. That night my family went out to eat for my mom's birthday and then we over to the park to the Butlerville's Day carnival, music, food truck and fireworks. There we saw my best friend's family and catch up on each others lives. It was great seeing everyone. Steve and I are still training for our half marathon this coming September, but the week bef...

I am such a stiff and I swear I didn't even know I was stiffen  anyone .... I thought I posted something 2 weeks ago. So here is what has happened in the past month short and sweet.  First, we have come to a decision with our surrogacy process, with me talking to quite a few people about our decision and their thoughts. We have decided to wait with our one little embryo and go the adoption route first. This was hard for me at the beginning because I have always wanted a baby that came from both Steve and I. So, right now we are trying to find the perfect house in order to get our home study done and to begin our adoption profile. After we settle into our future home, we are going to spread the word that we are hoping to adopt. I had a doctor's visit and everything is looking good. It is so nice that my doctor's from Salt Lake come up to Boise to see the transplant patient and it was great seeing a familiar face Dr. Rami. I have kind of been missing everyone down in Salt...

I had been thinking about doing another half marathon for a while, but haven't really been training. Tried to convince Steve to run one with me, but he was a no go. The longest I have ran for was 7 miles down in St George, so I thought what the heck I will run the Famous Idaho Potato Half Marathon. After signing up for the race, which was a week ago today I got a stomach bug right before the race. Didn't know if I would have the energy to be able to run that far, but if you know me I will always try even if I fail. To get my head ready for the race I decided to change the word "race" to "run." When I hear the word race I automatically think I have to compete. That was the first thing that had to be changed. The second thing I decided was not to choose someone who was running the race about my speed that was ahead of me and try to beat them. And lastly, I was thinking I was likely to get a PR due to the course was basically all downhill. Once the "run...

On Tuesday this past week I was at work doing my usual stuff and one of the front desk ladies told me that there was a man on the phone wanting to speak to me about a procedure that I had that I posted on my blog. At first I didn't want to speak to this guy and secondly, how in the crap did he know that I worked where I worked. I decided to put my thoughts aside and take the call and see what procedure it was that he wanted to know more about. The gentleman's name was James and he wanted to know about "Gus" my LVAD. I asked him if he had watched my video about Gus on YouTube. He said, "I have twice." He explained to me about his heart condition and how it is affecting his life. I explained to him that I knew exactly how he felt. He told me about how hard it is for him to take out the trash and other simple things that he struggles getting done due to his heart condition. I explained to James that the LVAD is amazing, but yes, it has its downs too. I told him...

I had my annual exam this past week, but before my annual exam I flew to St. George to meet Boggs Irvin Gardner aka BIG. He is a little nugget. It is amazing how precious he is and his faces are priceless. All you mom's out there ya'll  are incredible. My sister in law, Kate showed me all what you guys do. That is work, but, what a gift it is to love so much you would do anything . It was so great to visit and spending time with my in laws. BIG showing off his biceps Irvin American Gothic Kate & I being  goofs On Easter Sunday I took the shuttle to Salt Lake to spend some time with my family and for my annual exams. On the way up I listened to the past General Priesthood session and what a reminder it was to remember what Jesus did for each in every one of us. Being around all of my family over the Easter weekend was something special I never really realized how much I have missed everyone in my family and Steve's family. On Monday after Ea...

Went to the temple twice and what an amazing feeling it was to go to the Lord's house. I am so grateful for a temple that is less than 15 minutes away. The first time I went, I got off work early and I was debating to go. My gut feeling was telling me to go so I went. The second time I promised my co-worker Jeanie that I would go because her daughter was going through the temple for the first time. Watching her daughter throughout the session made me think of when I went through the temple for the first time, in that moment I never really thought about the impact of my decision. All I wanted to do was to married Steve and live happily ever after. During the session I felt the warmth of the Lord's love running through me. The first weekend in April we had conference  and heard the words of the prophet and the apostles. Elder Ronald A. Rasband talked about being a first responder to the Holy Ghost or your gut feeling and to pray to the Lord saying that we are ready to respond,...

On March 15th I celebrated my 2 years with my donor's heart and on March 25th my husband and I celebrate our 6th year anniversary. And that isn't all ... Steve's sister had her baby boy on March 23rd. The week of my 2nd year with my donor's heart, I thought about her family and her all week long. I am so very grateful that my donor said yes to being a donor and for all the doctors, nurses and everyone who came and visited me when I was in the hospital. It is crazy to think how far I have come without all of the love and care that I continue to feel each in everyday I doubt I would be where I am at today. Thank you for all your kindness and thoughts. There are no words to express how thankful I feel, so thanks for keeping me smiling :) Steve and I ran 5 miles at a St. Patricks fun run  Me being me, of course When Steve's sister, Kate had her baby, Boggs Irvin Gardner aka BIG. I took the poor me train at first because of what happened a few weeks a...