{"id":467,"date":"2026-07-04T17:07:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T17:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/?p=467"},"modified":"2026-07-13T17:10:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T17:10:26","slug":"another-bittersweet-holiday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/","title":{"rendered":"Another bittersweet holiday\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today we kept things simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We enjoyed some special treats, decorated cupcakes that Mom baked, and Evelyn got to do a baking soda and vinegar experiment that created a little volcano. Seeing her smile during moments like these means a lot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We tend to keep holidays pretty low-key these days so Evelyn doesn’t feel like she’s missing out on everything happening outside these hospital walls. Even then, there are moments when that feeling still creeps in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every time we take our son somewhere fun or do something away from the hospital, the parent guilt is impossible to ignore. We’re constantly trying to balance making memories with him while never wanting Evelyn to feel left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These days are incredibly hard, but we hold onto hope. We keep praying that one day these holidays won’t be spent in a hospital room, that our family will be together, and that better days are just ahead. \"\u2764\ufe0f\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

How You Can Help<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A big thank you to all who have donated to COTA for Evelyn\u2019s Heart. Because we raised over $100k within our first 6 months of fundraising, we have earned the $10k challenge grant through COTA! We are so grateful for how our community has rallied for Evelyn in every way and helped us reach this milestone. We literally could not do this without you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THANK YOU!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click Here to Donate Now<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get your “Hearts for Evelyn” T-Shirt<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join our “Hearts for Evelyn” Facebook Group<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes our partnership with COTA so great is that they will be with Evelyn throughout her lifetime. Every dollar donated to COTA in honor of Evelyn goes to transplant-related expenses. Thank you for being here with us for Evelyn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today we kept things simple. We enjoyed some special treats, decorated cupcakes that Mom baked, and Evelyn got to do a baking soda and vinegar experiment that created a little volcano. Seeing her smile during moments like these means a lot.  We tend to keep holidays pretty low-key these days so Evelyn doesn’t feel like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2374,"featured_media":454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAnother bittersweet holiday\u2026 - COTA for Evelyn's Heart<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Another bittersweet holiday\u2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today we kept things simple. We enjoyed some special treats, decorated cupcakes that Mom baked, and Evelyn got to do a baking soda and vinegar experiment that created a little volcano. Seeing her smile during moments like these means a lot.  We tend to keep holidays pretty low-key these days so Evelyn doesn’t feel like […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"COTA for Evelyn's Heart\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-04T17:07:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-13T17:10:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/07\/736621688_122209684004579352_1671675862640609106_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1152\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"rosethompson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"rosethompson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/\",\"name\":\"Another bittersweet holiday\u2026 - COTA for Evelyn's Heart\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/07\/736621688_122209684004579352_1671675862640609106_n.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-04T17:07:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-13T17:10:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/#\/schema\/person\/c49d51d24154156eacf9c9aaa9edda2a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/07\/736621688_122209684004579352_1671675862640609106_n.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/07\/736621688_122209684004579352_1671675862640609106_n.jpg\",\"width\":1152,\"height\":2048},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Another bittersweet holiday\u2026\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/\",\"name\":\"COTA for Evelyn's Heart\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/#\/schema\/person\/c49d51d24154156eacf9c9aaa9edda2a\",\"name\":\"rosethompson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aac6cde6d331417782eb01176efda1a7e9c07f4cafb781ef841f88b3de8d1ad1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aac6cde6d331417782eb01176efda1a7e9c07f4cafb781ef841f88b3de8d1ad1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"rosethompson\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/author\/rosethompson\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Another bittersweet holiday\u2026 - COTA for Evelyn's Heart","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Another bittersweet holiday\u2026","og_description":"Today we kept things simple. We enjoyed some special treats, decorated cupcakes that Mom baked, and Evelyn got to do a baking soda and vinegar experiment that created a little volcano. Seeing her smile during moments like these means a lot.  We tend to keep holidays pretty low-key these days so Evelyn doesn’t feel like […]","og_url":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/","og_site_name":"COTA for Evelyn's Heart","article_published_time":"2026-07-04T17:07:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-13T17:10:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1152,"height":2048,"url":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/07\/736621688_122209684004579352_1671675862640609106_n.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"rosethompson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"rosethompson","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/","url":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/","name":"Another bittersweet holiday\u2026 - COTA for Evelyn's Heart","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/07\/736621688_122209684004579352_1671675862640609106_n.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-04T17:07:16+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-13T17:10:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/#\/schema\/person\/c49d51d24154156eacf9c9aaa9edda2a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/07\/736621688_122209684004579352_1671675862640609106_n.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/07\/736621688_122209684004579352_1671675862640609106_n.jpg","width":1152,"height":2048},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/07\/04\/another-bittersweet-holiday\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Another bittersweet holiday\u2026"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/","name":"COTA for Evelyn's Heart","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/#\/schema\/person\/c49d51d24154156eacf9c9aaa9edda2a","name":"rosethompson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aac6cde6d331417782eb01176efda1a7e9c07f4cafb781ef841f88b3de8d1ad1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aac6cde6d331417782eb01176efda1a7e9c07f4cafb781ef841f88b3de8d1ad1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"rosethompson"},"url":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/author\/rosethompson\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2374"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}