Wednesday, March 10, 2010

I Need Your HeLp!!!

I am planning to do a yard sale this Spring/Summer to raise money for our next adoption. I'm wondering if anyone has decent stuff they are wanting to donate to the yard sale to help us bring a baby home. I am also thinking of adding a bake sale into the day's activities. If you are willing to donate any baked goods to be sold, that would be great too. Or..if you are willing to donate your time to help me organize/advertise/run the show, that would be awesome as well. Leave me a comment, email me (monikamb1@gmail.com) or give me a call.

Saturday, March 06, 2010

To The HaTeRs Out There...

Unfortunately there are some people who have found the need to spend entirely too much time obsessing and critiquing every little thing my husband and I do. Seriously...get a life. Anyway, I want to clarify a few things for the idio...er...people who I guess need to hear it. Here goes.

When Marcus originally decided to help Juan in 2008 he was only going to help by raising money to help with their medical bills. They had no insurance and dialysis 3 times a week is very expensive. Marcus ended up also donating a kidney to Juan which was obviously a great thing for their family, but also added another huge financial burden. Kidney transplants can cost up to $100,000. We decided that the best way to help raise money for this family was to let the public know about Juan and Marcus' story. The media was notified and in the end we raised over $25,000 for Juan's family. Not the $100,000 we wanted, but a huge blessing for their family nevertheless.

This was never about Marcus bragging about what he did. He in fact complained constantly about all the interviews and attention that he really wasn't comfortable with. If this was just about him getting attention for himself he would have posted and bragged about the other awards he received both locally and nationally and the invitations to speak at events, but you have probably not heard a word about most of them from him because he hasn't really told anyone except his mother. He even got mad at me when I mentioned one very cool honor he got to our bishop.

Now to my story. I decided to get tested as a donor in 2008 when we found out about Juan. I was next in line to get tested if Marcus was not a match. We obviously never got to that point. Going through this whole process with Marcus and meeting many, many sick people through our work with the Kidney Foundation that followed made me certain that I still wanted to donate. No fan fair, no money to raise this time, just me donating anonymously. However, we were contacted last week and asked if we would be interested in doing a story for National Kidney Month to raise awareness on kidney donation and help inspire others to consider donation. I wanted no part of the hoopla I saw Marcus go through, but could not say no to the chance to help inspire others and possible help save more lives. We decided to go ahead with it because it was the right thing to do, not because we wanted the attention. Since the story ran on channel 4 news we have all ready been contacted with questions on how to get tested to become a donor. So my decision to step outside of my comfort zone was 100% worth it regardless of what you think my motives may have been.

You should be embarrassed at your stupid post and comments that caused me to have to write this. I am insulted that you would question my character and intent on something like this. Just let something good be something good and don't concern yourself with my life and why I do what I do. Sheesh.....jealous much?!

Love Always,
Monica

Thursday, March 04, 2010

Our News Story...

Here is our interview from ABC4 we did today. You get to meet the amazing Pepe; he is so awesome!! I would love to point anyone in the right direction if you are interested in kidney donation. Not only have I helped Pepe out, I got a new blankie from the hospital I can't sleep without, (Yes, I am 30 years old and I have a blankie...) I get a $10,000 tax write off and I lost 12 pounds from the surgery. Why would anyone NOT want to donate?!




Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Everybody PoOps....



I hate potty talk. I hate talking about pooping or anything related to it. I hate the use of the word f@rt and t*rd...they are almost as bad as some other four letter words. Potty jokes drive me crazy. Marcus and I have been married for almost seven years and together for nine years. In all this time, I have never passed gas in front of him. I wish I could say the same thing about him.... It's like I have a fear of poop and hate talking about it with other people. Just the word "poop" sounds dirty...and not in the good way. Anyway, why am I telling you this? Since having surgery, talking about poop occurs daily. Before I left the hospital, I was forced to talk about "it" with several people in the room. I thought giving birth made me lose all my dignity; I was wrong. I have been forced to face my fear dead on. Now, talking about poop is dinner time conversation. I can give you the low down on laxatives, enemas, suppositories...you name it. You have a question on poop, I'm your gal. My fear of "it" isn't as severe. I guess when you are forced to deal with something, you can't help but embrace it and deal. So go grab a magazine, turn on the fan, wipe well and don't forget to wash your hands.

Boys do it.
Girls do it.
People on TV do it.
For any of you who have seen
Elmo Goes Potty,
you can thank me later for getting that
song stuck in your head.

Monday, March 01, 2010

Family Photography

My husband's new photography website is up and running. Check it out and let me know if you want/need pictures done.