Some ramblings...

Sunday we were at the hospital most of the day with my mother-in-law. It is hard. The doctors call him daily to tell us there is no change in her condition and want us to decide what to do, meaning taking her off the life support machine. We have sort of talked about it and don't see how we could just take her off the machine, and always wonder what if.... however the entire team of professionals there feel that if her heart goes next that we do not try pattles and so on, because of the stress on her body and also the time she would be without oxygen to her brain could lead to brain damage, not to mention all the other things she is fighting against (kidney failure, stage 4 breast cancer). These are hard life decisions to make, and we are hoping her heart won't fail so it isn't something we have to deal with. Keith has been doing really good dealing with the doctors, I can not express how hard of a task that is. To listen to the constant reminders of how many bad things are and try to muster up the strength to go in and pep talk your mom into fighting for her life, and make casual conversation with someone who can not respond back. It is hard, very hard and we can use all the positive thoughts and prayers we can get for her. It is hard for me to watch Keith deal with all of this, I try to help out with calls to bills, and doctors to take some of the pressure off of him. I make the nightly call for him to get a status update. It seems most of the family think that he should be calling to give updates, I can't express how hard that is, if they want an update I think they should Keith and see how she is doing, and how he is. Not expect him to be the one to leave the hospital and make the calls to 20 people... hard life things.

After the hospital we went out to dinner together and to a movie, we went to see Sicko. We were saying in a long time from now when our parents are not nearby we will move to France or England because they seem to have it more "together" than we do at the moment. It was a very educational movie and really do recommend everyone see it.

On the baby front things are good, he is 28 weeks old next week.. only 84 days (or so they say) till we meet him. We got the baby bedding in the mail last week, we are very happy with the choice! The room is coming together, we are getting the custom closet today (thank you to Aunt Niki for the discount) and then we just need the crib.

Here is a look at the baby bedding below.. I will update with Nursery pics soon!

Picture update Friday...

This week went by so super fast! Monday I had a Drs. appt and all was fine, the little guy even kicked the doppler they use to hear his heartbeat. Natalie got into town and we took her to dinner at the Forgien Cinema in SF on Monday, Tuesday work, and then we went to dinner at the Cantina, Wednesday we ran around a bit and then hung out Natalie went to the movies, Thursday I had a rehearsal.. Natalie left :( , and tonight I am just relaxing. Keith also started on the babies room. I had a Drs. appointment today for another look at the little one, it went fine although he seems to hate being bothered. It seems like they got what they needed though, and it didn't last too long. After I went to see Donna in ICU. She is just holding her own but not really improving. She is headed into Acute Kidney failure, which is common in those hospitalized. They are going to try and start dialysis tonight, we are praying it will help. The drs. said she is in grave condition, the good news is that her immune system is fighting and going up in count. It was at 18 tuesday, and 30 today, which because of the Chemo is good that it keeps going up and shows her body is fighting... all we can hope for.

We have a wedding tomorrow, and hospital visits in between.. Just hope this takes a turn for the better and her lungs react to the antibiotics.

Here are some pictures from Devan's visit.. Natalie's Visit, and the beginning of the baby room..

This picture makes me laugh.. the pose.. Devan..
Devan and Ashlei.. He made her laugh about something..
Devan and his girlfriend Natania
Eli with the thing you listen to the movie with at the table..

The inside part of the forgein Cinema.. where the bar is

Natalie and Jenny..
Natalie and Keith (and Jenny in the background)
Where we sat outside, films shown on back wall
Parton shots ..round 3 I think.. Nat, Jenny, and Sofia..
Natalie and her happy bday kat cake!

two fav things ...chicken and wine.. (mixed with three shots of patron)
Make a wish..

The begining of the baby room... Just one wall like this, the wall the crib will go against..

An update...

I can't believe it is already Wednesday. The weekend wasn't as easy going as we wanted it to be, although we were planning for visitors and playing tourist sometimes life changes plans for you. Keith's Mom was running a fever on Thursday and Keith took her to the ER, where they decided to keep her and run test. Since she has been diagnosed with Cancer, and her back pain from it she has spent most her time laying down which was causing some fluid to build in her lungs. Friday they told us she had pneumonia and because of the chemo she had been taking it would go from bad to worse rapidly. Friday before going to get Devan our nephew at the airport Ashlei and I went to visit her and she was doing okay, but had the chills very very bad, she also had some shortness of breath that they were giving her some oxygen for. It was weird because two years almost to the date (July 15,2005) I felt like I was in the same place with my Dad. I could almost know what was going to come next. I told Ashlei it was going to get worse before this got any better.. We went to get Devan and out to dinner we got home around 12am.

Next morning the hospital called and said they were moving his mom to ICU because she had shallow breathing overnight. We got ready and all went to see her. Her fever had spiked to 105 which made her a bit out of it, and they got her on a respirator to help with her breathing. It is hard for someone to see their Mom or Grandma in this state, it is not easy at all. We all took turns two at a time going back and talking with her... I had asked the nurse about the ventilator knowing that could be coming next, the nurse told us that she was very very sick with pneumonia, and it was going to get worse before it got better. They would not allow us to stay too long because she had not slept, and was trying to talk to us and they wanted her to just rest and breath. So we left and decided to go to SF and make the best of the day, if we could. We walked around a bit at the wharf and at Union Square. We then left and went to dinner in Berkeley and the DR. called Keith to tell him that they had put her on a ventilator and it was doing the breathing for her. The news we knew was coming but did not want to hear.

The next day we all went to see her but they had put her into an induced coma so they could let the breathing machine do the work for her, she was not all the way sedated and did open her eyes for Keith and Devan.

Her lungs are both pretty full with fluid at this point, and she is in Adult respiratory distress disorder meaning her lungs are not functioning on their own. She is holding her own despite all of the above. The doctor told us she had a 50/50 chance of making it, and we are choosing to hold onto the hope that the 50 chance that she will overcome this. It is just going to be a long road. Keith has been going every day, I went Monday to see her and will go today. Although they don't allow us to stay long, so we have been trying to occupy our time otherwise when we are not there. Natalie is here for the week, and we went out for her birthday Monday and I think it really helped Keith let go a bit. The amount of stress he has on his shoulders right now is indescribable. I do think it helps us both that my dad was in the same place, and the drs. said he would not make it and he did. It is possible.

So keep Keith's Mom in your prayers and god willing she will turn the corner to good anytime soon. I will keep you updated when I can.

We will post pictures from the weekend and Natalie's bday parties soon..

Ready for the weekend...

Weather seems like it is going to be perfect this weekend. Hopefully it will stay the 89 it is now and not get much hotter. I don't have a wedding this weekend, which is nice. This is our last break we have until Aug. 11th so we are going to enjoy it. Our nephew and his girlfriend are flying in tonight to spend the weekend. We don't have specific plans but will hopefully be in SF for most of tomorrow. I have a couple appointments this weekend as well that I have to squeeze in here and there. I will make sure and return with pictures. Next week is going to be a busy one with bday celebrations with Natalie (I am flying her in as a gift, a selfish one) and with appointments and rehearsals so I will try and relax a bit this weekend.

I have some pictures here from the wedding we did in Carmel. A really sweet couple Deb and Laron. They met on match.com 4 years ago, and clicked ever since. This was a day of wedding I had at a golf course down there.. I didn't have my hands in it much. I was a bit surprised by the dress she wore, I didn't know it would be purple. I looked great on her, and this was not a second wedding for either so it caught me off guard. She was really sweet and very thankful. She did some neat things like cakes as centerpieces...I don't have a pic of that just yet. I don't really love the pictures the photographer took, not really my style but it will give you an idea.

These are not in order.. here at the pics..

The bride and groom exchanging vows under the chuppah a jewish canopy that symbolizes "home" for the couple. The family stand under the Chuppah during the ceremony..

Here they are about to cut the cake:

Under the Chuppah

The "hora" otherwise known as the jewish chair dance... during the reception.
here I am setting up the cake table
Right after they got married!

A wedding filled weekend...

This weekend was a busy one.. Mainly because of weddings. Friday I had two rehearsals.. on in SF for Sunday's wedding, and then one in Baypoint for Justin and Danielle's wedding. Justin is friends of ours... I met him at Going to the Game about 10 years ago. When he decided to get married last year I offered to help with his wedding. They were one of many couples who got married on 7*7*07. The wedding was at their church in baypoint with the reception in Walnut Creek. Saturday morning I got up early and went to decorate from about 9-12pm with Justin and the groomsmen putting together centerpieces and all. The guys did a good job. Then ran home and got ready, and Keith and I went to the ceremony. After that to the reception where we had a good time, dancing and hanging out.

Sunday we went to do a full coordination wedding of mine on Treasure Island. I loved the way it turned out! All the ideas we had came together really well, and the couple was very nice. I got mainly detail shots of what we helped set up and I designed ... I will get pictures of the lovely couple soon. The cake was amazing from there I dream of Cake. Here are some pictures of both weddings.

Danielle and Justin 7*7*07:

The bride getting a something new, and something blue gift from the groom:
The bride meeting her Dad to go up the aisle..

The Vows Sealing the deal...


The new Mr. and Mrs...

Denise and Samuel 7*8*07:

THE CAKE: so cool the way this turned out (you can click to make it larger), The bottom tier is a Louie Vutton suitcase to symbolize their love of travel, the next tier is the books, one for law because Samuel is an attorney, and the next medical because Denise is a Doctor, the next tier up is a duffel bag for the US marine corps where Samuel is a Lieutenant , the final top tier is a Chinese take out box to symbolize their favorite food and Denise's Chinese background.. it also has the double happiness sign on it which is symbolic of a happy marriage in the Chinese culture. The accessories: The ducks, a Korean nod to Samuel's background where ducks are symbols of a long marriage because ducks choose only one mate in life, the Tiffany box is where Denise's wedding ring came from. It was so much fun designing this cake, and it taste amazing too.

Take a guess at how much per slice this cake is.. it was 130 guest..

This is the box for the cards that was made of flowers by the florist:

Outside lounge area for cocktail hour :

Inside some centerpieces and skyline of Sf in the background, this is at my favorite site Treasure Island Casa De La Vista.

Short centerpieces, we mixed short and tall to give the room depth.

Tall ones, you can't see it here but there were tiny candles hanging from the branches Tulips at the base.

View of room with ocean in the background..

I have more from this wedding but have to upload them later..

.....Monterey Pictures ...

Monterey Pictures as promised...


A not so friendly looking shark ..


Happy Feet ?



Jelly fish... so pretty at the aquarium.. and a really really good dessert.. and the Mr. with his stunner shades :)

Plaza hotel..

Plaza hotel where we had lunch right on the ocean.. we saw a whale while we were eating lunch

Here is the fountain at The Plaza hotel:

More weddings...

Here are some pictures for a wedding we did in May '07. This wedding was A LOT OF WORK! A LOT is an understatement. They had 3 different events, Vietnamese Ceremony, Church Ceremony and then reception. We worked from 10 am till 12am did not get home till after 1 am. The bride was very thankful on the wedding day, after turned into a bridezilla. I am sure it is because I told her no to taking all the florals back to the florist after the event, a month and a half before her wedding. Brides hate being told no, but the florist would have charged and I couldn't make them all fit in my car and she was upset but said it was okay. She left me a below avg. grade on a wedding website, with no reason. All she did was thank us so I don't know what she was upset about ... needless to say it was disappointing to work so hard and have that outcome. None the less I will post the pics here because so many details were done by us pew bows, prayer candles, setting out programs, bubbles, and decorating the entire reception site. The florals are by my favorite florist Nicole ... so enjoy even though the bride was not so nice after she looks lovely in pictures.. at least look at the reception photos (around pic 120) because the florals and setting looked amazing. These are at a Winery in the south bay.

http://www.hystudio.com/slideshow/lienbinh/

Today is FRIDAY!!

It is nice to have a Friday in the middle of the week, can't really complain about that!!!! Tonight I think we are going to try and go see a movie or something since it is a Friday and we can! We just got back from a weekend in Monterey, we had a really good time. I will post pictures sometimes this week. We got down there on Saturday and had a nice lunch, then went to the aquarium to walk around and look at the cool Jelly fish. Then we went to relax and hang out, till we went to dinner that night. The wedding Sunday went really well, and we drove over to Carmel after. It was so nice to get away and take a break from things, and just hang out! I will try and get pictures soon.

Other than that last night Keith got to feel the baby kick for the first time, it was fun to see his reaction. He has been trying to see if he can feel him but the timing never works out. So as we were watching "Making of the band 4" last night :) the baby was kicking in one spot over and over, so I put Keith's hand there and bam! The little one kicked very hard, most likely trying to say "MOVE" but it was really cute.

Today is Keith's Mom's surgery to get a thing put in her shoulder to give her chemo through so they don't have to do an IV over and over, hopefully all goes well and she will be at home resting soon.

Tomorrow for the 4th we have nothing planned right now, I was not in the mood to have a BBQ or anything I just want to relax. Keith's is getting food caterered from Memphis, yes you just read that right ...Memphis. I guess the home of the best BBQ. His Mom's friend was picking it up yesterday and since she works at fed ex (as everyone who lives in Memphis does) she is shipping it to us today. I will let you know how it turns out! Other than that I may work up energy to go see fireworks, but at this point I don't think so... I hate dealing with the crowds after when trying to leave.

Finally here are some pictures from a wedding we did in April, I am working on getting more up soon to share. This wedding was in San Jose.

http://www.jenniferskogphotography.com/darkroom/share/?client/wenlebron

Have a happy and safe 4th of July... The Thornton's!