May 29, 2011

May 28, 2011

just a little change of plans ..

this time last week i was sleeping in the hospital with my Marmie.

she was recovering from a mild / severe heart attack.
talk about wake up call to life!

just thinking about the past week makes me grateful for SO many things, namely ..
#1. my Marmie
#2. technology
#3. Dr.'s & Nurses
#4. my Warner family, my Barlow family & my friends
#5. the gospel of Jesus Christ

last friday 5.20 i get a call at 4am from my Marmie.
i looked at it and thought, "silly, why is she calling me from the other room?!"

not silly.
she called to inform me that she drove herself to the Kaiser ER in Baldwin Park.

she said she had some minor chest pains and didnt know what was going on.
she said they didnt know what it was yet but that they would give her some drugs and that maybe i could wake up early before work and pick her up.
i thought odd but ya i can do that!
also i was kinda groggy at 4am so i just believed her when she told me she was feeling ok.

next thing i know its 8am and time for me to get up for work.
i look at my phone. no call from Marmie.
i immediately start calling her.
5 times. 7 times.
no answer.

finally i look up Kaiser and call the ER.
after getting transfered a couple times to different nurses they finally inform me that my Marmie indeed had a heart attack.

i tell the nurse to tell my Marmie i am on my way!
the nurse tells me that my Marmie said to go to work and maybe come later.
i said no way.
right after that my Marmie texts me and tells me to go to work.
i said no. i am coming!

i call Ray almost in tears and he is a very good man and tells me to keep him informed!
on my way to the hospital my sister black calls me!!!

she was scheduled to fly in that eve!
little j was already here and was out exploring LA.

i tell her what was going on and since my mom thought it was all minor i tell black its still A-OK for her to come!

thats where a little change of plans came in.

i get to the ER and when i saw my Marmie hooked up to all these IV's and monitors i lost it.
i just started hugging her and crying.

she was still in good spirits at this point. 
we were joking about her driving herself and being stubborn.

shay got to the hospital about an hour of so later to be with us.
it was real nice to have her there!

things were looking good and next thing i know they went to panic mode.
the cardiologist came in and did a 3rd EKG b.c. her 2nd was abnormal.

minutes after that he came in and said they were going to immediately transfer her by ambulance to the LA Kaiser for a Cath.

thats when the tears started flooding.
i immediately called jacob sobbing.
he had his parents call me b.c. he had just gotten to his work appt.

the transfer happened so fast that we didnt have time to get a priesthood holder to Baldwin Park to give my Marmie a blessing.

i asked the Barlows if they could meet us at the LA Hospital and luckily jacob was working right next to it.
the ambulance and the Barlows got to LA right before us.

Shay and I were running down the hallway to the Cath Lab to see Marmie before the Cath but we just missed her.
that was really hard.

it was a blessing to have jacob and his parents already there to calm and comfort me.

Shay and I must have made 100 phone calls that friday giving the Sisters and our family updates on Marmies condition.

while i was out in the hall i heard the cardiologist call, "WARNER"
i got off the phone and told him that was me and he started explaining my Marmies heart to me.
complete with iPhone photos of her hearts arteries.
[props to the iPhone!]

as they did the Cath they found the cause of the heart attack.
she had a complete blockage in one of her minor arteries.
the artery had been blocked for almost 48 hours.
if she didnt go in when she did it would of been bad news.

they put a stent in her artery right away and it opened it up and cleared the way for her blood to flow to her heart again!
again so grateful for Dr.'s and Nurses!

we called the Sisters again and told them the good news.
now it was tears of joy!

i then called sister black and told her all that had happened and that i would be focusing on my mom for the weekend so she kindly enough offered to just fly home to AZ instead of coming.
i was sad but it was a blessing.
thank you my blacky.

then i finally called little j and told her everything!
she had been exploring the day in LA.

we were allowed to see her about .5 hour after the stent was put in.
it was hard to see her drugged up and in so much pain.

jacob and his dad gave my mom a beautiful blessing and we left her to rest till they put her in the CCU [cardiac care unit].

the barlows offered to pick little j up in LA and take care of her while i was at the hospital.
serious blessing. they are amazing.
then little j finished her time in LA with a friend of her sisters in HB.
i was again sad she couldnt stay around me but i needed to be there for my Marmie and she understood.

jacob and shay stayed with me for awhile and then my sweet cat showed up with beautiful get well drawings from her kids she nannies!
also i got tons of texts and love from my G7 family.
it was so much appreciated.

friday night was the most intense night with Marmie.
that was her worst night there b.c. she wasnt allowed to move and she was in so much pain.
we both shed tears as the morphine kicked in to relive her.

the next 2 days i learned TONS about the heart and about all the machines and drugs and iv's!
i ask a lot of questions in general but this time i wanted to make sure i knew everything.
this was Marmies life we are talking about!

the Nurses and Cardiac Team were amazing.
doing everything to make sure Marmie was comfortable and taken care of and most importantly healing.
Gus was the Nurse Friday night and he was a trooper taking care of my mom!
Julie was our day Nurse for the most part of Marmies stay and she was patient with my constant questioning.
another blessing to have such wonderful healers.

i was allowed to take Marmie home this past Monday!
it was such a blessing!
one for her to get to come home and shower but also to know that she was in a safe recovery spot.

she is doing well now.
she is home recovering for about another 1.5 weeks.
[any suggestions of good books or shows she should watch let me know!]

we are changing the way we eat and have been going on walks in the eve.
like i said its been a good wake up call!
not only for Marmie but for me.

i also learned how aware the Lord is of each of us individually.
He knows us by name.
Jesus Christ knows how we feel in every single way and is there to comfort and heal.

my sisters and i are blessed to have Terri Lynn Warner as our Mother.

i am so grateful to live in a time where technology can be used to save our lives.
also grateful to those who have chosen their professions in medicine.
i give you props.
i could not do it.

thank you for saving my Marmies life.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth .." 
Romans 1:16

>>>

"And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them."
Isaiah 42:16

May 18, 2011

little j & blacky = blessings!

see these ladies?!

these are 2 of my girls.
black you LOVE mission lingo!

both are coming to visit me in LA!!!

little j = tonight
blacky = friday eve

i could not be more excited about this little trip of theirs!


i had the blessing of training them in the WMM.
serious blessing.


then the coolest thing happen! 

THEY BECAME COMPANIONS!
i was training my 3rd girl .. the pluiminator and they were serving in racine!

all 4 of us were in the same zone for 2 transfers!
blessings!


we will have some reuniting in LA this week!
plu.i.am we wil miss you! and our lovely b.johnson too!

let the fun begin!

May 15, 2011

melanie elizabeth barlow ..

i really like the sound of that!

i also really like to tell stories.
i am famous for remembering and giving every detail.
[this is your warning .. its gonna be long!]

this is one story that i'll be telling forever ..

we are gonna call it ..
jacob & melanie: chapter 10, the proposal.
[pretend jim dale is reading this to you, harry potter style.]

heres a little background to why i have a shiny new ring on my finger as of 05.13.11 ..

mr. barlow moved home 03.05.11
he did this so that we could date everyday.
best blessing ever.

we loved being together all the time and started to wonder how we ever spent more than 3 days apart!

one eve right before Easter we talked about the possibilities of what "if" we got married ..
it was a really good talk that led to us wanting to ask the Lord if this was right.

so we did.
that week we both individually prayed.
also we decided to go to the LA Temple that weekend.
Easter weekend.

while driving home we each shared our experiences from the week and from our time in the Temple.
both of us received very clear answers from the Lord that this was right and that He gave His approval!

we were all kinds of smiles.
we both didnt know what to do next! 

mr. barlow being quite the gentleman he is was making plans to ask my family for their blessing.

this is where the surprises started!

05.08.11
mothers day
he asked my mom for her blessing.
we skyped with both my sisters that night to tell them of the news!

this is also where it gets interesting ..
my dad passed away when i was 2 years old so i have a couple pretty amazing father figures that mr. barlow wanted to get their blessing from.

my uncle steve.
he is my dads brother.
they look almost like twins.
he helped raise us when we were little and is always there for us in a seconds notice.

we had dinner with my uncle and aunt 05.11.10 and he asked my uncle for his blessing!

notice i said father figureS .. there are multiple!

my papa monte.
he stood in as proxy for my dad when my family was sealed in the LA Temple 9 years ago.
he has always been there to give me fathers blessings, advice and just to tease me!

president william a. barrett.
this man i met 09.2008 when i stepped off the plane in Milwaukee, Wisconsin!
he is my mission president and my papa bear.
durung the 18 months that i was a missionary in Wisconsin President Barrett looked after me like a father.
he told me when i had my final interview with him that he wanted to interview my future husband.
i promised him that would happen!

so after knowing mr. barlow talked to my mom and uncle i knew he still had my papa monte and president barrett left.

we are going to utah the first week of june and that was when he was going to talk to them.

so in my mind i knew we wouldnt get engaged until sometime in june!

now with that background here comes the BIG SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!


05.13.2011
friday the 13th

our plan that eve was to pick up his brother and sister in law from LAX.
nbd.
we still really did pick them up in case you were wondering.

i told jacob i would just drive out to his house right after work and we could chill and than get clark and holly. 
plan. done and done.

mr. barlow had other surprise plans!

i met jacob at his house.
he opened the door right away and asked me if i wanted some pizza ..
i said sure but i was taking my time talking to his parents and playing with his nieces.

what i didnt know was happening was that mr. barlow needed us to leave right then and there.
he sent his dad a text to tell us we needed to hit the road b.c. of traffic.

me being geographically challenged didnt know it only took about 25 minutes to get to LAX from the barlows. 
so i didnt think anything of it when we left his house at 7:15pm to pick them up at 8:45pm!
i just assume that b.c. its LA it takes an hour or more no matter what!

we started driving. talking. apparently i brought up marriage a lot jacob said!
aslo i asked him if he was going to go to the Temple the next day, meaning saturday before Disneyland.
he said he was going to try.

then mr. barlow looked at the clock and said "wow! we really beat traffic, we are close to the Temple, how about we go walk around together in case i dont make it tomorrow?!"

i thought that was a great idea and nothing out of the norm for us.
we both LOVE the LA Temple and sometimes just walk around it.

we walked to the front of the Temple, right by the reflecting pond in the very center.
we stood there hugging and i was asking jacob random question about the Temple ..
such as, "i wonder if you can get to the very top top of the Temple inside?"
jacob was being pretty quite but i didnt think anything of it.

we stood there for a couple minutes and we were just loving holding each other and looking at the Temple.

next thing i know he turns me to face him and he is getting down on one knee!!!!!!!

i immediately said, "YOU ARE JOKING!"

mr. barlows response was, "melanie elizabeth warner, will you accompany me to the House of the Lord and marry me?"

i looked at him and said, "YYYEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!"

he stood up and we kissed, hug, kissed, kissed, hug! 
my whole body was shaking! 
tears welled up in my eyes but i couldnt stop laughing and smiling!

when we stood up he put the ring on my finger and said, "i already called and talked to monte and your mission president."

i was in so much shock and awe!
so much happiness! 

i looked at the ring and it was perfect!
he picked it out all my himself and its amazing!

my next thought was .. MY CAMERA! 
it was in the car. 

im pretty sure jacob read my mind b.c. at that same moment he looked at me and said, "cats here. shes taking photos of all this!"

WWWWWWHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT?????!!!!!!!!!

he pointed to a bush and out popped CAT! along with CODY!

it was amazing! 
we hugged and cat kept snapping away!
here is cats side of this wonderful event! i love it >>> JBB proposes to MEW

it was perfect.
everything.
there is no other way to describe it all.

mr. barlow loves to surprise and he knows i love surprises!

he went to a lot of my family for their blessings!
he knew how special the LA Temple was to me and the two of us!
he also knew how much photographs mean to me!

perfection.

we immediately called my family!
then we jokingly said changing our fb status was the next step!
[its mostly funny b.c. our relationship started via fb in a way.]
but we really did. 
right then and there.

thats is how most everyone found out!
even HIS PARENTS!
they had no idea he was proposing that night!

i love it.
all of it.

i love mr. barlow.
words cannot express how excited i am to be mrs. barlow!

told you it would be detailed and long but i love this story.
i love that i was completely surprised 110%.
i love that mr. barlow knows me so well.

i am a lucky woman.
mr. barlow is my man for time and all eternity!

May 13, 2011

friday the 13th was pretty lucky to me!

mr. barlow is full of surprises.

best night ever.
full story to come later.
it is a really good one so you'll want to come back!

thank you to mr. barlow for getting cat&cody to come document this special occasion.
thank you my sweet catherine for being willing!

mr. barlow knows how much i love photographs.


SURPRISE!
i honestly had NO idea.


i love him.


oh hey!
this is a fancy ring.


we both love LA.


thank you mr. barlow for making me the happiest girl.

May 08, 2011

motherhood ..



i love mormon messages.

i also really love mothers.
especially the one who gave birth to me.


May 05, 2011

happiness!


mr. barlow & i have seen each other more in the past 2 months than the first 5 months of our relationship.
happiness!
we have also started standing the same and finishing each others sentences. 


no work mondays.
happiness!
spending them at the beach or disneyland with these 2 is the cherry on top.


sun, sun, sun, sun & more sun.
happiness!
i love living in california.

so much happiness!

May 01, 2011

love. love. love.

love is mr. barlow trying to lick my face.
or this could be him just trying to make out with me.
either way its full of love.