The girls are going to be on the Oprah Show tomorrow. Its just an update show. Happy watching!

We just updated a lot of new pictures. Take a look. :)

It has been a while since we have updated. Maliyah had surgery again for the same thing. Her VEPTR made a hole in her skin again, so they took one of the rods out of her back. She was able to go home that same day. She is missing a lot of school this year so far, which makes me very nervous!
Kendra is doing very well with her 'robot' leg. She is getting around very well at school with it. I am so proud of all of her hard work. Both the girls started dance at the beginning of the school year, but decided that it was too hard for them. I went and visited their class and they were able to keep up with all the other kids.
Courtney decided that she wasn't going to take dance this year and is going to try gymnastics. It makes me pretty sad that we aren't going to be doing her Saturday competitions this year. She is taking a tutor by her Grandma and Grandpa's house. She is flying through her reading classes, so I wonder what we are going to put her in to keep things challenging for her. She has also been having a hard time hearing, so we are taking her to the ENT for tubes because she is getting so much fluid in her ears.
Justin and Austin are so dang cute!! I can't believe that they are going to start Kindergarten next year. I will miss my sweet boys so much. They are learning about safety this week at preschool. They came running out telling me about 911 and the fireman. I was laughing with another mom about my boys calling 911. And was just waiting until they made that phone call. Well that never happened, and at the field trip today the mom told me that her son had called 911 and the police showed up at her house. So funny! Austin's favorite thing to do right now is come up to me and tell me how pretty I look today. He is so sweet. Justin is probably going to be getting his tonsils out soon. He is having a hard time sleeping at night and he has been on a antibotics for 4 weeks now and nothing is happening. We are going to meet with the ENT soon.
Jake is enjoying the football season and I am too. It's nice to get someone to watch the kids and take off to the games together. I told Jake that we will have to start following the team around, if they go to places like Florida.
I enjoy school and am doing VERY well! It's great to be able to learn, but the classes I am taking right now are so easy that it's not very much work.
In Utah the Fall is over and the snow is starting. Our kids are very excited for that, but I dread the snow. I hope that we can get a truck or something for me to drive when it snows.

I am really sorry I don't update this as much. Facebook is just easier and faster, but this is a lot more important because the kids will love this when they are older. :)

Maliyah just had another unexpected surgery on Monday. On Saturday she was having some back pain and noticed that some of her VEPTR was showing through her skin. Thankfully there was no infection to speak of, probably because I got it taking care of pretty quick. She missed just a couple days of school and is back in the swing of things again.
Kendra is working on her 'robot' leg, but its just so heavy for her little body.
Courtney is really bored! She has 2 weeks off of dance and she has no idea what to do with her extra time. There were times when I felt bad because she went to dance so often. Now I know that she needs that.
Justin and Austin are learning to ride their 2 wheel bikes. Its been fun running up and down the street with them. They still aren't ready to be competely off their training wheels, but in time. They also are so excited for winter. Justin keeps asking when the snows is coming. I wonder if he realizes that he won't be able to play outside for hours on end like he does now.
I just started school yesterday. It was really cool being in a class setting again. I really love to learn! The sad part was listening to the people around me whine about having to be there. I guess when you haven't waited 10 years to start school, you really don't know how to be grateful for the little things in life.
Jake is very excited for College Football. Can't say I feel the same way. Now back to being a single mom for the season. Which is fine because he does what he loves and so do I.

The kids just started back to school last Wednesday. When we were leaving the school Justin turned around to the girls and yelled "see ya suckas". It was so cute! The girls had a great day at school. I wanted the girls to go back to school, but now I am so lonely for them to be at home with me. I miss them! I signed the girls up on Saturday for dance. Courtney is back on the competition team taking 5 classes. Kendra and Maliyah are starting with just 2 classes, they take a Jazz/Tap/Ballet class and a Jazz Technique class. They are so excited! I even signed myself up for Jazz Technique, which was probably a bad idea because we are going to be busy with the kids stuff. We will see how the first month goes. Justin and Austin are lost without the girls at home. They seem to fight more than before. Their pre-school starts in September. Jake is still plugging away at work and things are busier for him than ever. Then school starts for me on Wednesday. Jake isn't very excited for that, but he is still supporting me through it. He knows that it's been my dream for years.

The summer is coming to an end. I can't believe how relaxing this summer has been. The older the kids get and easier things seem. Several years ago, if the girls got sick they would need to be in the hospital. Now they know what need to be done for them to stay at home. The last several years has been more then overwhelming at times. I think we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thank Heavens! I really thought this would never happen for us. When you are in the thick of things its hard to see when the hard stuff will end. I know that things will be rocky at times, but I am glad that we are getting a break. I really think the vacation that Jake and I took was a big help to see the positive things in life.

Justin and Austin are starting their 2 year of preschool. Kendra and Maliyah are starting the 2nd grade and Courtney is starting the 4th grade

There is a cute girl Kiera that came from Canada to meet our family. She wrote on her blog that meeting the girls will be better than meeting Hannah Montana. I agree with her!

The last several weeks have been so much fun. Kendra and Maliyah stayed with their grandma Patsy for all of last week. Then my Aunt Nikki from Provo took Courtney, Justin and Austin. Jake and I got a much needed break from all 5 kids. It was heaven on earth!! The summer is almost over for our children, it has flown by. The girls are done with summer school and are reading on a 3rd grade level.
We are planning on taking the kids camping before school starts. Maliyah is finally done with her PICC line. Kendra is working hard on her 'robot leg'. Courtney has a dance camp in the next couple of weeks. She will dance 19 hours in 2 days, she is so excited! I uploaded her dance video to youtube. Justin and Austin are doing very well and will start sports in the fall.
Life is so good right now. My children are healthy and things are going so well.

I would like to thank the people that look out for our family. Thank you!! And to the people that write nasty things on MY guestbook. Its really funny to read your notes, do you really think we care what you think. LOLOLOLOLOL!! You just make us laugh!

Thanks for all of the guestbook entries. They are so wonderful to read... It nice to know that we have people around the world that pray for our family and that are excited to hear the good things happening to us. Things have been REALLY crazy!! Our family has been sick with the throwing up. Maliyah has gotten it a lot worse than the others. Thank goodness she has her PICC, so that I can give her IV fluids at home. On Tuesday she must of thrown up ever 10 minutes, all the way up until I started her fluid. She will have it pulled out on Monday when her lab work shows everything back to normal. She will have it pulled out on Monday when her lab work shows everything back to normal.

The girls have been working really hard on there legs. The work will be worth it when they are able to walk without there walkers and crutches.

The girls expansion went BETTER than I thought it was going to. We were able to go as a family to see the fireworks at the park by our house just 2 days later.

Austin favorite thing to say right now is "mom pay attention". He is so funny.

Justin just wants to play outside all day long with his best friend..

Courtney just made the Juniors dance team. One of the studio that is in our neighborhood is flying so professional dancing instructors to teach. So in 2 days Courtney will be taking 15 hours of dance. She is so excited!! Kendra and Maliyah are taking dance at the same studio as Courtney.

There isn't much to update about Kendra other than she is doing so great. I think that TLC show really showed how funny and happy she is. I loved all of her funny phrases in the show, like awesome, weird and it just like playin in the mud..

I loved that my children are always so happy and willing to show how brave they are with others. Its truly is amazing how far they have come and how far our family has come. We are still under a lot of stress, but we know as time goes on that it will get better. Things always do with time.

For those that have emailed me there stories about there families. Thank you so much!! You are such amazing families as well and your stories touched my heart!! We all have trials to get through in this life, but if we help lift each other things will get easier.

I wanted to update and let you all know that our TLC show is airing this Sunday the 12th, 13th and 15th of July. Check your local listings for times.

The girls have their legs and are taking off with them. They also had a surgery this past week to lengthen their rods in their backs. Maliyah is still on IV meds for the infection she had in her back a month ago. She is still on a feeding tube as well.

Kendra is doing very well.

Both of the girls started dance this summer..

Sorry this post is really short but its going to be a very busy day today!

Justin and Austin turned 4 years old today!! I can't believe how much they have grown. Its also very scary to think back and remember that me and the boys almost died together today. I love them so much!!

Happy Birthday My Boys, Justin and Austin!! I love you so much!!

The kids are so excited because it summer time!! Part way.. The kids have tutoring that they will be doing this summer. They each have some catching up to do. So 3 days a week they will be working with a tutor until 12. Than we will make sure we do something fun in the afternoons.

I CAN'T believe that Justin and Austin are turning 4 on the 10th of June. How time flies!!! It makes me so happy that things are starting to get so much easier, than they have been in the past. Its days like this that makes me excited for the future and to see how well my kids are going to do.

Maliyah had an infection in her back, so she went in for another surgery. She was suppose to be in the hospital over night, but it ended up being several days. She is home on a PICC line. She is such a trooper!!

Kendra was sick for the last day of school, so she stayed at home with me.

On Sunday's we all like to take naps after church. So we all laid down and about an hour later I went to check on the kids. Justin and Austin had flour all over the kitchen. Kendra had gotten the keys to Jake's car and back it out of the garage. So at 6:00pm the three of them went to bed for the night. They were in big trouble! I still can't believe Kendra was able to touch the pedals and shift the car. She is an amazing little girls!

Courtney has several dance camps planned for this summer. She gets smaller breaks in between, but Courtney is dancing anyway at home. She loves to dance!!

Jake and I are trying to figure out if we will be able to take a vacation just the two of us. We need to see if its in the budget, even if its just something close to home for a couple of days. We need to just be alone together. Jake will be going to Wyoming for work, so I thought that would be a good idea and I would be cheap for us. Not a very romantic place, but we can't complain. We just have so much fun together, so it doesn't really matter where so go, just as long as we are alone together.

We have been married for 10 years on May 15th!! I can't believe it has been that long. We have been together for 12 years!! We have the most wonderful children ever!! Jake surprised me with a rented Charger for our date, I LOVE fast cars. I don't think he realized how much I did until we started our date. We went to dinner and went dancing. It was very nice to just be together and forget that we have responsiblities, stresses and children. The children stayed with Jake's sister Amy for the night. We got home at 3am, it was nice to remember the reasons we got married in the first place.

On Saturday, Kendra and Maliyah had a birthday party at 11am, which you could imagine was hard for us because we had stayed up all night. The party theme was a Tea Party, so the girls wear very cute pink dresses. Courtney spent the rest of Saturday with her cousin Mariah. Justin and Austin stayed home and played with Dad while I got my hair done.

Things are going really well. There is a saying my Dad always says "it's a GREAT day to be alive".

I am so excited because I am starting school this summer at BYU!! This will be such a great thing for me! I have been dreaming of this day for as such a long time...

The 3 girls had a performance at school on Monday. They did an amazing job! Yesterday I was able to see Courtney's dance pictures. They turned out so well. She is such a pretty little girl! She is very happy that dance is almost over for the summer, she is ready to be bored. The boys have their graduation from preschool on the 27th of May. They have one every year to graduate them to the next level. Kendra and Maliyah have a field trip tomorrow that I am going with them on. I HATE field trips. I know that they are only young once, but I still hate going on them. The school didn't have anyone to help Kendra and Maliyah, so I had to fill in. I just hate finding babysitters to watch the boys. I guess it will be a nice break from the boys, they are handfuls :).

I am doing several speaking engagements and really enjoy that. Some people think I am nuts because it really doesn't bother me to get in front of people and talk. I love the chance to share parts of our never ending story. Just because I am done writing that book doesn't mean the stories ends there. Life is always about the next trail and journey that we have to face, but we will be better for it. I hope that is always true for us! Its truly amazing to reread my book and see how far we have come, but than to realize we have a lot more to climb, and trying to figure out how to make it all the way to the top.

We just uploaded new pictures!

I was really upset today about the girls legs. Its so much work getting them fitted, more than I thought it would be. That is just our life, everything more work than we think. We are going back tomorrow for more fitting. I am so proud of the girls, well all of our children. They are all doing so well. We have so much planned for this summer, its very overwhelming. I will just take one day at a time and know I am not super women;).

Jake has been sick with strep throat the last couple of days. So I have been caring for him and keeping the kids away from him. That is all we need is the kids to get sick with this. I thought today that I was coming down with it, but I am just fine.

The boys and I are headed for another field trip on Thursday. I can't believe that they have almost finished their first year of preschool. Time flies!!

Courtney has her final competition on Saturday. I am really sad for those to be over because I enjoy watching her dance so much. At her last competition her team was so good even the judges her dancing. Its so much fun for Courtney! When Courtney isn't dancing its very boring because we wait for hours until her next performance.

Here is another neat post from the guestbook:
I have received and started reading your book and it is amazing. You are truely an amazing person with an amazing family. Even though I don't know you personally, I feel like I do. I spent 9 weeks on bedrest up at University Hospital with my twins before they were born at 32 weeks. In fact I went home the day before you were admitted from what I read in your book. I wish I would have had the chance to get to know you. I have followed your story since before the separation of the girls. They truely are miracles and I am so happy that they are doing well. You and your family are always in my thoughts and prayers and I wish you the best. Thank you for sharing your story.

Love The Herrin's

There are many people in the world I admire for there strength and love towards others. But the ones I most admire are people that are real with the ones around them. Its a very difficult thing to stand up for something you believe in or something that you want so bad but wouldn't be good for your family. As I read your emails it touches my heart that some of you struggle through some of the things I write about in my book. I was at lunch with a friend of mine today, we both got pregnant at an early age. She talked about how she tried not to remember that time in her life, but when she was reading my book those emotions came flooding back to her. The best thing I have ever done in my life was marry Jake, have 5 beautiful children and than be able to write a book I know that my children will be so proud of when they are older. There are so many things we each face in our lives, but I know that I can get through mine because I have a great family.

I wanted to share this message that was left on our guestbook. Everyone has trails in life some more than others. I am just glad that people are willing to share them with me and my family.

Erin-I got your "heart in print" on Friday and read the entire book without stopping. I was touched by so many thoughts and feelings that you put to paper. You really shared your personal life with those of us who have been so impacted by your story. I feel like I know you and I wish I lived closer. I would love to do anything I can to help. Thank you for opening up your heart and life to us. I'm sure a lot of it was difficult to live through the first time and writing it had to bring back a flood of emotions. I had to have a box of tissues to get through the book. I, too, am a mom and respect and admire what you did. I would have chosen the same path. I have, also, struggled with my marriage and continue to do so now, and pray that the Lord gives me strength and direction. Thank you, again. I love you and your family. You are my inspiration!!

Everyday I open my email and the guestbook to wonderful messages from people that really do care about our family. So thank you for making my days better. The best has been hearing how much you each LOVE my book. I hope you all don't mind, but I am going to be putting those up on our website. Its so wonderful that my dream of writing my story came true. I will not put the names up because some of you wouldn't like that. So keep the emails and guestbook entries coming :).

I received your book today and haven't been able to put it down! I'm just beginning Chapter 19. Having followed your website since the separation, I was surprised to see how much I'm reading for the first time in your book. It's so honest - even when it's so clear how difficult some of the issues were - and so beautifully written. I suggest everyone who is thinking about ordering the book do so. You will be glad you did.

Maliyah is sick today! I really don't want to take her to the hospital, so please say a prayer for her, that she will be good as new tomorrow.

Love
The Herrin's

The girls didn't receive their legs yesterday, as planned. We have to wait until May 5th now. I also had to schedule the girls for surgery today. Each time it get worse for me to put the girls through another one. I just pray that they will not have to many complications like every other surgery. Our insurance refuses to pay for the hyper-bartic chamber, so I hope Kendra's belly will close. I really hate figuring out how to make insurance pay for things. I should write a book on jumping through hoops to get insurance help. Heaven knows I have done my share! I really want to get the kids signed up for swimming lessons, I am just nervous that something will happen and they won't be able to take them.

Courtney came home from school sick today. She has another competition tomorrow, so I hope that she can feel better soon. Justin and Austin had Pet Day yesterday, but Alli is still a puppy and so I decided that she didn't need to go. They took stuffed animals instead. Next year will be better for Alli to be around little kids.

Jake is pretty overwhelmed right now with stuff and I am overwhelmed with surgeries coming up. I told him we are a great time together so we can make sure the other one is doing OK. He always tries to do more than me. Thanks babe for taking care of me! :) I just got an invitation to my 10 year high school reunion, I am getting so old. I still feel 16.;)

Everyone is doing great! Erin and the girls are going to be doing more media in the next 2 days than we think we've done since the separation. For those in Utah, they will appear on KUTV 2News today at 5:00pm, 10:00pm, tomorrow around 6:45am, and again at noon tomorrow. Then on the radio on 98.7FM at 7:40am, 93.3FM at 7:55am, and 107.5FM at 8:15am. Then on TV tomorrow on 4Utah and KSL5 at 5:00pm and 10:00pm. We'll try and post links for those not in Utah. We are having a reception to celebrate the book release tomorrow the 28th. You can see the invitation below for details, sorry for the late notice.



You and a friend are cordially invited to a very rare and special reception to meet the world famous Herrin Twins, hosted by #1 bestselling author Richard Paul Evans.

Come celebrate with the Herrins the release of their new book, WHEN HEARTS CONJOIN--the miraculous true story of the Herrin twins.

(The Herrin twins have been seen on Oprah, Good Morning America, Today Show, NBC News, Access Hollywood, 20/20, People Magazine, Glenn Beck and many other major media outlets worldwide.)

Who are the Herrin Twins?

On August 7th and 8th, 2006, the whole world watched as a team of doctors performed a miracle at Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. For the first time, four-year-old twins Maliyah and Kendra Herrin were having surgery in separate surgical suites. Born conjoined from mid-torso down, these two angels captured the hearts of millions of people around the world!

When Hearts Conjoin is the heart-warming (and heart-rending) story of Erin Herrin, her husband Jake, and Maliyah and Kendra. It is also a story of faith, hope and the power of a mother’s love.

Excerpt from the book:

At 5:45 a.m. we started getting ready for the big day. We awoke Kendra and Maliyah, wanting to hold them for the last time as conjoined twins.
“Is it Cut-Apart Day?” Kendra asked.
“Today is the day,” I said, hoping she wasn’t worried, like I was.
I’m not sure worried was a strong enough word to describe how I felt.
Terrified might be better. My nerves were raw, my emotions ready to erupt. I tried to stay positive so the girls wouldn’t see how upset I was and
become frightened themselves. If anything went wrong today - if I lost one or both of my precious daughters, I’d never be able to live with myself.


This is an extremely rare opportunity to meet these remarkable little girls, one you will likely never have again. Books are just $12.95 and not available at bookstores. Also available is a Special Editions signed by the girls. Author royalties from this book go to the girls’ special medical trust fund. Come support a fellow author. This beautiful book will make a great gift for your friends, family and loved ones.


Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 / 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

Magnolia Grove Reception Center
1117 W. South Jordan Parkway (106th South) South Jordan, Utah

We will be limiting attendance. Please RSVP to Diane Glad at 801-676-3068 or email at info@richardpaulevans.com

Light refreshments
Media will be in attendance

We started stamping the books yesterday!! It was so much FUN! We put the girls on our love sac and a small table in front of them. They watched their favorite show and laughed about being famous. They were so excited that people wanted their hand prints on their books. It was such a great day!! We had the local newspaper over to take pictures of the girls with our book.

Then today I went on a field trip with the boys. I am so tired and so are they. It shouldn't have been too bad, but we sat on a train and changed trains. I think it was the sitting that made us tired. When I am up and about I don't get tired very much. The boys loved it! The funny part was that I had made the boys go potty before we left the house. The drive was less than 15 minutes and they need to go again when we got there. Thankfully there was a bathroom on the train.

A mothers work is never done and we can never be to over prepared for what life brings.

Jake has been working so much lately. He seems to be overwhelmed with things, so my job is to step up and take his load off and do whatever I can to make things easier. We both aren't sleeping at night, so that is difficult on both of us. We need a magic sleeping pill :).

Courtney is finally at 5/4 in her math level at school. She was so excited!! When we left for St. George she was suppose to take the test for that and missed it. She was worried she wouldn't be able to move up in the class. She made a 80% and moved up to the next level and started at an accelerated rate. GO COURT!!

I had a meeting with the girls teacher today and also the SE director. We updated some of the plans for Kendra and Maliyah. Kendra is up to grade level on all of her work, so we just added goals for PT. Maliyah, on the other hand, is struggling and is not 100% at grade level, but she is working very hard. I will be getting the kids tutors this summer, so they don't fall behind. In someways I can't wait for summer to come, but then I am worried we won't have enough things to entertain the kids. I think most moms worry about that with their kids. I plan on putting the kids in swimming lessons. I really wished I had help taking the kids to the zoo and things like that. I am very creative so I will find a way. The girls were so excited today about stamping their books. They watched TV and got the books done. They were laughing and having a great time. They want me to read the book to them. I have read that book hundreds of times and still can't make it through without crying. We will see if I am brave enough.:) We got the results of Courtney competitions: Jazz they got 1st place, Lyrical 1st and Show Hip Hop 2nd. Justin and Austin are doing very well. They have a field trip tomorrow that I am going on. It will be so much fun. We are riding a train.

The Book is now available!!! We are so happy.  I worked on this so hard and can't believe it is finally out.  So please start ordering it.  The girls are so excited to start signing books.  You can order it at http://www.whenheartsconjoin.com .  I really think you will enjoy it.  And remember that the royalties go into trust funds for the girls.  Thanks to everyone for all the support and prayers over the years, they were all a part of making this happen.  I can't thank everyone enough.  It was tough reliving some of those moments, but it was very therapeutic.   Please everyone let me know what you think of it, I love hearing from you.  And please sign the guestbook, it used to get so many comments, and we miss them.  

We also have some new things that will make it so much easier to update the news and photos.  We're going to try updating twitter, the blog and photos simultaneously so you can feel like you're a part of our outings.  We are able to do it from our phones, so it makes it so easy when we're out and about to post.  It was a lot of fun today to post pictures and update while the kids were swimming.  They had so much fun swimming and posing for pictures. 

We had a great time in St George. Courtney's first 2 dances went really well. When they started the show routine things seem to be fine. When Courtney came out as the New York Yankees, she was swinging her bat and hit herself in the eye. Thankfully I was setting in the front row because she looked at me and she started tearing up. I mouth to Courtney that everything was OK and she started smiling really big to stop from crying. I was so proud of her. She was dancing and was having a really hard time seeing, but she finished out he dance. I told her after what a great job she did and than got her some cotton candy. She was happier after that. It was a really nice drive with just Courtney and I. We had some great chats.

Right when we got home we changed and jumped back in the car and drove to West Jordan, where Jake sister got married. (check out the pictures) It was a very small wedding, but that really doesn't matter because they are so happy. I got some really cute pictures of my family at the wedding.

Jake was great with the kids and I was impressed when the house was clean when I got home, well most of it anyway. The kids were even dressed for the wedding.

The Guestbook is back!!!

We're excited to have the guestbook back, hopefully it will keep out the spammers. So please write us, we love to hear from you!

**UPDATE**

The guestbook is not working correctly, will put it back up once it is fixed.

**UPDATE**

Ok, it should be working now.

Disneyland Vacation

WE never know what tomorrow brings, so we have to live for today! The last several months have been difficult as I am sure you all have read. It seemed to be one thing after the next. I decided that Kendra's hernia surgery could wait until this summer. They girls are both going to be having back surgery soon. I was trying to hold off until this summer, but we will see. Maliyah is doing AWESOME right now. I am so proud of her. She is one strong little girl. We just got back from Disneyland. It wasn't suppose to be a Disney trip, but turned into one. It was very tiring. The kids had such a good time, Jake and I were very tired from all the walking and pushing of strollers. The beach was just amazing and it felt so good to be away from the medical stuff for a week. I just hope we can extend the surgeries and hospital stays to this summer. Courtney and I are leaving for St. George on Friday. It will be a fast trip!! We are staying with Jake's brother it make things cheaper. Courtney's competition is on Saturday, I hope early in the morning so that we can get home. Jake's sister is getting married on the 18th of April and would love to go and see that. Justin and Austin are getting so big and talking so much. I am so excited for the all of you to see the documentary on TLC. The kids were so cute when we were filming. The fitting for the girls "robot legs" went very well. They were so brave and Kendra was excited for the new step in her life. Maliyah is a little nervous for her "leg". Everything in Maliyah's own time. We have so much work this summer to help them to use their legs and get them moving. I really hope they aren't discouraged with the difficulty of using their new legs. I really want things to go really easy for them. They really need a break!!!

Website Changes

As you may have noticed, we're changing the website a little to intergrate with the book site. Also because of all the spam we were getting we moved the updates to blogspot format, so please comment on our posts because we have eleminated the guest book.  We love hearing from everyone so please post your comments.  We've also changed the photos page to make it much easier to post pictures more often.   Check out the new pictures we just put up and also some photos of the girls in the NICU under 2002.  Let us know what you think.   Thanks again for all the support.

Things are going REALLY great!! It is still snowing in Utah.. We are getting really sick of it! The kids are all so excited about our family vacation and are counting down the days. I am getting very excited about this book. WE got a mock up from the publisher the other day. I cried like a baby, because I have worked so hard on this project. The girls were so excited to see their faces on the cover. There are also a lot of never seen pictures in the book, some I had forgotten I had. We are in the mist of filming the TLC special right now. They are getting some really cute and funny shots of the kids. The TLC crew is very good to work with and my kids enjoy being around them. All I have today is just really good news!! THINGS ARE REALLY GOING WELL!!

Maliyah has lost 3 of her top teeth. She looks like a vampire!! Good thing she loves them!! We have another appointment for the girls "robot" legs on April 1st. I hope this appointment goes better than the other one. The weather is getting better here, so the kids play outside more. Kendra has to have more surgery, but I am going to put it off until the summer, so she doesn't have to miss school. Austin and Justin are still hard work. They have so much energy! Last night when I pulled Maliyah's tooth out, Justin held her hand. Maliyah was so cute and thanked Justin for his help. I am so excited for the release of the book and to work with Richard Paul Evans, he is a great person and his team is great too. I have been so busy lately because we are getting ready to take the kids for a vacation to California. We need to get away for awhile. We're going to Disneyland and Legoland. All we want to do is lay on the beach and just play. When we went last year the kids wanted to swim the whole time. I have been taking the kids at night swimming, while Jake has been working late. It takes Maliyah several hours to warm-up and like the pool. She is so scared of leaving me because she says she might drown. She is so funny!! Courtney's first dance competition is Saturday, bright and early, we have to be there by 7:15am. Good thing I am a morning person. I am going to take the video camera and upload some videos. She is a very good dancer.

Update

I have been very worried about Maliyah since October. I haven't been sleeping at night, and she was up a lot as well. I took Maliyah to the doctor for her once a month doctor visit. They told me that she was only receiving 1/2 of her calories for the day. I had no idea!! It really made me mad, they know how bad Maliyah was doing and they let it slide because she was gaining a little weight. She is 7 and doesn't even weight 30 pounds, so how could that be good for her. So I got that taken care of. She is doing so much better!! She is getting around on her own and finally thriving, when I wasn't sure she was going to make it through some of the nights. What a weight off my shoulders. I am able to sleep and not worry so much about her. Life is really good right now. I have been staying really busy with the boys. They didn't have pre-school this week because the teacher's daughter was getting married. Courtney will start her dance competitions in 1 week, so she is working really hard at that. I can't wait for Courntey and I to head to St. George for a weekend in April. Just some alone time!! I know that we will be busy with dance most of the time, but I do hope there will be time to swim. It will be nice to have a break from the kids, Courtney needs a break too. Kendra is working very hard on her crutches. We are starting the filming of the TLC special at the end of March, it will air in June. But that can always change. Some friends of our just lost their conjoined twin daughters. So our hearts and prayers goes out to them. There are more conjoin twins that die, than are ever separated. Our girls are Miracles and we are better because of them.

New Pictures!

We had to take the guestbook down on http://www.herrintwins.com because of the overwhelming amount of spam we were getting. We're going to have to figure something else out. Either email us or post comments on http://whenheartsconjoin.com . We're also excited about our new pictures, you can see them on http://donpolophotography.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/when-hearts-conjoin/ please check out their work, they are awesome.

Order book by check or money order

Thank you for the overwhelming response on our upcoming book!

If you would like to purchase a book using a check or money order.

Send the check or money order to:

WriteWise
Attn: When Hearts Conjoin Order
65 E. Wadsworth Park Drive, Suite 110
Draper, Utah 84020

Check payable to WriteWise

Enclose the cost of book + $5.00 for shipping and handling.

Maliyah has RSV

It was a scary week, last week. Maliyah had gotten a cold and so had the boys. On Monday she was throwing up with the cold and getting dehedrated. So I made an a appointment with our ped and got right in. They check Maliyah oxygen and it was down quiet a bit. So that called an ambulance to transport she to the hospital. I had Courtney and Justin with me, so Courtney rode with Maliyah and I drove the car behind them. Jake met me at the hospital and got the other kids. That night the nurse wrote down the wrong dose of prograf for Maliyah, 5 mg instead of .5 mg. Prograf is to keep Maliyah's kidney from rejecting.They gave her two doses and than the pharmacy caught the mistake. The prograf level were to high in her blood and made Maliyah go into a form of rejection, she stopped being able to pee and her kidney was in shock. Her blood work was so bad I didn't know if she was going to have to return to dialysis. Thankfully her kidney started working again and we went home from the hospital with Maliyah on Friday. She is still weak but back at school. She had RSV, and today just a cold.

We are now on FACEBOOK! Join us!

Everyone become a fan of the Herrin Twins on Facebook, just go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Herrin-Twins/56276037018?ref=nf It's a great way to keep updated on the book and everyone can share links, pictures, stories, and videos. Kendra and Maliyah are getting a video camera for their birthday (shhhh, don't tell them) and hopefully they'll make some videos to put on it.

Update from Kendra and Maliyah

Update from Kendra and Maliyah word: Kendar lost a tooth forever!! Maliyah has a tooth!! Its almost our Birthday!! The sky is blue, roses are red,and I love you!! Maliyah says she is feeling better. We got cut apart. They really love to be silly, can you tell. They are having a great day today. Jake is with the boys at the store, Courtney is at dance, the girls and I are just playing at home together. The girls are getting fitted for their legs on Wednesday, a company is donating one to each of the girls. We have something better than pictures, our family will be on TLC. Its a show about Hope, Inspirations and love. We are excited to start filming it soon. The girls are too. They will also show alittle about the girls getting fitted for their legs. I am still worried about Maliyah because she isn't strong enough to get a leg yet, and she struggles to get around someday. Her skin color is still pale, but she is trying so hard and I am proud of her. We are changing the name of the book to, "When Hearts Conjoin." I can't wait to share that with you all. Its so great!! I have enjoyed writting the book with Lu Ann. Our family will treasure this book forever.

Family Updates

I know everyone is asking for pictures and we will get those up ASAP. It has been very busy!! I am finally finding time to do some of the projects that I have put off for so long. I am painting the boys rooms and giving them big boys rooms. I am really enjoying this last little while because Maliyah is doing better. It seems that it won't last very long. She is starting to hurt again, so it will be a work in progress. I feel she is more improved than she was. We just have to stay postive. I am going to call Dr. Meyers office again and see if she can schedule her to have another CT scan. I am worried about Maliyah, but I need to stay busy. I know that's hard to understand, but its the way things need to be. Kendra is doing so GREAT!! In a couple of months Kendra will be ready for her leg, she is nervous about it, but I will be with her ever "step" of the way. The boys are big handfuls and eating machines. Courtney is doing so well with dance. I am so proud of her. She dances sometimes 5 days a week, if she has extra dance times. If she isn't dancing, she is teaching our other kids to dance. Most of the time music is on at our house. As you can tell from my post we have many ups and downs, but we are still moving forward even if they are little baby steps. Please keep Maliyah in your prayers. We know that will help her get better.

Book Update

I have been going through so many picture for the book. I am so excited that this large project is almost done. What a great thing for my children to have. They will understand how strong they are and how much we love them all. As I understand it there will be a lot of pictures in the book. I am very excited for you all to see. With there being more pictures the date has changed to May. I hope!! Everytime I think we are close something happens.. Life is funny that way. Kendra and Maliyah's birthday is coming up and they can't agree on the best theme for the party. I am just excited to make their invitations. My sister-in-law Amy is getting married and she is allowing me to make her inviations. Its a fun hobby I have. I hope everyone is doing well and that you are all healthy. Talk to you soon. Love The Herrin's

Maliyah doesn't need a new transplant

Maliyah doesn't need a new transplant. They remove a kidney that never worked, it didn't even have kidney tissue in it. It was a sac like fluid inside, but I could of been causing the pain. She is doing so much better!! We are so proud of how fast she has recovered from the surgery. She is back at school and the teacher says she is the best she has seen her in a long time. I had to take Kendra to the ER yesterday because of throwing up, she needed IV fluid. When we were gone Allie got out and was hit by a car. One of our neighbors saw it. SHe told us that Allie ran and she jumped in her car to find her but couldn't. So when Jake got home he went look, I did as well, but we could find her. We left our back door open a little just in case she could make it back home. Courtney was up crying that night. At about 12:30am Allie came walking into the house. We jumped out of bed to see if she was ok. Everything looked good, other than some large cuts on her. I took her to the vet the next morning. They did surgery to close some of the larger cuts and to clean everything up well. Needless to say Allie is now our Miracle Dog!! We love you Allie. I do have to add that as soon as Allie walked into the house she ran downstairs to sleep on Kendra's bed. The kids were so happy!!

Update on Maliyah's surgery

Hi Guys!! Maliyah had surgery on Thursday. Doctor Meyers called us on Tuesday and she had the surgery on Thursday. She is doing really well. I was very surprised how fast her bowels are recovering. She had 3 surgeries in one. She had a hole in her bowel that was fixed, a kidney removed and than bladder stones removed. Her incision is pretty large. Her ribs are doing much better. I hope she will be able to return to school soon. I am so proud of her!! All the kids are doing really well. Kendra is doing her crutches at school instead of her walker. Austin and Justin are enjoying preschool and playing at Grandma's when mom is at the hospital with Maliyah. Courtney is still dancing up a storm. She was really sad when everyone went to the movies on Saturday and she had to go to dance. When I was at the hospital I got a call from Jake because they had gotten a flat tire on the way to the movies, on Saturday. He was able to get it fixed fast and make it to the movies on time. He is so great!! They had a great time.