• 

  6 Tips for Buying a Home in a Short Sale

  By preparing for a real estate short sale, you can emerge with a great home at a favorable price. Read
• 

  7 Gardening Mistakes to Avoid

  Even veteran gardeners make rookie mistakes, like giving plants too much water and too little space. Here are common garden blunders. Consider yourself warned. Read
• 

  2011 Energy Tax Credits: What You Need to Know to Collect

  Washington is giving you less green for going green, as the feds reel back the 2011 energy tax credits from a lavish $1,500 to a paltry $500. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2011 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

February Artwalk

Tomorrow is first Friday which means ARTWALK! This month our office is hosting paintings by Al Faatz and afgahns, pillows, table settings and some acrylics by Al's darling wife Pam. Stop by between 5:00 and 9:00 for the best meatballs in town (seriously!), some divine wine and Josh's infamous spinach swirls.

Purge

It’s time purge blogs – we have this blog and a business blog which doesn’t get much attention, from me I mean, so from now on Josh and I will posting both personal and professional information on this blog which will also be linked to our real estate website (www.OregonValleyBroker.com).

One year anniversary

So it has been about one year since my last open heart surgery and when I first met my Dad. Jess and I have both learned a lot from this surgery, I’m so glad I was sent up to St. Vincent’s Hospital they fixed me up and made me the Bionic Man with my St. Jude prolytic carbon and titanium aortic valve, the web site for St. Jude is http://www.sjm.com/ if you want to read more about it. The staff at St. Vincent’s was by far the best group of people we could of have had working on me; one of the many things they have going for them was the food was actually really good. I’m also very grateful for everyone that came and visited me at the hospital, and had me in their prayers. One of the many things we have learned is which foods I can eat with the help of some heart healthy cookbooks and a wonderful wife, I was a real big baby when I got home and went to the store to try and get some groceries for dinner, I started looking at the nutrition labels and started whining like a baby. I have learned to be watchful on the foods that are high in vitamin K just because I’m on a blood thinner, and vitamin K is a natural blood thinner. I can really say that this time I actually feel 100% better than the first surgery, and I’m going to say that this will be the LAST ONE!!!!!

This past year has been a tough one and the best one if you can believe that, Jess and I have been able to get to know my Dad and Bonus Mom a lot better. I have finally found out where I get my thirst for very spicy food, I mean the kind that will make you sweat, turn your face red, and cry all at the same time. If you want to see it just take me out to a Chinese or Thai restaurant. We where able to go on the Garver family camping trip, which was a blast and I cant wait for the next one.

I have finally acquired my real estate license and I’m now trying to spend more time with that so hopefully in July or August I can become a full time real estate broker. Both Jess and I are really working hard at getting people into the home that was meant for them. I really enjoy every aspect of real estate and getting to know people and find out what they would like in a home. I’m really excited about 2010 and what is going to bring us, this year is going to a great one. And I hope it’s going to be great year for everyone else.

Welcome 2010

I’m not going to bore you with the details of all the Christmas functions we attended/hosted this year (totaling 10!) but I will say this is the best Christmas we’ve ever had and it really did go by too fast. One thing remains in the front of my brain: There were signs in many yards that said “Remember the reason for the season”; now that Christmas has come and gone all the signs are down; now are we to stop remembering? . . . . Josh and I resolve this year to remember the reason, our salvation and our savior, to give grace and pray often. That sounds a little like we are super human I suppose but we strive for perfection because He deserve the best of all of us always.

It’s been just over a year since Coldwell Banker Professional Group made the move to downtown Newberg, an excellent decision if I do say so and Lucinda one of our fellow brokers met her five year goal and became part owner of our firm, another great decision. CBPG and thereby Kris and Lucinda have made it possible to grow personally and professionally in a loving and supportive professional environment for which we are extremely grateful. On that note a little shout out to our friend and colleague Wayne – you better pony up buddy; you’re in for a real competition – so now I have to explain I suppose . . . Wayne and his partner Jennah and Josh and I are working for the 2010 top producer in our office, though all four of us would like to go further to be the number one team in the state we remain realistic. As a result of referrals and unconditional support from Cindy De Las Heras and Becky Swenson of Wells Fargo we are off to a great start for 2010.

Josh has been at Ore-Land now for over six years. He’s still full-time, the work has been a little slow but consistent - Praise God! Luxury Limo (http://www.insiderswinetour.com/) had a great year, they continue to grow in a niche market of high end service giving tours to awarding winning boutique wineries and vineyards and building relationships with only the finest B&B’s and restaurants. Josh has enjoyed the last couple months off driving for hunting season and the holidays but is looking forward to another successful year with the best wine tour company in the valley.

We had a glorious New Year (though we didn’t stay up till midnight) in Central Oregon spending time with my mom and adventuring on our snowshoes. We made another trip to Wanoga Snow Park where Ashley, my mom’s roommate, came along and pulled her nine-month-old son, Landon in a toboggan behind her. The next day we went up to Mt. Bachelor and left (their trail fees are insane!) almost immediately and headed for Edison Butte where we hiked three to 20 miles on snowshoe only trails - Really we hiked 2.8 miles or so, we figured our GPSs lost signal frequently due to tree and cloud cover so we don’t have an accurate number; where we turned back Mom’s GPS was saying we’d gone 1.5 miles, David’s said .4 so when we got back to the trail head I grabbed a map; if the map is to scale we went 2.8 miles but Josh insisted that we call it four miles, which exaggerated to five, then ten, then twenty.

The last six months

The blog has been neglected, obviously or I wouldn't be attempting to catch you up on the last six months . . .

July: We had a profitable co-op garage sale, nothing like decluttering! Derby Day in Yamhill was a hit on the 18th; you've never partied till you've partied with countryfolk - YEAH BINGO, frog jumping contests, derby races, and an adult tricycle race. By the 20th we had two transactions going and met with two new buyers. On the 31st we left for the Garver campout, our first one ever. The family "rents" farm property near Fort Hill that borders the Yamhill River, it has bathrooms, showers, a small A-frame house with a big kitchen and a HUGE fire pit. Josh and I spent a lot of time in the water, the river is only about 6"-8" deep so we could walk a loop from the field back to the firepit. Sahara had a great time playing in the water (she may have been a newt in a past life) and Josh found a few crawdads, a golf ball and some interesting rocks . . . all I got from the river was a broken shoe.
August: I went all alone to visit my mom for a mini-vacation; Josh handled ALL the real estate appointments and questions giving him some great experience and me a stress-free getaway. While I was visiting mom we took time to enjoy the simple things - we carted the dogs around on the Gator, nearly got arrested/shot for trespassing (mom scared me a little later, but that wasn't funny), floated a few miles down the Deschutes River, got hats at Goodwill and decorated them. Mom and I both had such an incredible time it was hard for both of us to go back to reality. I had a birthday (whoopty doo). My mom had a birthday, the big 5-0, friends came from near and far to celebrate. Josh's Grandpa R.A. celebrated his 90th birthday with a HUGE party that Rosemary, Dean, Jean and Winifred planned - there were countless people there! On the 25th we got the ball rolling to renew our Foster Parent Certification through DHS, we did a LOT of paperwork, had the homestudy and did more paperwork. Picked up two more first time buyers (thanks to Becky & Cindy). I have to get off track a little here and just say how great our loan officers are; Becky Swenson and Cindy De Las Heras are the BEST there is and such a blessing to us personally and professionally. My friend Lacey and her fiance' Mark came from Fresno to visit for a few days; they were here for work so we didn't get to spend as much time socializing as we'd have liked but we did make it to McMenamins for a beer milkshake (don't knock it till you try it!).

September: Started the month with two more first time buyers. Did more paperwork to renew our Foster Parent certification and turned in our fingerprints. Oh I forgot about camping . . . ever year on Labor Day my family goes camping, it was a nice trip but will be our last year. Got three more deals going and closed two. I became a Mary Kay consultant. Got brave and had my stylist Misty cut 8" off my hair. Got reunited with an old friend on the 19th and celebrated my dad's 51st birthday. Josh and I took a three day weekend (he had one remaining "use it or lose it" vacation day) and road the Max into Portland. Josh had never been on the Max and we both love Powell's Books. We had sushi, walked a few miles and enjoyed gelato for the first time. My girlfriends and I had our third bi-annual "Naked Lady Party" (clothing and accessory exchange). Got another new first time buyer.

October: We got our bird tags and went grouse hunting - we both fired a few times but got nothing; we did however have a great time with dad and Susan and learned a lot. Had a closing. Went on two listings appointments. I took a great class on Short Sales and Foreclosures in Salem. Josh arranged for McMinnville Water and Light to do an energy audit on our house - Matt, the auditor said we are doing the best for a two person household he's ever seen. And I took another class and got some great marketing ideas. When mom came for her infusion we took her to Bauman Farms in Gervais for their harvest festival, we had such a blast "hang gliding", petting the animals and wheeling mom around in her new to her wheelchair that Josh picked up.

November: Had three closings! Turned the clocks back, ugh, I don't care much for the dark. I got sucked into a little fiasco with Mom's appointments . . . in a nutshell I was reminded that not everyone is a people-person and I am a self-proclaimed advocate. I also realized medical advocacy is a secret passion, one that I someday will put to work for others (not just family). Got two accepted offers. And we (light and singing from heaven) hired Kellie, a housekeeper! We went on a wine tour - one where we got to be the passengers, what a fun and yummy day. The King family had an amazing year hunting - in total we got FIVE elk, one of which was my Dad's, we're so proud. Missed two Thanksgiving gatherings and went to one.

December: This is fresh so I remember it better - so far we've got three accepted offers this month - that's a total of five closings and five deals in progress, not a bad last quarter. We completed our business plans and so far we are way ahead of schedule. One of the fellow brokers (and his assistant) in our office said they'd like to be number one for 2010, Josh and I decided in addition to ambitiously pursuing our business plan that we also would like to be number one in our office, competition is a motivator. Josh, David and I went to stay with my mom for a weekend to go snowshoeing. We shoed about two miles at Wanoga Park at the base of Mt. Bachelor. We attended both of our companies (Ore-Land and Codlwell Banker Professional Group) Christmas Parties - the owners of both had very positive things to say about the coming year. We baked like madmen and held our first Christmas Party (in cooperation with the Carl's), other than the anxiety of being unprepared two hours before the party it was a complete hit, we'll definitely be doing it again next year. Cindy and Becky (yes, our two favorite loan officers) took us out for an appreciation dinner at Nick's Italian Cafe', what an amazing evening, delicious food, great company and two bottles of Pinot from Panther Creek, YUM.

And today is Christmas Eve Eve - where did the year go? Don't get me wrong we are both enthusiastic for what the future holds for us, especially professionally but it's nice to get the stresses and excitement from 2009 behind us. Our furnace died night before last, bbbrrrr, it could be worse . . . we are so grateful for the woodstove and Grandma King's quilts.

May you have all the blessings of Merry CHRISTmas and have a very Happy New Year.

Our 6th Anniversary

It certainly wasn’t love at first sight . . . Josh and I had gone to school together for ten years but didn’t meet for the first time until midway through year ten when Josh was a senior in high school and me a junior. I worked in the school office as an aid when I met Josh through my friend and co-worker Shawna. Josh was a typical twerp (he admits it); he wore baggy jeans (eewww), inappropriate t-shirts (which you know he still does), he cut class and ran with a bit of an unsavory crowd. Little did I know Josh’s friends were not a reflection of him; while his friends were girl chasing, vain and intellectually challenged fellas, Josh was down to earth and quite mechanically gifted.

Josh and I each spent time with a variety of crowds but also had just a few close friends. I spent nearly everyday of my late high school career with the same three girls (whom are still three of my very favorite people) leaving little time for the distraction of immature boys.

Shortly after graduating in 1999 Josh moved to Phoenix to attend UTI; he graduated in November 2000 with an automotive degree and came back home. We ran into each other on many occasions between his return home and the fall of 2001 when we started dating. We started dating in October of 2001; Josh resisted out of shyness and me because I had one thing on my mind, a career in real estate. By the beginning of December we were love sick fools . . . I had very specific criteria in mind for the man of my dreams and Josh was everything but there was one step left – he had to meet my extended family and they had to love him. And they did. As clear as it was yesterday I can recall my entire family laughing so hard there were tears and complaints of aching bellies.

On August 11, 2002 Josh threw me a “surprise” (I knew) birthday party. Over 50 people attended . . . Josh proposed (I knew he was going to, my family and friends can’t keep secrets) and I said yes.

Following our I do’s Pastor Scott gave the following blessing:

May your marriage bring you all the excitement a marriage should bring. And may life grant you patience, tolerance, and understanding.

May you always need one another, not so much as to fill your emptiness as to help you to know your fullness. A mountain needs a valley to be complete; the valley does not make the mountain less but more. And the valley is more a valley because it has a mountain towering over it. So let it be with you, and you.

May you need one another, but not out of weakness. May you want one another, but not out of lack. May you entice one another, but not compel. May you succeed in all-important ways with one another and not fail in little graces. May you look for things to praise often saying, “I love you” and take no notice of small faults. If you have quarrels that push you apart may you both of you have good sense enough to take the first steps back.

May you enter into the mystery which is the awareness of one another presence. No more physical than spiritual, warm, and neat when you are side-by-side, and warm and near when you are in separate rooms or even distant cities. May you have love, and you find it in loving each other.

Thank you God, for your presence here. And your blessing on this marriage. Amen.
Today it’s been six years since our wedding and we’re more in love with each other than ever. Reflecting on the wedding day itself it was quite traumatic but it was not a indication of what was to come of us and our life together.

Oy vai . . .

What a week and only a few days in - My job has been wonderful, extremely chaotic and quite a learning experience these last two days. My business associates say "only you Jessica, you get the drama deals" . . . a house constructed with no permits (ugh), a septic tank installed with no permits (UGH); it's insane and I'm heartbroken for the wonderful client. Well that's enough of my mini-rant, I'll give it to God and pity the death of what could have been the easiest deal ever with a midori sour and some sofa time.

I can't believe it's June already! Where has this year gone? Lots of stuff going on this month, ugh other than this nasty muggy weather, Josh will drive 15 of 45 passengers for three days beginning Thursday. Josh and I will go see our favorite band, The Dry County Crooks perform at the Deluxe on the 19th, the very next day our friends Amanda and Tim will tie the knot and on the 21st we'll celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary and Dwayne and Josh will observe their first Father's Day together.

As you can see we've redone our blog layout, Terry Watson says we should live like Hollywood and reinvent ourselves every four or five years so we're doing it and started with our blog, next to follow will be OUR real estate website (oregonvalleybroker.com).

I'm laughing now, this blog really shows how exhausted I am - it was so all over the board, well you get the message so I'll sign off in an attempt to prevent further bumbling.

My Rockstar Birthday

Hello everyone it's Josh again this is my second blog now so I will get started now. As you can probably tell by the title it is my birthday this month, and it was my rockstar birthday. For anyone who doesn't know what that means, it's when the date of your birthday is the same as your age. So I turned 28 on the 28th of march and it was the best birthday ever. At the party we did it potluck style so anybody could bring their own favorite finger food, my dad and step mom brought this awesome layered dip. My aunt Mary and uncle Frank brought some really really good deviled eggs, our friends Brandon and Sharon brought these cool fruit kabobs, our friends Toby and Shea brought this real good bean dip, our other friends Hollie and Ray brought some great lasagna, Grandma Poe and John brought some cornbread served with stolen grape jam. Me and Jessica made the cupcakes and the zesty heart healthy potatoe skins. After we all had food it came time to open presents I got my hunting and fishing liscense, a couple of bottles of wine to add to my collection, two high temp rubber pot holders they work awesome, some fishing lures and bait, and the best present I got that night was a photo album/scrapbook from my dad and step mom of pictures of their side of the family and of my dad . . .

Well it's been nearly two months since Joshy started this blog, so I'm going to bring you up to speed. On March 28th (Josh's birthday) Josh passed the real estate exam (WOO HOO) and . . . haha, our car caught on fire. What an incredibly unforgettable day!

I took a great new listing in the begining of April up High Heaven, know anyone who wants 5 acres with a nice sized day-ranch style house? Business is great! Also in April: Josh was accepted to the Citizens Police Academy; he attends a class once a week to learn about virtually every aspect of being a police officer. Josh has really enjoyed learning so much about local law enforcement and getting to know so many great people. He's decided to test to become a Reserve Police Officer, after he gets through the test and interview process he'll be in training about twice a week in Brooks. A reserve officer has the same authority and education as a paid officer but instead is a volunteer.

We had a wonderful Easter that lasted the whole weekend long! On May 16th, we saw Josh's 2nd cousin Kayleigh in Music Man wtih Dwayne and Debbie and Debbie's mom Mildred. Josh, Dwayne, Debbie and I wrapped up th evening with dinner and drinks at McMenamins with Uncle Frank and Aunt Mary.

And this week Josh got released to run as well as the go ahead to take the agility course required to become a reserve officer. We learned that the surgeon that did Josh's initial surgery at Doernbecher pretty well screwed up; the surgeon and the cardiologist certainly didn't do anyone any favors by not letting us know. We also learned that because of the procedure and mistakes from the last surgery (in addition to what he's been through this year) his pulmonary valve is leaking a lot but Dr. Spear says that valve because it's low pressure can function like that for life without affecting Josh. Yesterday we attended an excellent motivational seminar in Portland sponsored by Wells Fargo where we got to hear Terry Watson (www.terrywatson.com). He's hysterical, maybe a little sick (Terry's the first to admit it) and extremely intelligent. These conferences are always valuable but especially when the media is so negative and with Josh being wet behind the ears we've got LOTS of new ideas.

Right now Josh is fidgeting in a police car . . . LOL, he's doing a ride along with Officer Cerda and having the most wonderful time. Tomorrow Josh is doing a wine tour (this is one of the biggest wine weekends of the year) and I get to go along for the ride, I can't wait. And Sunday we're looking forward to a gorgeous day in Seaside clamming with Dwayne.

Well in the famous words of Porky Pig . . . That's all folks!

Josh's News

Let's bring you up to speed on the last couple of weeks . . . on the 7th we had dinner at Golden Valley with Dwayne, Debbie and Josh's Uncle Frank and Aunt Mary; they all got to meet my sister Katie.

Josh worked for John (Luxury Limo of Oregon) driving limo on the 8th, a two-day wine tour on the 9th and 10th, chauffeured the Mark Grace of baseball (Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks) and Mark's sweetheart the evening of the 10th and delivered precious cargo (some one's mother) to Washington on the 11th. Not only did Josh have the pleasure of Mark's and his girlfriends company during the Blazer vs. Laker game (which we won, Go Blazers!) he also got a great tip!

On my favorite day of the year (Friday the 13th) Josh, me and Katie met Holly and Ray and Holly's mom, Barb and sister Kate at the Evergreen Space Museum for SIP. We are no connoisseurs (well maybe Josh is) but think we had some pretty excellent local wines. We brought out the red in Josh; he's somewhat of a Pinot addict but he got adventurous and tried an award winning Syrah, some Merlots and couple of Cabernets.

Delivery Confirmed

Tuesday afternoon we headed to LaPine to deliver Rocco (one of our kitties) to my Mom's house - his Grammy loves him a LOT and is so happy to have him as her new roommate.

The trip was interesting to say the least. Rocco is an anxious little fellow; he cried for about the first hour and a half then of course he got comfortable and we had to make a pit stop. When Josh entered the men's room he heard a little voice coming from a stall "who is it?" the boy said, Josh paused; the little boy repeated himself and Josh said "it's just me" (makes me wonder if parents still advise their children NOT to talk to strangers). After about 15 seconds the little boy said "so . . . what are you doing?" "I'm peeing" Josh replied then the little boy enthusiastically announced "Oh okay! I'm pooping!"

We met Mom in Redmond around 6:00 to check out an Audi she was interested in buying; Josh and mom took it for a test drive and decided it was a good deal. Mom entertained a couple counter offers from sellers before deciding it just wasn't right yet. So we decided to return Mom's rental car; while we waiting outside the rental car return Josh received a text from the seller accepting Mom's second offer, YAY! Mom bought a cute (and loud) '87 Audi 4000CS.

Wednesday while Mom was at work Josh and I got to play tourist in Bend. Pioneer Park is the most interesting park, it's on the Deschutes River, a small portion of the river used to be an outdoor swimming pools. The river water was heated by shavings from a saw mill and returned to the river pool, admission was a nickel! The picture here is in Pioneer Park, Josh enjoyed antagonizing the Canadian geese. Downtown we got snubbed at a glass art gallery, visited the local ceramic and mosaic shop, had some icky coffee, nibbled on a chocolate covered oreo and walked a LOT!

. . . It's been about four days since I started this blog and I suppose now since it's not fresh in my mind that it wasn't as exciting of a trip as it was on Wednesday and Thursday.

We did have quite a treacherous trip home. We had the chains on for about 50 miles from Suttle Lake to about twenty miles east of Detroit.

I just met Dwayne and Debbies family

So on February 21st I got to meet Dwayne's side of the family. I got to meet his parents, his brother Joe and Joe's sweetheart Judy, his sister Mary and brother in law Frank and his daughter Jeane, and Dwayne's nephew Terry and his wife Kim and their two youngest kids Spencer and Sydney. Also Dwayne has a brother in Nevada his name is Dan and he is married to Polly, and a sister in California and I'm sorry I forgot her name. Jessica and I both had a great time meeting everyone, and there was great food that we got to eat. I also got to meet Debbie's mom Mildred.


So we have been waiting for about a month I think to meet everyone, and on the day of going to Dwayne's house I got nervous but within five minutes of being there I felt at home. Also everyone brought a food dish, there was some excellent 7 layered bean dip, scrumptious egg salad sandwiches, good spinach dip, vegetables, some awesome chow chow it's like homemade salsa, Jessica made these delicious tuna cakes with a cucumber dip to go with them, and I made a spicy chipotle turkey spread.

It started at three o'clock that day and we were almost late because of me, I had a mishap with the first batch of spicy chipotle turkey spread. When I was making the spread the morning of meeting the family I had some ground turkey and I mixed all of the ingredients together, and then put everything in a plastic container till we got to Dwayne and Debbie's house. So after I got all of the dishes cleaned I went to the store to buy a baguette for the spread, half way to the store I realized I didn't COOK THE TURKEY!!!! So I got back home started whining like a baby to Jessica, so we looked in the refrigerator and in the cupboards and found most of the ingredients that I needed to re-do the spread. We deviated from the main recipe which was a mix of two different recipes, but it turned out a lot better than I thought it would next time it's going to be spicier.

I am so glad that I got to find my dad and Debbie and both of their families.

It's been so long since I've posted a blog that I forgot my login ID!

On the 20th Josh was released to drive! He keeps telling me I'm not going to drive for six months, I guess he missed it.

It's a bitter sweet blessing; Winifred has made the move up north. With the help of friends and members of Sunrise Church the moving truck was loaded up by 9:00pm on Friday the 13th. They hit the road very early on Saturday and around noon she called to let us know her and her small crew arrived at her new apartment complex safely. We're sad that she's so far away (about six hours) but are excited for her and the adventure that awaits!

And Joshy has been working on his first blog - he's about half way through and will post it soon.

In the meantime . . . blessings to all!

What a Monday!

Well I had a blog about half way done yesterday when I went to bed . . . then couldn't get back to it till now and it already seems out-of-date.

The weekend may have been a little too exciting for Josh . . . this afternoon while we were getting ready to head to my office Josh started complaining of severe arm pain, he immediately took his blood pressure which was 145/95. Within seconds he was sweating and had chest pain. Once he was in the E.R. his blood pressure had started to drop and the pain subsided. The E.R. doctor, Dr. Steele ordered labs, an x-ray and two EKG's - everything looked normal (at least normal for Josh) so he contacted Dr. Spear and Dr. Floten. None of the doctors can explain what caused the symptoms at this point and are not concerned because the symptoms went away on their own.

Josh had a Coumadin check up on the 27th, his protime was 2.4 (safe is 2.0-3.5) so Josh has continued to take 5mg nightly and he's still on the beta blocker for the time being.

We enjoyed a few game nights with the Lukins and the Carls which called for dinner of course; we learned to make a very delicious and heart healthy tortelli in marinara and mmmm our new favorite, chicken enchilidas.

On Saturday Winifred had a great turn out for her going away party; she got to share pictures, newspapers and brochurse she got when her and her friend Sue visited Oak Harbor a couple weekends ago.

Toby and Shea invited us to watch Super Bowl XLIII at their house - GO STEELERS - they won! It was a close and intense game but the Steelers won with an insanely awesome touch down with less then three minutes in the 4th quarter, the 100-yard interception in the 2nd quarter helped too. The Cards gave the Steelers a run for their money with an over ten point recovery - now the new biggest recovery in Super Bowl history.

I'd say that's about enough excitement for the whole year, don't you think?

Oh and Josh's medical id bracelet came this week and we picked up a blood pressure monitor at Target which Josh has been using daily!

Normal

Things are gradually working their way back to normal as Josh continues to recover at amazing speed! He's takin less pain medicine, taking only 1/2 a pill in the evening down from three or so a day. The numbness in his left leg is going away but he's still retaining water in his ankle. Josh will see his primary care provider, Merlynn this afternoon for the third Coumadin check and change his dosage accordingly.

He's been enjoying getting back into game nights with the Carl's and playing Canasta with the Lukins and heart healthy dinners with both families. Speaking of food . . . Josh did some research and found that it's easier than he thought to eat out (except fast food), he's enjoyed meals at Olive Garden, Golden Valley Brewery and Shari's.

These last couple days Josh has been coming to work with me at the office while I do my floor time, which has been a GREAT opportunity for him to study up on real estate so he can take the state and national tests soon. He's teacher's pet (my boss LOVES him) so he's welcome to keep coming as often as he wants to.

Popular Demand

Josh is doing really well. Already he doesn't seem as exhausted as he was even three weeks ago and his sleep is the best it's ever been. Doctor visits have been the priority of the week while they regulate his Coumadin dose, he's now taking 5mg nightly in hopes that he'll end up somewhere around a 3.0 on the "blood thinness scale thingy". Josh will continue to see his primary care provider 2-3 times a week for the next three of four weeks to make sure he's maintaining close to a 3.0 after which he'll check in once a month.

My mom is here on an extended visit this weekend. She flew in to the Mac airport Thursday afternoon, in time to help us do some grocery shopping and make cornbread to go with my homemade heart healthy chili. Josh and mom were good sports in eating the chili as were the Carl's who have joined us on our heart healthy adventure - they all seemed to like the chili. Kat on the other hand added just about every condiment available; I can’t blame her I think it needed salt, real onions (instead of onion powder) and maybe some pepperoncinis.

When we took mom to the airport for her return flight the pilot informed us that while the cloud ceiling was high there was frozen fog at lower levels and it was possible that once they got to Redmond that they may not be able to land, so we decided to keep her until Saturday afternoon.

After a few brief visits from some folks Ma hasn’t seen in a while decided to see the new Clint Eastwood film Gran Torino and we have to say it was definitely a ten! Even pushing 80 years old Clint Eastwood is still a phenomenal actor and one heck of a cowboy (even in a city setting).

Thank you for your wonderful comments, we really enjoy reading them and for reminding us[frequently] that we are behind on our blog we'll be updating more frequently as things continue to settle down a bit more.

Comfy

Josh is hanging out on the sofa with his feet up and Little Bird on his lap - she was only mad for a a few hours. Sahara on the other hand was so confused when we got home that she kept smelling Josh to make sure it was really him.

He's glad to be home. I just made my first heart healthy meal (tuna casserole), it needed peas and carrots but Josh said it was really good.

We celebrated Winifred's birthday today with a cupcake courtesy of Grandma and John (thank you!) - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Josh have to go to the doctor three times a week until they can get his dosage of coumadin accurate. And he has a follow-up appointment on February 10th with Dr. Floten.

Now, he's looking forward to relaxing, studying for his real estate test, finding new recipes, going back to church, and spending time with friends and family. He says "visitors are good" - you are welcome to visit but Josh would like you to call first to find out if he's up for a visit.

He's Home!!!

Josh is finally home. Will blog more later, we are both wiped out. We stopped in at Roth's on our way home to get some heart healthy food.

Rumor Has It

Josh may be out of the hospital by noon today!

Here he is waiting patiently for a wheelchair ride with his pretty-smell good flowers, thanks Sunrise!

Results

In our very first blog in mid-December we shared that Josh was about to meet Dwayne for the first time. If you don't recall Dwayne is believed to be Josh's dad.

On December 20th Dwayne and Debbie, Dwayne's wife braved the snow and ice covered roads, to meet Josh and I Golden Valley Brew Pub. After we visited for a couple hours Dwayne and Josh agreed that a paternity test would be the next step. They kept in contact over the following couple weeks eventually scheduling the paternity test for January 6th.

When we called the testing company Monday to make special arrangements to get the results since Josh would be unavailable due to the surgery we were told the results were in. Understanding Josh's current situation the company owner gave Josh the results over the phone . . . Dwayne and Josh are father and son - CONGRATULATIONS GUYS!

Yesterday Dwayne and Debbie made the trek to Portland to visit Josh after his surgery. After a couple hour visit we took the first picture of father and son, together for only the third time.
Again congratulations Dwayne and Josh! I am so proud of you both (and Debbie too) for making the effort and for seeing so quickly what an amazing blessing your presence in each others life's is and will be. May you have a wonderful coming year getting to know each other . . . outside of hospitals.

Josh is Clean!

Josh just enjoyed a nice long shower! But when he came out he looked a little funny don't you think?

Day of Surgery

So here's what you missed in the Day of Surgery blog:

Josh was in surgery for nearly ten hours, when Dr. Floten came out to meet us he was very exhausted. While he was very optimistic about the success of the surgery he also expressed a great deal of concern and wanted to watch Josh very closely over the 72 hours following surgery. There was a risk that Josh could have a stroke; to decrease the risk Josh was sedated until Thursday morning.

Dr. Floten implanted a one piece valve conduit that allowed him to use a graft from Josh's inner left thigh to connect the coronaries to the new titanium valve. He also found that the previous surgeons had been a little sloppy. Because the aortic valve having been open for so long Josh's heart was two times larger than a healthy heart and calcium had started building up in the aorta. The aorta was also aneurysmal - An aneurysm is a bulge in a blood vessel, much like a bulge on an over-inflated inner tube.

To enable access to the aorta Josh was taken off the heart/lung bypass machine for 22 minutes. His body was cooled so that his body would require less oxygen while off bypass.

So there you have it, that's everything Dr. Floten had said when he came out the operating room on Wednesday night.

Hoping For Tomorrow

Dr. Floten's partner stopped in this morning and took out the pacer wires so Josh can take a shower!

As long as Josh takes lots of walks today and can have a bowel movement and pee they'll let him go home tomorrow. The docs are still working on regulating the blood thinner but that can be done with Dr. Spear in McMinnville.

Focusing

Josh had a restful night. He started the day with another dose of Vicodin, the pain is getting a little bit gnawing now but the idea is to control the pain before it gets too intense. He went for a nice long walk and saw both his nurses who were glad to see up and about. Josh was offered a "sink" (sponge) bath this morning but is optimistic that the pacer wires will be removed this afternoon so he can take a shower.

Josh said on the walk that he feels better than he felt after the last open heart surgery and that he's going to keep focusing on recovery. He has to use a gadget that measures the air he takes in and kind of aggitates his lungs to prevent fluid build up ten times every hour. The nurse wants him to go for at least four walks today - I suspect he'll be more committed to walking versus the breathing excercises but both are equally important.

We've heard that patients with artificial valves can hear the valve working . . . it's true, Josh let me have a listen this morning before the walk and it's just, well strange. Now that the sound is familiar I can hear it over him talking even though there is nearly four feet between us. It sounds a little like a clock ticking but with a metal on metal sound.

Josh is starting to ask me who's coming to visit today and I only know of one couple so ya'll he's bored and wants you to come visit or call.

Smooth Sailing

Josh had a pretty great day today other than the fact that he didn't get much sleep last night; he enjoyed visiting with a few close family members between naps, ate some big meals and had all the tubes/needles/wires, etc disconnected by three o'clock with the exception of the pacemaker wires which they hope to remove tomorrow and one iv in his right arm.

Tomorrow after his nurse removes the pacemaker wires he'll get to take his first shower in five days! And best of all Josh has gone for a few short walks and was moved out of the CRU!

He is now in room 619 - phone number is (503) 216-3619. Josh just took his first vicodin for pain and to help him sleep more comfortably so I think he's pretty well tucked in for the night.

Surgery Slideshow

Well the slideshow was dysfunctional. I was going to look into why it wasn't working but the wireless will only allow me to visit certain sites (thankfully blogger.com is one of them) so I'll have to look into it when we get home. In the meantime here is Josh's favorite picture . . .

A little late, but here it is

Dr. Floten came in this morning to see Josh and decided to keep him in the CRU for close monitoring until at least Sunday. A plan is now in place and we’re all on the same page – the neck line will stay in until Sunday morning at which time Dr. Floten will decide if he wants to keep Josh under close watch in the CRU. The chest tube should be removed this morning or afternoon; the drainage is low enough that a qualified nurse can remove it at any time.

While he’s having a hard time remembering what day of the week it is he does know the date and can recall what pills he’s taking just by color and why he’s taking them. He’s had no morphine (or anything else for pain) since yesterday around 5:30pm and is surprisingly in no pain – I don’t know how he does it, it’s like he has pain tolerance super powers or something.

Visitors: I’ve had a couple conversations with Josh as well as three different nurses and ultimately he’s deciding who visits him. The information/check-in desk and the nurse have a list of individuals who have his permission to visit any time between now and Sunday. If you plan on coming to visit Josh please call me ahead of time and I’ll let you if you are on the list, if you are not on the list I am more than happy to ask Josh if he’s up for a visit from you. Hospital Policy: Josh does not have a phone in his CRU room and cell phone use is not permitted so please do not call the hospital in an attempt to reach him. If you do try to call you will not be given any information and you’ll be told to call me. As ridiculous as it sounds I had to make special arrangements to allow even his parents to call and speak with his nurse.

I had a surprise phone call this morning . . . Winifred was in a car accident near the intersection of Kuykendall Road and Moores Valley Road in Yamhill. She hit a patch of black ice on her way to work, lost control, headed toward a phone pole then flipped around and nosed up an embankment. She is okay! An ambulance took her to the Mac Hospital where she was examined, x-rayed and released. I’m not sure if she chose to talk with my cousin Jay or if he was the first one to her but she asked him “do you know Josh King?” (Josh is my cousin), Jay told her “yeah, he’s my cousin” and Winifred let Jay know that I’m her daughter in-law so Jay called to let me know. I phoned the ER nurse and she assured me that Winifred was fine and let me talk to her.

Thank you’s: Kat, my sister for keeping everything under control at home. Thank you Toby and Shea for babysitting Sahara when Kat needs a break. David for depositing Josh’s paycheck yesterday. Jay, thank you very much for calling to tell me about Winifred and for understanding me. A major thanks to Josh’s great-uncle, Walt and great-aunt, Elizabeth for opening their guest room to me, and for a delicious breakfast, great conversation and their understanding. And again YOU for your continued support and prayers.

Big Lucky Baby

Josh has really been very lucky; not only has he had great doctors but the nurses have also been fantastic. Kris, his night nurse explained most of the monitors to me which was great! His blood pressure is a pretty consistent 115/63 and his heart rate has been between 87 and 93, Monday his heart rate was between 5 and 10 beats higher so we are able to see the affects of the new and improved valve.

Tomorrow will be kind of a big day for Josh. By mid/late morning the nurse hopes to have removed the chest tube, which they couldn’t take out this afternoon because the pump was still pulling to much fluid. They’ll remove the art line; the art line is an arterial blood pressure check in his left forearm. And they’ll also remove the neck line – This is the most fascinating to me – it tells the nurses via computer how hard his heart is working! Okay, maybe I’m easily entertained but I still think it’s cool.

And his sense of humor is fantastic, he's bossing Kris around - apparently he thinks that just because he landed himself in the hospital he gets to act like a big baby and be waited on hand a foot!

Got food?

Well I’m so happy to report that today’s been a good day for Josh. He’s made a lot of improvements and is feeling really good. When I came in to see him this evening I asked “how are you feeling?” he said “fine” after the nurse left the room I asked him to tell me how he’s really feeling and he said “I really am feeling good.”

When I saw Josh this afternoon he was hungry so I helped him order food; a bowl of cream of wheat, orange sorbet, chicken broth and orange juice . . . you know Josh has always had a healthy appetite. After he finished his late lunch the nurse gave him some morphine in hopes of taking out the chest tube.

What do you think?

January 14th was the scariest day of my life (ironically this date has other significance to me, maybe it isn't irony) . . . You should all know by now that I take comfort in educating myself. Last night when I posted the blog I assumed my "educating" you was the best thing, knowledge is power, yes?

I shared with you EXACTLY what the surgeon had told me (I seriously took notes). I want you to understand Josh's heart conditions . . . I'm taking a vote; let me know via commend if you want me to re-write the blog explaining what Dr. Floten found during surgery.