[ catching up ]

Today, I am enjoying being at home...it's my last "day" before I go back to work on Monday. I am thankful for being able to stay home to help Mom get back on her feet and while she still has a long road in front of her, I think we're both confident that we're ready to move on to the next step in the progress.

This morning, we made this mondo bowl of salsa, per Karlye's request, to enjoy at her GRADUATION party tomorrow! I couldn't be more excited to celebrate Karlye's graduation from WSU tomorrow. I am so proud of her hard work, dedication, and perseverence to get to this point. So so proud....

(BTW, if you're wondering - this salsa is DELISH!)

Yesterday, Mom & I went to the Tri-Cities to run some errands and pick up some prescriptions for her. Yesterday was also one month since her surgery. We celebrated with Starbucks...AND Sonic!

We also stopped by Village Quiltworks at Queensgate and I picked up this cute quilt kit:

I don't know what it is about orange lately, but I'm a huge fan! I also got some fabric and a pattern for a bag that Mom wants me to try out. I'm a little leary of a bag, so we'll see how it goes. She picked out cute coffee-themed fabric, so even if the bag is a flop, it'll still be adorable because of the fabric!

I also found these pictures on my phone camera that I haven't shared yet...

Ladies and Gentlemen...I took the plunge and bought this lovely, 40 yard roll of quilt batting. I think I could supply all the quilters in Connell with batting!! Seriously, if anyone needs some, let me know! :)

Tonight, my lovely friends Kate & Candace are coming over for Root Beer Floats, crafting, chatting, and having fun. I'm not sure how much crafting we'll get it, but the rest will be fun for sure!

[ Cinco de Mayo }

YAY! I love Cinco de Mayo! I think it's un-American not to honor Cinco de Mayo with good Mexican food and a margarita!

To celebrate, Mom, Dad, Grandma, & I went to Ritzville to try out their new Mexican restaurant. It was delicious!! I could eat there every day...no lie. We also went to the fabric store in Ritzville that is across the street from the Mexican restaurant. It was fun - lots of cute quilts on the walls. Grandma bought me this layer cake:

and, as soon as I got home, I cut it up and started sewing it back together into a cute table topper.

Hope you all enjoyed your Cinco de Mayo and did something FUN to celebrate!!

[ Frances Lind Rein ]

My cousin Lisa and her husband Jon welcomed

Frances Lind Rein

to their family!

born at 12:01am, May 3rd, 2009

7 lbs, 14 oz, 20 1/4 in. long

We are all very excited to welcome Frankie to our family! I love her middle name - both Jon and Lisa have family from Lind, Washington - and the first place we all met Jon was at the Lind Combine Demolition Derby!

(Jon's funny father pointed out that he's glad Jon & Lisa didn't have a common family ties in Ritzville or Washtucna!)

(Too bad I didn't get that quilt sent off yet...!)

[ still here ]

We're all still here. This week has been full with 2 doctors appointments for Mom (one in Richland and one in Seattle) among other things. I went into work for a few hours the other day (overwhelming), Mom & I both went to Beta on Tuesday night for Founder's Day (fun!), and we went to the Dream With Me Preschool Taco Feed and Raffle (super fun!).

In the meantime, I finished another quilt top and took a different quilt "sandwhich" to my friend Melissa to stipple machine quilt. She is crazy. She called the next day and said it was finished. Not that it is a huge quilt, but she has 6 kids including a 2-month-old, homeschools her older kids, and has 9 puppies and some kittens too. I'm in awe of YOU, Melissa!

On our drive to Seattle and back yesterday, I had the opportunity to sew the binding on and then I threw it in the washer last night.

Here's the finished result:

This is going to be popped in the mail today, sent to Reston, VA for my cousin Lisa & her husband Jon - for their baby girl that is due on May 9th. I hope they like it!

[ table runners ... and more table runners ... ]

Since we've been home from Seattle, I've been quilting a lot. Between helping Mom and visitors, it doesn't seem like I have a lot of time, but looking at what I've finished, I guess I have had some time to do things. :) Mom, Melissa, and I were supposed to go on a Scrapbook Retreat this weekend with Amy, Jessica, and Martha, but had to cancel for obvious reasons. So - to feel like I was there, I quilted for most of today - but never won a door prize, darn it! :)

(Oh, and if you're wondering...I did order a bolt of batting from JoAnn's yesterday. I'm glad I waited because when I looked yesterday, there was a 50% off coupon! YES!!!)

Ok - Table Runner #1. I finished this one the day before Mom's incident. I made another one that I finished this past Thursday, same fabric and pattern. The second one I donated to the silent auction for the Dream With Me Preschool Taco Feed and Silent Auction. It's going to be this coming Wednesday from 5-7pm at Connell UMC.

This is Table Runner #2. I needed to finish hand stitching the binding and I had it in my bag when we went to Seattle, so I finished it while we were waiting. Mom was able to use it on her bedside table once she got out of ICU. I think it brightened her room up some. :)

Table Runner #3 - I started it after lunch on Friday and finished it after lunch on Saturday! I made this to take to our Priest Lake house since we always spend 4th of July there. I love how it turned out. I ordered some more fabric to make another one for a gift or donation for something. It came together really quick and is pretty darn cute!

Table Runner #4. Same pattern as Table Runner #1, but different fabric. This is for my friend Ronda's birthday present. I'm going to try to get it in the mail this week even though her birthday isn't until the middle of May. I think it looks so spring-y. It makes me happy every time I look at it.

This week, I also finished a quilt top and got a different quilt top ready to take to my friend Melissa's so that she can quilt it. I think I'm going to move away from table runners for a while (even though I bought fabric to make a valentine's one and a coffee-themed one).

In other news around the Koch household...Mom feels like a queen in her mechanical recliner that our friend Jim Jacobs brought for her to borrow. It's one of those that with a push of a button will stand you on your feet and 10 seconds later, lays you flat on your back. She feels quite independent now.

Also, I took Samson to the vet on Thursday. I noticed the last couple of days that he'd been shaking his ears more than normal. Dr. Poe checked him over (he lost .5 lbs since November!) and diagnosed the little dude (that is what she calls him) with yeast infections in his ears. $85 later, we were sent home with drops that we have to put in each ear once a day and he seems to be feeling better!

So, this coming week is full with doctor's appointments on Monday and Wednesday and Beta on Tuesday. I hope to squeeze in some time for quilting somewhere in there and we have to get started on writing thank you notes - it's going to take us YEARS!! If anyone wants to come cut fabric for me, I'd love you forever. I hate cutting fabric. I just like sewing it back together!

I'm also looking at creating some sort of quilting scrapbook or journal. Has anyone done this? I can't think of the right kind of book. I'd appreciate any suggestions!

[ an adventure ]

Ok, Mom and I are going to attempt going to the Tri-Cities today.

Wish us luck!

UPDATE: We did great! Dad & I encouraged Mom to take an extra-heavy pain killer for the ride to Tri-Cities, but it made her pretty sick, so we'll know not to do that again.

I've been doing a lot of quilting since we've been home from Seattle, but I had no batting. The kind of batting that I like was on sale at JoAnn's for $5.99 a yard, so I got 4 yards. The lady that cut it acted like I was nuts. She said, "Well, this should last you a lifetime." I tried explaining to her that I don't get to town often and I have multiple projects going at one time...then I thought - why should I have to explain this to you, lady? Cut my darn batting!

Batting is so darn expensive, that I've been looking up buying it in bulk online. JoAnn's has it online right now and you can use a 40% off coupon! I'm seriously considering it...it would only be about $100 for 40 yards. Am I crazy?!

[ new routine ]

I am amazed at how quickly life can change and how quickly we can adapt to that change. Today is the first day Mom & I are on our own, everyone else went back to work! We made it through breakfast, the first dose of pills (13 in the morning!), and a shower! Whew! We had planned to go to the Tri-Cities today, but some friends of my Grandma's decided to come this afternoon, so Tri-Cities will have to wait until tomorrow.

Cheer tryouts start today! I'm really looking forward to seeing Jessica & Emersyn. I'm not going to be able to go everyday - but hopefully a day or two this week, and then, of course, actualy tryouts next Monday!

[ home ]

We are home!

After waiting almost 4 hours for the darn prescriptions to be filled, I think we all had high blood pressure!! Luckily, the pass was fine and we made it home around 7pm. We arrived to a sparkling clean home, thanks to some special cleaning fairies (thank you thank you thank you!) and a small welcoming committee.

Dad and Melissa unpacked the car and I unpacked things in the house. We finally wound down enough to think about bed around 11:45pm. We got Mom settled into Dad's recliner with everything she needed at her fingertips. I did a few things in my room and came out to the kitchen for a glass of water. She and I ended up talking for over an hour. :)

This morning, we're just trying to adjust to being home and figuring out what Mom needs. Her medications are super confusing, but I think Dad's finally got a handle on those. We also didn't get a lot of rest last night, so we're trying to veg a little this morning since we're expecting quite a bit of company today!

Some other happy news...I entered a blog contest a few weeks ago to name this funky mannequin:

I named her "Stella" and it was chosen!! I won a handmade apron by Miss Lila Tueller (http://lilatuellerdesigns.blogspot.com/). It was a great surprise!! I never win anything!!!

[ one more day ]

Well, we talked to the doctor this morning, Carrie Boom (she's great) and since Mom's blood pressure is unstable (yesterday it was 160+ and today it's at 100), she's apprehensive to send us home. So - we're staying at least one more day. I think we were all a little disappointed to hear that news. Melissa & I had already checked out of our hotel room and Mom was looking forward to wearing her new going home clothes that we bought her. Anyway, we are thankful for the doctor's knowledge and willingness to do whatever is needed. Dr. Boom said that if we lived on the west side she'd feel comfortable sending us home today, but since we're in Eastern Washington, it's best be on the safe side. I couldn't agree more - although I'm missing Samson something terrible and was really looking forward to seeing him. I am so appreciative Chris and Candace for keeping him this week...what great friends I have. Seriously - I wouldn't trust just anyone with him and not just anyone would agree to have him for this long. :)

Here's Mom's to-do list for the day - it's on a white board so that she can see it from her bed. She has to walk around the floor (about 400 yards) four times a day. You can see that yesterday, she did 6! She did three laps before lunch and when Dad asked her if she wanted to do the 4th before lunch came, she said, "Well, I don't want to show off!"

This is a hallway downstairs before you get on the elevators. Melissa and I try to take this advice everytime we get on the elevator.The hotel Melissa and I have been staying at is at the Seattle Center, just two blocks from the Space Needle, so we see it every morning when we leave and every night as we drive back from the hospital. It's become a reassuring sight for me, at least. This morning, there was patchy fog and it's pretty overcast still, but Melissa took this picture - we couldn't see the top of the Space Needle - it just disappeared into thin air - literally!

Melissa and I got out a little bit yesterday. Melissa's friend Rachel came to visit and then took us to U Village to get our nails done! Mine were trashed because Mom & I were supposed to get them done last Thursday, but life was interrupted. It felt great to get some fresh air and to take our minds off of things. While we were there, we decided to hop into Brighton to see if there was a heart bracelet we could get for Mom. We found that Brighton had created a bracelet especially for the American Heart Association, so we grabbed it and Mom loves it. :)

So, today, we're hoping today goes by quickly and that Mom's blood pressure stabilizes. Mom & Dad are napping right now and Melissa & I are watching Ellen:

Kara Mauseth sent us this scripture this morning and I'd like to share it with you:

Now, may the Lord of peace give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

2 Thessalonians 3:16

Love you all!

[ we *heart* our Momma ]

I'll try to make this a condensed version...I know many of you know what's happened, but I feel the need to record it in my blog journal. :)

On Wednesday night, April 8th, Mom & I got home from a meeting at church. We'd barely walked in the door and sat on the couch and Mom complained of a crushing sensation in her chest and pain in her jaw. I immediately looked up the symptoms of a heart attack and as I listed them, Mom said she had about 4 out of the 6, so Dad called 911. She was taken to Lourdes in Pasco where they ruled out a heart attack and a blood clot in her lungs. After many labs, tests, scans, and x-rays, they determined at around 2:30am that she'd have to be flown to Seattle for an emergency surgery. She left Pasco on a jet headed for Seattle while we raced home to pack a few things and meet her in Seattle.

By the time we got to the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, Mom had been in surgery for about 3 hours. She was in surgery for a total of 7 hours that morning to repair a severe tear in her ascending aorta - otherwise known as an aortic dissection. The doctor that spoke to us during the surgery made things sound great, that the doctors were happy with what they saw, that Mom was an exceptional case, and that she'd be fine (all of which, we know now is true!). A doctor that came a few hours later when her surgery was finished didn't have such great news for us, which made us very worried. To do the surgery, they had to completely drain all of Mom's blood from her body and put her on a heart/lung bypass machine, so they were concerned about neurological damage, damage to her other organs & extremeties, and excessive bleeding.

We finally got to see Mom around 2pm in the Cardiac Critical Care Unit, where she was hooked up to a ventilator and sedated. We were so worried, especially with all that the doctors were telling us. We were so lucky to have such a great support system - we got so many calls, texts, emails, and Facebook messages. We are so so grateful and blessed by our family and friends. Our family was over as soon as possible and we had friend stopping by the entire time. We are so blessed. We kind of took over the waiting room with all of the people we had here - I'm sure we were a little intimidating to the other families (10-12 people all the time!).

By Friday morning, Mom was taken off the ventilator and was able to whisper to us. By Saturday, she went for a walk and on Sunday, she was moved out of the ICU! It was such an Easter blessing! Since then, she's been taking 4 walks a day, she took a shower yesterday, and has all the wires removed! The sutures were removed today and they're kicking us out tomorrow!!

We've been learning a lot about what happened. She had an aortic dissection (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aortic_dissection), which is a tear in her ascending aorta. She had a graph (graft) of part of her artery. So, for the rest of her life, she will become good friends with her surgeon and doctor, Dr. Mokadam. She will have to carefully monitor her blood pressure and come to Seattle every six months for cat scans and echocardiograms. We are so thankful for his expertise and knowledge.

So- we'll be home tomorrow! I'll stay home with Mom for a while to nurse her back to health. I know we're just as excited to see everyone as everyone is to see Mom, but I think we're going to have a sign on the door for when she's napping or when it's not a good time to come in. We do want people to visit, because she's very energized by that, but there will be times that are better than others. Thank you for your respect in this!

Here's a picture from out Mom's window and also the puzzle we all put together the first couple days we were here (this puzzle looks difficult - but you wouldn't believe how hard it really was! There are four or five puzzles in the waiting room and all the pieces had been dumped together - so it took an extra long time to find all the pieces. What else did we have to do?!):

So, now we've learned a lot about taking care of your heart, checking your blood pressure regularly, and maintaining a low-sodium diet. We have been looking for heart jewelry to commemorate our time here in Seattle, so if you have any suggestions, let us know. :)

Thanks again for all of your prayers, support, texts, emails, Facebook messages, calls, and messages. We love you all so very much!