♥ Finally Home ♥

There's no place like home.  I've said it many times before, but I mean it all the more today!  We've been away from home for almost 2 weeks.  It felt so good to pull up into our drive and walk into our home!  It was like receiving a great big hug!  :)

Joy was released from the hospital on Saturday around noonish.  We had planned a mini trip to Alabama that was supposed to be from Friday until Tuesday.  Well, we figured that was just out of the question.  But......when Joy's doctor knew what we had planned, she told us we should go.....to just go straight from the hospital, if we could.  She said it would do Joy good and keep her mind off every noticeable "twinge" or "hint" of pain that she would still be having even after she was released. She said it would be a great distraction.  So, we did just that.  Jason made a trip to the house the night before and got a few things that we would need for Joy.  We already had a few changes of clothes there from living in the hospital for 9 days.  So, when they signed her released papers Saturday morning, we left the hospital, stopped and got a pain medicine prescription filled and were then on our way to Alabama (to my brother's house)!  It did turn out to be a good distraction for her and for all of us.  We had a good time just relaxing.  We just made it home late this afternoon.

The night before we got out of the hospital, long time friend, Katie Beth, came by the hospital to see Joy.  They have been friends since they were 2 years old.  Joy says she looks like a little kid here....actually she's sitting on the bed and Katie Beth is standing beside her.  :)

As good as it was and a nice distraction, it is just plain ole good to be HOME.  :)

Thank you for the prayers for Joy.  We are continuing to pray that she never has another "episode" of the pancreatitis.....complete healing is what we're praying for.  But we do thank the Lord for bringing her through this!

I also wanted to invite you all to join me tomorrow morning on the sunporch for a visit with another blogging friend.  She's been blogging quite awhile and I know you'll enjoy the visit!  I hope you'll stop by and join us in the morning!

Have a great evening!  :)

♥ Tammy ♥

Faithful Friday - "It is Working!"

God is good!  I'm so happy to say that Joy is feeling and doing much better.  We went nearly 17 hours without pain medication!   Yay!  Praise the Lord for that!  Her pancreatic enzymes are in perfect normal range.  AND her billirubin count is almost down to normal.  Not quite, but almost.  We're hoping by tomorrow morning, it will be completely normal!

About the billirubin count.  When the doctor was really concerned about that number rising, and was talking about doing the ERCP, she told me that she was watching it closely (with concern).  As she continued to talk about it, I told her that it wouldn't rise because we were praying about it.  She just smiled and said okay. 

Well yesterday she came in and said, "Whatever you are doing, it is working" with her adorable foreign accent.   I smiled and told her that it was the power of prayer.  She said, "Well it is working."  :)   By this morning, it was down even more.  She says Joy can go home tomorrow if all continues to go well.  She says that even though she is still having some pain, all is going well enough to continue the healing process at home.  At this point, staying in a hospital where there are many germs  floating around would probably be worse for her.   I know this is true because since we have been in here, Luke caught a stomach bug (which thankfully only lasted 24 hours, but what a 24 hours!) and I have caught a cold or sinus infection or something. 

Speaking of Luke, he has been a trooper, hanging out with us the entire time.  He hasn't left the hospital.  He is your typical 4 year old energetic boy, but he has found many ways to entertain himself.  They have many activities in here - creative arts, a movie theatre, and a wonderful family room that includes a toy room.  And thank the Lord for the iPad.  He's been able to watch the preschool shows on Netflix.  He sleeps with me on the couch while Jason sleeps in the pull out chair.  I'm thankful that we've all been able to be here together.  If you have to be in the hospital, this one is a good place to be.  :)  They do everything they can to make it as comfortable as possible for the entire family.

Anyway, I just wanted to give God the glory here for all the answered prayers.  And I want to thank you all again for lifting her up in prayer and for the emails of concern and encouragement!  We know that God has brought her through this (and us too).  I hope we never have another issue with pancreatitis again, but I'm going to do my very best not to worry about it, but to trust God. 

I had to show you Joy's nails.....  OPI nail polish is the one thing in the gift shop downstairs that Joy loves.  Between Grandmama and Pop and us, she's gotten a few polishes.  The first time she felt well enough, those nails were painted.  :)  And she put on her scarf. 

 

And here's -Luke, going until he just fell asleep.....in a most awkward position.  :)

 

Also today is my daddy's birthday.....he's 71 today!  They have not missed a day being here and most of the time eating with us for supper in the Family Room.  This evening, we just had some cupcakes together.  We'll celebrate for real when we get home.  Happy Birthday Daddy!  :)

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great weekend!  :)  And again, we can't thank you enough for the prayers for Joy!  God bless you all!

♥ Tammy ♥

Faithful Friday - "Always Something to Be Thankful For"

It’s Friday and I wanted to pop in here with a Faithful Friday post. Since Joy is in the hospital, I will put the linky tool on my blog. If you would like to participate, we’d love for you to do so. The only difference today is that you will link up on my blog.


Thank you so much for all the prayers and the thoughtful comments left for Joy. We appreciate them all! Joy is doing better than she was when we came to the ER. Her pain is not constant and not as severe, although she is still having some. This time, her pancreatic enzymes are not elevated. This has us all stumped because her symptoms are exactly the same. They have been checking many things including appendicitis. They found it to be large, but no other symptoms of appendicits, so they’re ruling that out too.

I’m thankful that the pancreatic enzymes aren’t elevated, yet we just don’t have answers. That part is frustrating and scary to Joy because she doesn’t know why she’s hurting but they are telling what it isn’t this time. I think she’s afraid of going home and still having pain. Anyway, that’s where we are. Thank you SO much for praying. We feel the prayers and know God is in control!

We can look around us if we start to feel down though and see others going through so much more! The boy that Joy mentioned last time she was in the hospital, is back in the hospital again and has been for some time. His name is Brandon and he has Krohn’s disease, which is a very painful thing. He has spent so many of his days in the hospital and yet his attitude could teach us a thing or two! And just yesterday we met another 15 year old boy, Skyler, who has been in the hospital for 2 months. He had a liver transplant and developed complications almost not making it 3 or 4 different times. He still doesn't look well.  They live about 9 hours away. That breaks my heart thinking of how far they are from home and family! Anyway, this just reminded me that no matter what trials come our way, there is always someone else going through so much more. It’s good to take a look at the positive and just give God praise.  There are always blessings to count. When you’re praying for Joy, would you remember Brandon and Skyler too?

Thank you for stopping by for Faithful Friday! Have a great weekend! :)

Blessings,
Tammy

Faithful Friday - "Katlyn's Story"

Have you ever seen a mustard seed? It’s tiny! I found my bracelet that has a mustard seed just so you could see.

That's a mustard seed.  

"He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” 

  Matthew 17:20 (NIV)

Today’s story is a story of the faith of many praying people coming together for one girl. Her name is Katlyn. Katlyn (14) was involved in an ATV accident the end of May and has been in the hospital for months and only recently got out. Her story is a story of faith and God’s mercy and healing and honoring His Word. 

Katlyn’s parents and the entire community of Ellisville, MS came together in prayer believing and taking God at His Word. They WERE facing a mountain. Katlyn has faced mountains since she came out of her coma. She is a living miracle.

I don’t know Katlyn personally but I feel like I do. I do know Mindy, a long-time family friend of Katlyn’s family.  I met Mindy through my blog (she emailed me and introduced herself) and we have been online friends ever since and are now texting friends too. Mindy emailed me immediately after learning of the accident asking our family to stand together in prayer for Katlyn.   I’ve been keeping up with Katlyn through Mindy by text and email. I’ve just been so happy for Katlyn’s family and have been praising the Lord. I asked if I could share what God has done and Katlyn’s parents, Tasha and Trea, want everyone to know what God has done and that they give Him the glory!

This is Katlyn’s story.

That's Katlyn in the red shirt.

Here's what the article says:

From prayers to donations, Jones County banded together in support of a local teenager who was injured in an ATV accident in May.

Katlyn Graham was at a friend's house on May 30 when she was injured in an ATV accident.  She was trapped under the all-terrain vehicle until nearby utility workers got it off of her.  When they did, she was unresponsive.

"When I received the call that Katlyn and her friend had been in an accident on the (Polaris) Ranger, I thought broken leg, arm, etc." recalled Katlyn's mother, Tash Shoemake.  "After I got into my car and was headed to the scene, I called the friend's mother and she told me it was really bad but that was all she knew.  When I hung up the phone with her, I called my husband and my mom, then started praying that she would be OK." 

A neighbor performed CPRS and Katlyn was airlifted to a Jackson hospital, where she spent months recovering.

When Katlyn was admitted to University Medical Center, doctors performed a CT scan on her.  Katlyn couldn't talk, but she squeezed Shoemake's hand when asked.

"She kept trying to talk over the ventilator and I kept telling her not to try to talk, that she was going to be OK," Shoemake said.  "She kept shaking her head no."

Shortly after, doctors placed a drain in Katlyn's head as a precaution, in case her brain was to swell.  Shoemake said that doctors weren't originally concerned with Katlyn's lungs, just her brain.  However, the doctors noticed her lungs were no longer giving her body enough oxygen and the ventilators weren't helping.

"They wanted to put her on ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation), but there are some high risks with a brain injury and ECMO," Shoemake said.  "She could have a massive brain bleed but her oxygen level at this point had gotten so low we have no choice....without ECMO, she might not have made it through the night."

The ECMO, which takes blood out of the body and oxygenates it, saved Katlyn's life.  After 15 days on the machine, she was back on the ventilator.

"Those 15 days, I still had peace that she was going to be OK," Shoemake said.  "I even asked the nurses if they thought she would be back playing soccer by October.  They thought it was possible."

When Katlyn was back on the ventilator, she had a feeding tube put in her stomach and was given a trache.  Katlyn battled neurostorming and withdrawals daily.

"It was so hard to watch," Sheomake said.  "On July 10, my mother's birthday, Katlyn was moved to the step-down unit, and four days later, we finally saw those eyes!  It was an amazing day!  All glory to God*"

Shoemake didn't expact that Katlyn would go through withdrawals from the medicine she was on or that she would toss and turn in her bed for hours with vomiting and sweats.

"The day finally came when therapists tried to sit her up in the bed," Shoemake said.  "She couldn't even hold her head up by herself."

Katlyn was eventually moved to the rehab floor, where she did exercises morning and night.

"The first day she took a few steps was a huge blessing, and the day I heard her voice for the first time was another mile-marker we had waited for," Shoemake said.

On Aug. 30, Katlyn returned home after a three-month stay in the hospital.  Graham went outside and chased a soccer ball for the first time since her accident on Sept. 11.

"Last week, we played around in the yard kicking the ball," Shoemake said.  "Her leg strength amazes me.  I thanked her soccer coach for all the running she made her do because I know having strong lungs was in her favor after the accident."

Katlyn played soccer at the Sportsplex at age 7 and has played ever since.  She hopes to return to the field next season.

Sheomake said God deserves the praise for her daughter's recovery.

"Physically, she has some motor skill and speech difficulties that will improve with rehab, mentally she is doing amazing and emotionally she is doing great!" Shoemake said.  "She has started homebound school (where a teacher visits her at home twice a week) and physical therapy and occupational therapy at Rehab at Work in Ellisville and speech therapy at the Wellness Center.  We are already seeing improvements daily!"

The community donated money, hosted fund-raisers, placed purple ribbons outside their businesses and painted their toenails purple for support and spent countless hours praying for the South Jones High School student.

Today, the teenager is a living miracle to her mother and family and to the community that cared so much for her when she needed it most.

Shoemake said Katlyn's many friends say they miss her smiling frace and "big mouth," which she is well known for because she loves to talk.  Sheomake has faith her daughter will receive complete healing.

"The power of prayer is amazing," Shoemake said.  "I believe that is why Katlyn is our miracle today.  No matter what you are faced with, always turn to God..  Keep your faith in him strong and stay tuned into him daily through prayer and reading your Bible."  


Katlyn's mom said it best........the power of prayer is amazing!  And God is not a respector of persons and He's the same yesterday, today, and forever!    :)

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If you'd like to participate in Faithful Friday, you can link your post here on Joy's blog!  We'd love for you to join us!  It's so encouraging to hear other Christians share their faith! 

 

Thank you for stopping by today!  Be blessed!

 

♥ Tammy ♥    



Getting Back to Normal.......

We’re back at home!  Things are pretty much back to normal around here except for all the “stuff” accumulated in our house from cleaning out Pawpaw’s house getting it ready to sell. 

Last week, right before the hospital adventure, we had just finished moving everything out of Jason’s dad’s home.  We pretty much came in and left it in our house with the intention of getting it all organized over the weekend.  We had to go from Plan A to Plan B, which was to camp out in the hospital from Friday evening to Monday evening (which wasn’t so bad by the way).  The hospital was wonderful.  Luke and I slept on the futon bed and Jason on the recliner chair that stretched out to a bed.   

We have a "coffee table of goodies" from the hospital.  She received the dog from Grandmama nad Pop for all the guests, nurses, doctors, and staff to sign, flowers from a friend, and the teddy bear and a balloon from a friend.  She also received a book and cards!  We had so many calls and texts and knew so many were praying!

But Praise the Lord, Joy is much better and by looking at her now, you’d never know how sick she was this weekend and how much pain she was experiencing.  After the pancreatic enzyme they were watching came down to 296 (from the original 1346) and she was able to eat without hurting so bad, they let her go, which was Monday afternoon.

We still don’t know the cause, as I said in the previous post, but we are to call the pediatric gastroenterologist if she has any other kind of “stomach episode” like this and get her to the ER so they can check her pancreatic enzymes again.  Documenting any further episodes (which we hope and pray she doesn’t have) may help with figuring it all out.  Besides sending us home on Protonix and a low fat diet, we have no restrictions.  That sounds pretty easy but for a picky eater like her, it’s not really so easy.  They told us to just take it slow and make small dietary changes, which is what we’re working towards.

Joy’s post today goes into more detail, if you’d like to read more.  I just wanted to update you on the fact that we’re back home and Joy is doing well and that we thank you all so much for lifting her up and covering her in prayer.  I can see God bringing good from this already, if nothing else but to help her overcome some deep rooted fears.  Now, it’s time to get all this “stuff” organized and finish up our school year!  Then…..we’re looking forward to a trip to see our friends, Kim and Chuck, whom we were in China with (and that also came to see us last September) the end of this month.  We’re so excited!  I think we all need this! 

Thank you for stopping by today! 

Faithful Friday - "Prayer Needed"

Here it is Friday again. I’m so sorry for being away an entire week!  

Just to fill you in……..everyone is doing remarkably well with the loss of my Grandma, including all of her children. I want to come back and share another time on another post more about the love of her family. And even though she will be missed…….it was still a joyous occasion for her family to gather together and see the love that surrounded her….what a legacy she left!

The reason I have been away and the reason for the title of this post today is to ask for prayers for our family, especially Jason and his sister, Holly. Their dad (my father-in-law) is in the hospital with kidney failure. He has multiple myeloma (a form of cancer) which he was diagnosed with the fall of 2009. We knew this day would come as this is a final part of the disease, but it is sadly near now. There will be difficult decisions that will have to be made.

All of this came right after my Grandma’s death. There were also seven other deaths of friends and friends’ family within a two week period, making these past two weeks emotional ones. This past week feels sort of hazy, but God is walking through it with us every step of the way. Jason’s dad is a Christian so there are no worries there, and that means a lot.

So today, I am just asking for prayers for our family for wisdom, peace, comfort, a sound mind, physical endurance, and God’s grace as we face the days to come and prayers especially for Jason's dad (I call him Pawpaw)!  Thank you so much!

Hope you all have a great weekend! I’ll try to be back as soon as I can to share more information about the changes to the living room.

If you would like to participate in Faithful Fridays, please leave Joy a comment here on her blog and let her know you are participating! Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by my blog and I am always encouraged by your comments! God bless you all!

~ Tammy ~

Faithful Friday - "A Glad Reunion"

Today is a day of mixed emotions for our family. It is a sad one because of our loss but a happy one because of the gain in heaven. My Grandma, the one for whom we attended her 94th birthday weekend before last, passed away early this morning. She slipped peacefully from her earthly home to her heavenly one (an answer to prayer).

She was my last living grandparent and she has just been amazing! She still lived at home, even though she was 94 years old. She did have someone that stayed with her some of the day and her kids (the ones that lived close by) took turns staying with her at night for this past year or so.

I’m so glad that we were able to make it to her 94th birthday party two weeks ago. We all were able to visit with her a bit and kiss and hug her. She always especially enjoys the kids. Colt and Amber were able to go as well. All of my kids have gotten to know their great Grandma! I’m just so thankful for all of this!

Even through her loss, God has been so good! I was lying in bed this morning after I got the news and I couldn’t help but think of the glad reunion that was taking place in heaven at that moment. You see we lost Grandpa a little over twenty years ago. I can just imagine him waiting there for her as she slipped from this earth to heaven. He probably asked her , “Corene….what took you so long?”, and then I’m sure he had a good time showing her around. You see I’m sure he probably knows everyone in heaven because he never met a stranger. (I’ve often told Joy that she and Grandpa would have been such good friends because they were so much alike with their socializing!)

I spoke with my mom a little while ago. I asked her how daddy was (it was his mother) and how everyone was doing. Daddy is one of nine children (eight of which are still living). Her answer was “great”. I could hear a lot of talking and even laughing in the background. They were at the nursing home where daddy’s sister, Shirley, lives. She is 72. She has been there for a few years now. She suffered from polio as a child which left her crippled and unable to communicate normally. It became too much for her to be at home with Grandma. Anyway, they were really worried about telling Aunt Shirley that her mama had passed away. She loved her mama and the two of them were very close. My mother said they came in (all of the kids) and told Aunt Shirley that her mama had passed away that morning and she sat up and raised her arms up toward heaven in praise and said, “I know”. She said something about her mama, her daddy, and the baby. The “baby” is the baby Grandma and Grandpa lost at the age of 6 months to pneumonia (twin to daddy’s sister Brenda). So whether, she saw this vision or whether God just revealed it to her in another way, I don’t know. But what I do know is that God is good and he prepared Shirley. He not only prepared Shirley but he gave a blessing to them all through Shirley’s words and actions. They all sang together Amazing Grace. It makes me tear up just visualizing them all together. Grandma and Grandpa would have liked that. I can see them smiling.

Today it is hard to imagine going to Alabama and not seeing Grandma, but it’s hard to be too upset when I think about her life, the love of family, and Grandpa, their baby, and her heavenly home awaiting her. Yes, today there is a glad reunion in heaven! Praise the Lord!

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On another note, which is what I planned to share today, I want to tell you about a movie that is being promoted by the American Family Association. They are asking that we support this movie as Christian families and if any way possible to go see it this weekend, (on opening weekend) to show Hollywood that we want more wholesome movies like this. It is called October Baby. It is a movie about the value of life.

Here is a little more information about it.

Synopsis:
As the curtain rises, Hannah hesitantly steps onto the stage for her theatrical debut in college. Yet before she can utter her first lines, Hannah—unscripted—collapses in front of the stunned audience.

After countless medical tests, all signs point to one underlying factor: Hannah’s difficult birth. This revelation is nothing compared to what she then learns from her parents: she was actually adopted … after a failed abortion attempt.

Bewildered, angered, and confused, Hannah turns for support to Jason, her oldest friend. Encouraged by his adventurous spirit, Hannah joins his group of friends on a Spring Break road trip, embarking on a journey to discover her hidden past … and find hope for her unknown future.

In the midst of her incredible journey, Hannah finds that life can be so much more than what you have planned.

And the official trailer:



We plan to do so! I hope you will too!

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Because I can’t leave you all hanging after yesterday’s post, I will tell you that the change is what most of you guessed! I’m sure you could see how worn out my furniture is! Don’t you think it is time to get new furniture after 22 years? I've held out for a long time because I wanted what I wanted.  :)  Along with it, will come some changes mostly to the foyer area, which is the staircase area as well. But I am keeping my red. I do love my red walls and never have tired of them. I am a person that has to be surrounded with her color and red makes me happy! So it is staying!

And just to clear things up…….my home has never been in Country Sampler magazine! I wish! But no….. Donna was speaking of the Country Sampler forum, of which a lot of us were all members (and still are). It would, however, be a dream come true if my home were to ever grace the pages of a decorating magazine, but I still have a ways to go! I will share more about the furniture and plans in my next post.

Thanks for stopping by today for Faithful Friday. If you would like to participate, leave Joy a comment on her blog here, letting her know and we’ll come visit! Faithful Fridays was started by Joy as a day set aside to share something from our Christian Walk. Even if you’re not participating, we still thank you for stopping by to read! Have a great weekend!

Be Blessed!
~ Tammy ~

Faithful Friday - "Leiney Grace is Coming Home!!!"

I’m sure you remember the Auction for Adoption here on my blog for Leiney Grace? Well, she’s coming home! Today, as you read this post, Jan and her aunt are on their way to China! They are supposed to meet Leiney Grace on Monday (China time).

I just wanted to ask my praying friends to lift up Jan and her aunt in prayer for safe travel and a safe journey in China. Please pray that the Lord prepares 9 year old Leiney Grace’s heart for her family. I know it has to be a scary thing for an older child to leave all that is familiar and embrace her new life. Please pray for a smooth adjustment for everyone involved, as well as a smooth paperwork process. And remember Jan’s husband and seven kids back at home. A couple of the kids were not feeling well.

And thank you to all who prayed before when they were mentioned here during the Auction for Adoption. And to those who participated in the auction, a very special thank you. Know that you are a very special part of helping to bring Leiney Grace to her forever home!

You can follow their journey in China to Leiney Grace here.

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We'd love for you to join us for Faithful Fridays. If you have something to share from your Christian walk, please join us and let us know you participated by grabbing the button above and letting Joy know in a comment here on her blog that you are participating.

God bless you all! Have a great weekend!

Since I Missed Faithful Friday......

First of all, I apologize for missing our Faithful Friday post! It’s been a different kind of week for us. And then Friday was filled with appointments, and well, my post just didn’t happen. I had many thoughts flooding my head for a post, but it just didn’t make it to the computer.


Thank you so much for your comments and concern about the spider bite. I am so thankful that I went to the doctor when I did. I am almost finished with my treatment and it is looking so much better. It’s going to be fine. There is a tiny dark spot in the middle, and that’s it. I just feel so bad for Jason because he endured what he did with his brown recluse spider bite and no one knew exactly what it was at the time, and as you can see, he paid dearly. Because of his ordeal, we recognized the possibility and it changed my outcome. I am so thankful. Again, please be careful when you reach in boxes, put on pants, socks, gloves, shoes, etc….. We are trying to make sure we turn gloves and socks inside out before putting them on, shake out pants and shoes, and we always check our beds when we pull the sheets back. But since this is the time of year when we all pull boxes out from storage, I wanted everyone to beware and just be careful. It’s hard to believe that something so small can do such damage!

Since I missed my Faithful Friday post, I thought I’d share something with you this Sunday that my dad sent me by email concerning the Nature of God. I thought this was a great explanation on the Nature of God.


Does God Exist?

A man went to a barber shop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: “I don’t believe that God exists.”

“Why do you say that?” asked the customer.

“Well you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn’t exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be so many abandoned children? If God existed there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can’t imagine a loving God that would allow all of these things.”

The customer thought for a moment, but didn’t respond because he didn’t want to start an argument.

The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair, and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt.

The customer turned back and entered the barbershop again, and said to the barber, “You know what, barbers don’t exist.”

“How can you say that?” asked the surprised barber. “I am here, and I am a barber. I just worked on you!”

“No!” the customer exclaimed. “Barbers don’t exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.”

“Ah, but barbers do exist! That’s what happens when people do not come to me.”

“Exactly!” affirmed the customer. “That’s the point! God, too, DOES exist! That’s what happens when people do not go to Him and don’t look to Him for help. That’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.”

You know, God never promised we wouldn’t have pain and suffering, but he promised he would be with us, if we will come to Him. Pain, suffering, and death entered the world because of sin (thanks to Adam and Eve in the Garden), but God promises if we come to Him, He will not only be with us but carry us through! That’s a promise I wouldn’t want to live without! I’m so thankful today for that promise!

I hope you all have a wonderful week and remember this week to count all your blessings! (If you think about it, please say a prayer for Joy....she's having stomach issues now, bless her heart, and she really wants to feel well for Thanksgiving since we're going to see "her girls" in Alabama). :)

Faithful Friday - "The Little Purple Dress" (Revisited)

Today’s Faithful Friday post is a repeat from March 2009. I believe the Lord just laid this on my heart to share today for someone. I hope you are blessed from today’s post! And remember if you have something to share for Faithful Friday, please leave Joy a comment here letting her know you participated (and grab the button above) because we’d love to come visit your blog too!



Here's the post from March 2009:

I realize that Faithful Fridays and "The Little Purple Dress" don't possibly sound like they could go together, but for me they do.

Almost 27 years ago, when I was married for just two weeks, I spotted a little purple baby dress that I fell in love with. Now mind you, I said TWO weeks after being married. Not that I planned on babies that soon, but I've always loved kids and knew that I wanted to be a mom and preferrably have a house full of them....or at least three. Jason and I had talked; he said two and then we'll see! I said three. Well sometimes God has other plans.

When the time came that we felt we were ready for a baby, it just wasn't happening according to our plans. This was about two years after we were married. From that point on, we pursued building our family. Looking back on it is much easier than going through it though. I love the quote, "God won't bring you to anything that he won't bring you through". How true that is. However, the one thing I was sure of was that we were to be parents. I always saw myself as a mom and never believed otherwise, although at times it was tough. I thought I could never go to another baby shower again....it just wasn't fair. As a matter of fact, we went through the pregnancy of a friend's daughter that was fourteen.....yes, fourteen! I just couldn't understand why. But all the while, the little purple dress hung in the closet.

We explored all avenues of building our family and decided upon international adoption, although we didn't have a clue how or where we would get the finances to pursue this. We just trusted God. And although there were many hurdles to jump and red tape, the Lord blessed us with our son, Colt, adopted from Korea, after seven years of marriage! We were (and are) so blessed. I knew God had this little baby boy planned all along to be ours, even from that day that I bought that little purple dress. Now mind you, I didn't make Colt wear the purple dress, but I do have to admit to trying it on him one day while Jason was at work (when he was the right size to fit into it) with my mom as an accomplice. (I really hope Jason and Colt aren't reading this today)! Oh how I loved my baby boy and life with him!

I was so thankful to be a mom and savored and treasured every moment. But, I kept coming back to the scripture about being the "joyful mother of children". Notice that's plural....children? So my faith was firm. I wanted another baby....actually we did, but the desire was stronger with me. I was thankful and blessed with our precious baby boy, if one was what the Lord had for us, but the desire of my heart was for another child. I continued to pray.

When Colt was about two years old, we had met with a birth mother and I even planned to be in the delivery room with her. The lawyer had all the papers drawn up and things were ready to go. But for some reason, neither Jason nor I could get peace about this. We decided for some reason, this wasn't supposed to be. We called and backed out of this adoption. I can see how trusting the Lord in this situation was the best thing now.....because we found out that when the baby was born, she decided to keep her....a little girl. I would have been devastated.

So many more years passed and still the little purple dress hung in the closet. I have to admit a few times it crossed my mind to give it to a friend's daughter or at a baby shower (with its tags still attached and all), but God tugged at my heart. At this point, that little purple dress was most definitely a symbol of my faith. I continued to pray. We explored all options again, including fertility treatments. When Colt was 9 years old, we found out we were expecting. Twins run in our family and it was possible with the fertility treatments, so I had twin girls' names picked out. When we found out it was one baby.......Jason and I picked out names for both boy or girl. However, I KNEW it was a girl. When the ultrasounds confirmed this many times, we picked out the name......Joy (my mother's middle name) and Maxine (Jason's mother's middle name). Her daddy was to call her Joy Max. I even prayed, "Lord if you could....it would be nice if she had brown eyes...I've always wanted a brown-eyed girl to go along with my brown-eyed boy". And so it was to be. She had the brownest eyes from day one. God is so good.

We were also told that our baby girl would have Down's Syndrome. For about a week, I was worried. After that, we had peace. Honestly, we were prepared if it was to be, but we didn't believe she would be. As a matter of fact, when she was born and the doctor said, "Here she is, and boy is she a pretty thing", I didn't even think to ask. I never asked. I KNEW she was healthy. And only God can give you that kind of faith and that kind of peace. I often think about the people that might have aborted the baby because they were told this. We were even asked to do an amniocentesis, but I wouldn't risk miscarriage, so we refused. We knew no matter what, this was God's plan for us....our little baby girl.

Here's a picture of Joy wearing the purple dress when she grew to fit it. It's so funny that she was born with a head full of black hair, then lost most of it about this age (at 6 months), then when it grew back, it was blonde.

So you see that little purple dress was a symbol of faith for both of my babies. I actually wanted a little boy, then a little girl....although healthy babies would have been blessing enough! God gave me the desires of my heart.

And just to tell you about that third baby I wanted. A little while after Joy was born (I was 35 when she was born), I did want another. I prayed about it. Jason felt he was getting "too old" and kept thinking about how old he would be when the baby would be a certain age. You know how men think with their brains and we ladies sometimes just think with our hearts sometimes? Well, I began to pray that the Lord would either change Jason's mind or take away the desire for another baby with me. This time, He worked on me. He gave me peace in my heart in knowing that our family was complete. God is good that way. He answers our prayers in different ways and gives peace accordingly.

God made us a family. We are so blessed.

***UPDATED NOTE***
As you probably already know, God DID have plans for a third child and I did get my third child – our precious Luke, now 3 years old, home from us now from China for a little over a year. God has truly made me “the joyful mother of children. (I love that it is plural). God is SO good!

Faithful Friday - "Somewhere in the Middle"

Happy Friday! Joy (my daughter) was trying to come up with a special way to set aside at least one day a week to share her (our) faith with the blogging world. She came up with Faithful Fridays. And Mandie of Life in the Craft Lane with Mandie, was nice enough to create a free button for her to use. We’d like to invite you to participate too. Just grab her button below and share about your Christian walk, whether it be just something inspirational or uplifting, a devotional, scripture or a thought or something God laid on your heart, something God has done for you lately, or even prayer requests. Then just leave a comment HERE on Joy’s blog letting her know you are participating, and we’ll come visit you too! It’s encouraging to read about fellow Christians’ Walk with the Lord.

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As we headed home from Alabama this past weekend, I volunteered to drive for the first half. As I did (and everyone else was snoozing), I was listening to one of my Casting Crowns CDs. They just happen to be at the top of the list of my favorite Christian artists. I love their song writing! During the drive, I listened to one particular song many times. It was a quiet moment for me.

Remember how I told you in a previous Faithful Friday post that music can speak multitudes to me – a sermon really? This time it was a convicting one. As I listened, the words pierced my heart. And that’s what I want to share with you today.

The song is titled Somewhere in the Middle. Just listen to the words of this song:



I love that chorus. Just imagine each one of these things………..fearless warriors in a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense, deep water faith in the shallow end. What a waste all of those things are if not used to their full potential.

Somewhere in the middle is not a good place to be. If we are there, it probably means we’re compromising or we’re moving into gray areas.

God tells us in His Word that He’d rather that we be one way or the other – not in the middle, or straddling the fence:

"So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Revelation 3:16 NIV

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” Matthew 12:30 NIV & again in Luke 11:23 NIV.

That pretty much says that when we’re in the middle – lukewarm – it actually makes Him want to spit us out (that denotes being very displeased with us). Do we really want that? If we aren't with him or gathering with him, we're actually scattering (causing more harm).

I wonder why it’s so hard for us to just be completely sold out to the Lord without wavering or worrying about what others will think? Too many times, we are just like that chorus said: seeing how close we can get to complete surrender without losing control (it’s never comfortable to give up our control). Compromise can be a good thing obviously, such as in a marriage. But when we are talking about compromise for the sake of being accepted, or accepting things that society dictates we must accept, yet those things are contrary to God’s Word, He tells us it’s not a good thing and God doesn’t want us to be that way. In fact, He doesn’t like it at all. When we do that, we’re moving to neutral ground. For a Christian, when something comes up that goes against God’s Word (which is what God gave us as His History and guidelines to live by), we aren’t supposed to be neutral. Ouch! It’s not easy moving over to God’s side and staying there no matter what other folks think of us. That requires boldness on our part. And that’s why this was so convicting to me.

I don’t want to ever be content being somewhere in the middle. I pray I can be bold enough to move from the middle in every situation and move to God’s side and stay there. As Christians, maybe we could lift each other up in prayer so that we wouldn’t be comfortable being somewhere in the middle. We need to be set apart.

Thank you for stopping by today! I know this wasn’t so much an uplifting post, but more of a convicting one (at least the finger points at me). But, I hope you were blessed! Have a great weekend!

Sugar and Spice x 2

My two new nieces, Sydney and Ellie, have been home for two weeks and we made the trip to Alabama this weekend to finally see them!

And let me tell you, they are sweet, sweet, sweet! They’re only ten months apart, so there is never a dull moment either.

I guess you can imagine that Joy was in baby heaven! Since we arrived late Friday night, they were already asleep for the night, so we were only able to peek in at sleeping babies, which by the way was absolutely precious! So Saturday morning, Joy’s eyes popped open at the first peep of baby sounds and she was up to check it out! Sydney (who’s almost 19 months old) took up with Joy immediately and was attached to Joy’s hip most of the time. She loved being toted around and was curious about everything and wanted to be in the “happening place”.

Sydney has the bluest eyes and the longest eyelashes!

And then little Ms. Ellie (9 months old) was absolutely precious. She is a tiny thing – a little peanut. Since Joy had her hands full with Sydney when Ellie woke up, I claimed Ellie first!  But then as you can see here, it didn't take Joy long to take her from me either.

Ellie has the sweetest disposition and an illuminating smile!

Well it goes without saying that both girls were wagged around lots and kissed all over their baby cheeks (between us and Grandmama and Pop).

Both girls have special needs, but that’s just another way of saying they need special love and attention which they most certainly are getting now! I look at those two girls and I don’t see “special needs”. I see “special blessings” sent straight from heaven to Richie and Missy’s family.

God is good!  :)

Oh, and I snapped one picture of the youngest grandkids.  We were just missing Colt and Trey (they're both 22 and weren't there at the time).

Kemper (13) holding Sydney (almost 19 mos), Joy (12) holding Ellie (9 mos), Laci (almost 8), and Luke (3).  

 

Faithful Friday - "Every Little Thing"

Wow, it’s Friday again already! My daughter, Joy, began Faithful Fridays as a way to share our Christian faith in the blogging world, in hopes that it would encourage others in their Christian walk as well. If you would like to share, please leave Joy a comment here, letting her know you participated, so we can visit. It can be anything inspirational, a devotional, prayer requests, praise reports, just anything concerning your Christian walk and faith that would edify others.  And don't forget to grab her button above!


I’m very much a music person. Not that I’m exceptionally great at anything musical, but music means a lot to me, which means that listening to songs and taking the words to heart come easy to me. There are songs that I hear that make me want to praise the Lord, others that convict me, some that comfort me, and others that inspire me and build me up.

So today, I want to share a song with you By Steven Curtis Chapman.

I like this song a lot. To others, my life and daily routine, as a stay-at-home homeschooling mom, may not look like anything that is making a big difference in this world. I mean I’m not an international missionary, traveling the world making a difference feeding hungry children or giving them medical attention, or even much bigger things. BUT, I am where God wants me, ministering to my family every day. And I want every little thing I do to bring glory to God. And that’s what his song is about.




And yesterday as I was outside staining many trim boards in 104 degree weather, I was actually wondering how I could bring God glory doing this. And you know, the Lord just gently reminded me that I have two hands that I was using to stain those boards. My husband has a job, and gladly works everyday so I can be home with our children (and home doing this staining during the day). I have so many reasons to give God glory. So I did…..right then and there. And I just prayed, Lord, You know these trim boards are going up in our loft, I pray that You would just bless every person that enters and do a great work in the life of each one. And I believe He will. He cares about every little thing we do. And He loves it when we give Him the glory.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31

So I challenge you today, to just notice all the little things you do and think about how you can give God glory in every little thing you do!

Thanks for stopping by! Be blessed! :)

Meet My New Nieces!

If you’ve read my blog for awhile, you’ll probably remember my brother, Richie (my only sibling), and my sister-in-law, Missy, and their three children, Trey, Kemper, and Laci. I posted about Richie especially during the time he served in Iraq a couple of years ago.

I’ve wanted to spill the beans and share their good news for awhile, but couldn’t do so just yet because of the red tape, ifs and buts, and unknowns. But I now have their permission and okay to share!

A few months ago, they received a phone call. It was a call asking (because they were related) if they would be interested in “taking” two children that were in the care of social services.

Of course they had to go through all the processes including a homestudy and DHR in both states involved. After much time, effort, and lots of prayer, they were recommended to be the parents of these two precious girls.

They are already great parents to their three children. But now they are becoming of family of seven……adding two more children to their family!

So meet my two new nieces!

Sydney is 18 months old.

Ellie Grace is 8 months old.

The following are pictures of them on the long drive home on Friday, just a few hours after they were theirs!

Sleeping beauty Sydney:

Sleeping beauty Ellie Grace:

Aren’t they darling? We can’t wait to get our hands on them! They're little blessings and they are in for a blessing as well!  God has a plan for each one of them!

We are thrilled to add two more nieces to our family (and cousins for our kids)!  God is good!

And it’s going to be fun shopping in the little girl section again. :)

Thank the Lord for His Protection!

Wow!  I can't believe it's been two weeks since I made my last blog post!  Time has flown by!

We have a marathon month of birthdays that we've been celebrating/will be celebrating, and have been busy with all of these.  It all kicked off with my mom's  January 8th birthday, then Joy's on the 2nd of February, then my dad's on the 15th of February.  Luke's is February 25th, followed by Colt's on March 4th.  Whew!  I'll be back to share some pics from Joy's party, but for now, I want to just share a Praise the Lord for our family! 

Last Friday, I was sitting at the dining room table typing (taking dictation from Jason) over the phone, helping him with his paperwork.  Joy was at the kitchen table finishing some of her school work, and Luke was in the living room watching Bob the Builder.  I smelled something burning.  Any other time, I would have naturally gone first to the kitchen, checking the stove and dishwasher, but this time, I immediately looked over into the living room.  Evidently, Luke shifted one of our recliners over (out of its normal position) and pushed the back of the recliner to a recline position and the corner of it was right next to the wall gas heater and the back of the recliner was burning! 

I don't know how much longer it would have taken for it to actually ignite into flames, but by this time, it had burned about a 2" square into the back of the recliner.  

I am so thankful that God was watching over us!  I know it was Him that urged me to look there first and  I don't even like to think of how badly this could have turned out.  I give God the credit and glory for His protection over our family!  I do pray God's protection (Psalms 91) over our family daily.  God is so good and I am so thankful that we are safe! 

Praise the Lord!  :) 

Beauty for Ashes

If you've clicked over here today to sign up for the giveaway, you can click here to do so. I was going to leave it up until tomorrow (the day it ends), but I just had to share something else on my heart today. The drawing will take place tomorrow (Tuesday) at noon.

There are two adoptive families that are in great need of our prayers, especially right now.

A few weeks ago I came across a blog through another blogging friend that posted about this family. At the time, Adeye was in Russia (during the news breaking time of of the little boy being sent back to Russia on a plane). I read that this family was adopting not one, but TWO little girls from Russia with Down's Syndrome. And I have to tell you that catching up and reading about Adeye and her husband and their precious family has blessed me so much. They already had three children the old fashioned way, and added two little girls from China as well. They felt led by the Lord to these two girls and literally have saved little Hailee's life, as she is 5 years old, and barely weighs 16 lbs. They had to make a second trip to Russia to go get the girls and they just arrived back home with them. A news crew was waiting for them as they stepped off the plane. You can read and see that here if you'd like. To read more, you can also visit Adeye's very popular blog, No Greater Joy Mom. Warning though....you better get the kleenex handy! Please pray for this family as they face many challenging days ahead. I can't wait to see what God is going to do here!

Through blogging, I've also met another fellow adoptive family going through the adoption process with the same agency as us. This past week, they received devastating news. Their 2 year old precious daughter, McKenna, that they were so close to bringing home from China (probably in June), passed away unexpectedly this past week. I was so shocked when I read this news, and can't even imagine what they must be going through at this time. I've been heartbroken and they've been on my mind so much. However, I know God can bring something good from this and I know that is what gives Nikki and her family the strength they need right now. You can visit their blog here. In honor and memory of McKenna, they have created a website, A Ladybug's Legacy, to raise money for Grace and Hope (an organization to help orphans).



Please remember this family in your prayers! They've loved McKenna for so long, imagining they day they would bring her home, and my heart aches for them. Only God can give them the strength, faith, and hope they need to get through this.

It's great to know I can post here asking for prayer, and knowing that there are Christians that will take on these requests and lift them up in prayer! Thank you so much!

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great week! God bless you all!

~ Tammy ~

The Letter Came Today!

From my last post on the baby steps in the adoption process, you know we were waiting on the letter from the National Visa Center because this has to be faxed or scanned to our agency before they can proceed with the visa for Luke. Well......it came today! Praise the Lord! (Thank you for the prayers)!



Now on to the next step....the Article 5. This is an approximate two week wait from the time our letter is taken to the US Embassy for Luke's visa, which probably won't be until this Thursday (China time, and they're 14 hours ahead of us).

So now we wait............again. :)

Blessings,
~ Tammy ~

Cabled!!....Another Baby Step Behind Us!

We have another baby step behind us!

In a previous post, I explained the rest of the process leading us to Luke. The next immediate step after the I-800 approval was waiting to be cabled by the NVC (National Visa Center). Well I called yesterday to check on our status. The line was busy for the longest, but I finally got through! And again, I got a very nice lady on the line. (That means alot!) After checking our status, she reported that we had just been cabled that day (cable sent to the US Embassy in Guangzhou, China) and that our NVC letter was being sent out to us at the same time (4/21/10). So now we wait on that letter. When we receive that letter, we scan or fax it to our agency. It is then scanned and emailed to the lady in Guangzhou who takes it along with our visa application for Luke to the Consulate. She only does this on Mondays and Thursdays, so I'm really praying our letter comes Saturday so it can be taken Monday, and we don't have to wait on Thursday for that!



Then we wait for the next baby step....for them to prepare our Article 5. That takes about 2 weeks.

After we receive that Article 5, then it's running about 2-3 weeks for TA (travel approval).

So all that said, I'm hoping that about 5 weeks from now, we have our TA! Those will be two sweet letters to hear, believe me! That means travel in June is very likely and most probable.....and hopefully the earlier in June, the better! Joy has it all figured out. Her dance recital is May 29th, so she says we can leave on either Monday, May 31st (Memorial Day), or the next day, Tuesday, June 1st. I wish it was that easy!

I know the day's coming and God knows best......in the meantime we're keeping busy (and trying to hurry and finish everything for Luke's room now)!

Thanks for hanging with me and for the prayers, support, and encouragement through each step as we wait!

Have a great day! :)

~ Tammy ~

Faithful Fridays - "Timing"

It's been awhile since I've done a Faithful Friday post! Time gets away from me every time lately! For those of you that don't know, Faithful Friday was Joy's idea as a way to share her faith. If you would like to jump in, feel free to do so. You can share prayer requests, answered prayers, your faith stories, whatever you would like concerning your faith in God. Be sure and leave Joy a comment letting her know you did, so we can come visit your blog!



Since I've had this on my mind now (especially this week for some reason), I wanted to share it with you for Faithful Friday. (I'm barely squeezing this in on a Friday)!

I've learned a thing or two about differences between MY timing and GOD'S timing! Those two don't always line up!

Although through this adoption, I have to admit that God has really moved things along, there have many other times in my life that God's timing was slower than what I wanted or expected at the time!

Let me tell you about some of those times.

One major time in my life was as we waited for children. We were married 7 years before Colt came along. This definitely wasn't in MY plans! Being the planner I am, I had it all worked out.....I would be married a couple of years, then we'd have baby #1. I wanted 3 children....Jason said 2..and we'll see. But here we were well past 2 years. And looking back, even though I didn't understand it then, had we not waited EXACTLY that long, we wouldn't have Colt! Part of the wait towards the adoption was waiting for me (at the time) to turn 25 (a requirement to adopt from Korea). I remember being so impatient and wondering WHY? Well had we not waited, either he wouldn't have been born yet, or if later, that little baby boy (our Colt) would have been referred to another family! I'm so glad God knew what we needed and WHEN we needed it!



Another time was as we waited for another child (child #2). I tried to stick my nose into God's business and change the timing for us! When Colt was 2, I started looking into adoption again. In MY plans, when baby #1 was about 2 years old, we would see about having another, so I started checking into adopting again. We went as far as meeting with a birth mother and were proceeding with a lawyer to adopt the baby she was expecting. I would even be in the delivery room with her. Well, somewhere along the way, Jason and I both felt that God was tugging at us telling us this wasn't His plan. We didn't get that peace. And one thing I know, I LIKE GOD'S PEACE! Anyway, somewhat reluctantly, we backed out. And boy did God save us alot of heartache.....this birthmother had a little girl, which I would have been overjoyed about since we already had a little boy (and remember I wasn't sure there would ever be a #3...Jason said 2 and then we'll see). But we saw things clearly, when this child was born and we got word that the birth mother had a baby girl and decided to keep her! Whew...I'm so glad we listened to God and waited on Him.

But wait we did.

Remember Colt was only 2! So many years passed before Joy came along. We checked into adopting again, but this never ironed out for us...never flowed and never felt peace about it (at least both of us at the same time). But again, God knew what he was doing because when Colt was 9, we found out we were expecting child #2! And so 9 months later, we had our bundle of "Joy"...the little girl to go along with our little boy! God's timing...again it wasn't the time span I would have picked between my kids, but now I wouldn't want it any other way but God's plan for us!



And now here we are again....9 more years later with child #3 (Jason, I'm getting my #3)! :) And well, you know that story but God has moved things along fairly quickly and smoothly (compared to some adoption tables). Maybe he thinks he needs to before we're way too old! :)



There have been many small things along the way, everyday things, that I've prayed for and God answered them in many ways, in different timings other than my own. But these three I mentioned are huge things in my life!

I'm having to remind myself as I wait for the different baby steps toward getting Luke through this adoption, that God's timing really is best, no matter what!

Our LOA Has Arrived!!!!!!!

What a start to our weekend!!!!

Our agency coordinator contacted us late yesterday afternoon with the news I've been waiting to hear.......our LOA (Letter of Acceptance) was signed on 3/24 and our agency received it today, 3/26 (in only two days)!!! We will receive it on Monday to proceed with the next step of paperwork! It was a total shock at that time because I would never ever expected it to come on a Friday based on how all the others have arrived, especially late on a Friday evening like that.



What IS the next step? Well.... we send in for our I-800 approval (with Immigration).....yes more Immigration paperwork. Then after we get that approval, it will be cabled onto the US Embassy and then we will be issued our Article 5. All of this is "Greek" to me. I learn about each step just a little before I get there. It's so much information to digest. All I know is that I pray through each step of the way! :)

Then we get our TA (travel approval)......and THEN WE GO GET LUKE!!!!!

Do you realize that our LOA came on Day 54?

I just want to say that this is most definitely an answer to prayer and I give God the glory! Thanks to everyone praying for us (thank you to Seth...one of the youngest prayer warriors out there praying Luke home)!!! We're over the moon happy (doing a few happy dances).....and it is so comforting and encouraging to know there are folks out there thinking of us, and praying for us! We would greatly appreciate your prayers that our paperwork from here on out runs smoothly too!

Thank you and Praise the Lord! :)