NEWS & A Very Merry Christmas

Happy Holidays from the Herrin Family

Important news today!
We are relocating the blog to the herrintwins.com site, which our parents have used since we were little.  Find the blog on the "Updates tab" or by visiting herrintwins.blogspot.com.  This week, we'll post our update on both blog sites, but next week we are shifting completely over to herrintwins.com.  We are making the shift because we figured it would be easier to streamline everything.  We are experiencing some issues with updating the rest of that site, but we will be working on it over the next several weeks.

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Merry Christmas!

Hospital Visit from Santa

We hope your holiday has been one you get to spend with those you love.  From our family to yours, have the merriest of holidays this season.For those who want to know more about Kendra's surgery last Monday, it went amazingly well!  Although surgeons were nervous about possible lack of muscle, everyone was pleasantly surprised to discover Kendra has developed a lot of muscle since we were younger.  Thanks to that, the surgery went far better than originally estimated, and Kendra's recovery time will be much shorter.  Not only did Kendra get her surgery over with, she is able to be home for Christmas-- she came home from the hospital on Saturday.Kendra had friends and family visiting throughout the week, and her pain became much more bearable as the week went on.  Maliyah spent a lot of time with friends this week as well.  On Friday, our friends Shaela, Anabelle, and Emma came with Maliyah to dialysis and then visited Kendra afterwards.  While Kendra was in bed, everyone else helped decorate her room very elaborately-- it was deemed "The Fun Room" by hospital staff.  We even got a special visit from Santa Claus himself.  This Wednesday, look for a vlog about our trip to the hospital with our friends.  We had quite an adventure!

Drawing of Allie

While Kendra was in the hospital, we worked on Christmas shopping and gift giving this morning.  Because our sweet dog, Allie, passed away earlier this year, Maliyah had a drawing done of Allie for the whole family.  Kendra got an ice machine and the challenge game "Wet Head."  Maliyah got a grilled cheese maker, phone cases, and a cake book. Let us know how your holiday break has been so far and ask us any questions below!
Merry Christmas,Kendra & Maliyah        And Jake, Erin, Courtney, Keoki, Justin, Austin, Ezra, and Emmie

Surgery Today

Happy Holidays!  With Christmas one week away, festive preparations have been busy at the Herrin house.  

Maliyah's new Haircut

Maliyah went to dialysis and learned a game called cover your assets on Monday.  We enjoyed it so much, we may be getting it this year for Christmas!  

Tuesday, our mom loaded us up in the car and told us we were going to a surprise location.  We went to see the movie Wonder, which was absolutely incredible and inspiring.  Aside from that, we worked on online school for most of the day.

Nephew Ezra

We played cover your assets again when Grandpa took us both to Maliyah's dialysis on Wednesday.  The next day, we caught up on all of our schoolwork.  The semester ends this next week, and-- like most teenagers-- we wanted to avoid school as much as possible over the winter break.

On Friday, we wrapped presents for our friends and family.  We love wrapping presents, and usually wrap most of the presents our family is gifting to others or even to each other!  Click here for a Christmas wrap battle in celebration of the season.

We filmed videos for our channel with Anabelle and Emma on Saturday.  Look for a holiday-themed video this Wednesday and a channel trailer to be released January 3rd.  Maliyah got a short new haircut later that day.  

Sunday morning, Maliyah went to church with our friend Anabelle while Kendra stayed home.  As many of you know, Kendra has surgery today (see our last post to read more).  She couldn't make it to church because she had to prepare for the surgery by drinking something to clear her bowels out.  She also couldn't eat anything all day because it is bowel reconstruction surgery.  Please keep her in your hearts this holiday season. Don't worry-- even though she will be in the hospital over Christmas, our family is bringing the same spirit we would have at home right to her recovery room.

We invite you to Light the World during the coming week by doing random acts of service for those around you and illuminating the holiday spirit we love so much.

Keep in touch,

Kendra & Maliyah

Snow and Surgery

This week had a little bit of everything.  We had fun days, lazy days, and even a scary experience. 

Monday and Tuesday were both filled with homework and relaxing.  Tuesday night, Courtney had one of those rare nights out, so Kendra watched Ezra.  Usually, he is remarkably well-behaved, but he got fussy.  Mom has a lot of experience with babies, so she ended up taking Ezra to her room in a bassinet.  

On Wednesday, Maliyah went to dialysis and caught up on all of her schoolwork.  To celebrate, we both went out for ice cream afterwards with our grandpa.  On Thursday, we hung out with Anabelle and Emma and did a photo shoot.  It was freezing cold, and the snow was almost too deep for us to walk in, but it was worth it.  The pictures turned out pretty well.  After we took the pictures, we went inside to warm up and hung out for a little while longer.

That night, Kendra was talking with our mom about a hernia she has on her side.  We looked at it, and noticed a small wound that didn't look to be in good shape.  This was concerning, and so we contacted Dr. Meyers right away (She is our separation doctor).  We scheduled an appointment for the next day.
Friday, Maliyah went to her monthly dialysis checkup.  There, they checked phosphorus and potassium levels and made sure her medicines were still doing their job.  Kendra went to see a doctor about the wound on her side.  Dr. Meyers cleaned it up and gave us materials to take care of it.  She said we should schedule surgery for it as soon as possible, and we had to set the surgery for the 18th.  Unfortunately, this means Kendra will be in the hospital over Christmas recovering.  The next morning, though, it looked great!  It was already much smaller and no longer appeared to be infected.  If it keeps getting better, we may be able to push back the surgery a few weeks!
Later that night, we went with our grandparents to their neighborhood Christmas party and ate quite a bit of food.  Courtney and Ezra came with us, too, and he got to meet our cousins for the first time since he was born.
Sunday was a good day.  We spend plenty of quality family time together, drew secret Santa names for Christmas, and watched America's Funniest Home Videos like we do every Sunday.  Later, we hid Emmie's teddy bear on top of the Christmas tree as an ornament of sorts-- nobody has noticed yet!  Who knows-- it might be the replacement for our star through Christmas!
Until next week,
Kendra & Maliyah

Christmas Preparations

This past week was exciting!  

Maliyah on Thanksgiving

Ezra Photoshoot

With the arrival of our nephew two weeks ago, things have been even more fast-paced than usual.  Our sister, Courtney, is doing really well.  Click here to subscribe to her brand new channel.  If you haven't watched the baby announcement and name reveal (posted on Wednesday), click here.
Thanksgiving was great this year!  Even though the brand-new baby couldn't come, we had a really fun time, and even got a feast on both Thursday and Friday!
On Monday, we went to the store to get a brand new Christmas tree.  Courtney needs glasses after having a baby, so after checking out, we waited in the car for an hour and a half while she had her eye appointment.  Our nephew (Ezra) was not happy, and cried the entire time.

Meeting Murr from Impractical Jokers

On Wednesday, we both went to Maliyah's dialysis. We entertained ourselves by talking and playing games, and the three hours went by pretty quickly. That night, we went to Evening in Excellence, where we received our Young Womanhood Recognition award.  We both had to speak in front of everyone!  It wasn't as bad as we thought, but still nerve-wracking!
On Friday, we hung out with our friend Shaela and did a bubble-gum blowing contest on Facebook live.  If you missed it, click here.
On Saturday, Maliyah went to the neighborhood Christmas party in the morning.  Later, we both went to a movie premier and met Murr from Impractical Jokers! We went to our friends' house (Mimsi and Sharon) and had a gingerbread house contest as well as exchanged Christmas gifts with a few friends from our neighborhood.  Sharon is going out of town soon, so we had to give Christmas presents a little early.
If you have any questions, comment down below!  We will get back to you as quickly as possible.
Look for a new video on Wednesday, and a new post next week.
Until then,
Kendra & Maliyah

Remember Us?

Hey!  It's Kendra and Maliyah.  

You might remember our story from a few years ago.  We were featured on KSL, Deseret News, Oprah, Huffington Post, Daily Mail, NBC, and dozens more.  If you haven't yet heard our story, welcome!
We were born joined at the abdomen, and we shared a set of legs as well as a large intestine, kidney, and other organs.  Doctors said we wouldn't learn to move around while conjoined, but we did.  And with that health came the goal to separate us.  Our story involved doctors and medical ethicists around the world, because the surgery was risky.  But the prospect of a better life led to an eventual separation surgery.
When we were younger, our mom started a blog and kept the world updated on our story for a while.  She also wrote a book about our story.  Not too long after our separation surgery was successful, our presence eventually tapered off, leaving many wondering what we might be up to now.
Now, we want to share our day-to-day adventures with the world. 
Click to see our YouTube Channel, where we post videos every Wednesday.
Here, expect to see posts every Monday.
Until next week,
Kendra & Maliyah