Feb. 2004:

I've been here. A sacred place. A place where I got chills bumps just staring at the emptiness. It is a feeling like none other. Imagine among the hustle and bustle of NY, then you turn the corner and there it is.....Nothing. The best I can describe it would be the same as a cemetery. A place not visited much. And when you do, your mood turns to somber reverence and respect. Looking at the names, dates, scriptures, etc. etched on the tombstones of someone who walked this earth. Here the names are on a wall...no dates...no scriptures....no details. But, God knows. Their families know. As the saying goes..."it's what we do in between the - that matters.

We were in NY, NY with my in-laws. My MIL had an aneurysm in her aorta and we were there for her surgery. Go here for more on that miracle from God. Wished I had time to look for the pics and post of us at Ground Zero. I'll do an update IF I find them:)

That day: 9-11-2001

I remember that I was taking a walk with my aunt and Mom on a little dirt road close to my house. Dad met us on the road and told us what had happened. My heart just sank. I was numb. Could this be? Is this the end of our safety we've been so accustomed to? I was scared. I wanted to run to my hubby and kids, grab them in my arms, and just hold on.

God has saw our nation through this tragedy. He holds our future in His hands. I pray for the families who have lost loved ones. I pray for our nation. I pray for our military. I pray for peace.

Where were you?

God Bless,

Carrie

Speaking of Mispelling Words....

Right BT?

The women pay for it:) lol!!!

Happy Birthday!

9-9-98 proved to be an interesting day:) My driver, Sister C, was taking me on my regular prenatal visit. I was experiencing some "heartburn." Unbeknown st to me, my so-called, "heartburn", was indeed labor pains:) No wonder the bottle of tums I chewed all morning didn't help. Go figure. Who knew that his (Jay's), foot was wedged between my sternum? I still feel that pain at times:) lol!!! Anyway, I waddle all the way in and hoist myself up on that table and continue to inhale tums, when the doc comes in and says I'm in labor. Whaaaat? Um, excuse me I have heartburn here. It's not time. Remember we scheduled the c-section for the end of this month?

Dear Sister C makes a call to Hubby to let him know to get his behind up here right now...the baby is coming......today....9-9! You have to know the history between sister C and hubby. Let's just say he likes to torture her. So, he thought this was just her getting back at him. He doesn't believe her and hangs up:) After much deliberation on her part, he finally gets the message and makes his way to the hospital.

As they say....the rest is history. God blessed us with a beautiful healthy, happy, BIG, baby boy. Weighing in at 9 lb. 10 oz. 22 1'2 inches long. Yeah, the heartburn was justifiable:)

Jay is a sweet boy with a gentle spirit. He loves his big brother and a huge fan of his Dad's. He loves all sports and has found a new love in playing the guitar. Jay loves to have a good time. Cool Jay is what I'm calling him now. The exact opposite of me and his brother. Exactly like his Dad. He is a giver. He loves to work with his Dad. And when the day is done, so is he. This is the only way he is like me....we are early to bed...early to rise.

Jay, we love you very much and are so proud of you. The night you were saved will forever be imprinted on my mind and heart. The way you had such a broken heart and desire to know God. Your testimony and smile on your face, proclaiming to all who would hear, what God had done for you. You will never know who all you touched that night, and made a huge difference in several lives. We love you and wish you a lifetime of happiness. Always take God with you wherever you go. Love you, Mom and Dad.

Did I mention that 9-9 is also Hubby's birthday? Oh yeah, maybe that's why he couldn't believe I was having Jay on that day. What a chance in a lifetime for a parent to have a child be born on their birthday. Hubby, hope you have a Happy Birthday too! I love you and thank you for being such a good Dad and Husband!

Love,

Mom

Update on Mom....

Today was her monthly appt. with her heart transplant doctor. Everything seems to be okay, except, it is time to move her pic line. It is currently in her arm and next week will be moved to her chest, where it should remain until she gets her new heart. This IV juice is doing well for her and I hope and pray it will continue to help keep her on her feet.

Thank you all for your prayers and kind words/deeds. I know she appreciates everyone!

I'm singing the weekend blues. We can't wait for Friday and in the blink of an eye...it's Monday. With a game on Friday night, game on Saturday, church Sunday and everything else we squeeze in between, the weekends are as busy as the week.

Exhausted to say the least. But amidst all the hustle and bustle of the have to's, we squeezed in a little family fun. My sweet cousin M and my auntie M got us girls together for an evening out. Tony's is all the rave. My breathe still testifies to the fact. Sorry if you got within 5 ft. of me:)

Above: Auntie M and Cousin M.....hats off to you for getting us together.

The occasion was 3 decades worth of birthdays. Cousin M is 30, Sister P will be 40, Auntie M will be 50 before the year is out. Lots of laughs and Mom learned something new:) lol!!!!

Above: Auntie M, Cousin M, and Sister P.....30 years of youth:)

Above: Cousin M and Mom....Cousin M taught Mom a thing or two tonight:)

Below: Auntie M and the iron man:)

Above: This is our inheritance:)

There's nothing like a good laugh!

Back to work.....working for the weekend:) I love life!

Carrie

The Maverick!

Inserting foot into mouth as I watched the GOP Convention last night....

Last night I learned that this man McCain is a fighter. I had no idea just how he suffered as a POW. I cannot fathom the torture he endured for us. And his Mother, 90+ years young, imagine the heartache she suffered with her husband and son in war. She is one tough lady. I learned of his family and how compassionate his wife Cindy is.

Needless to say I have a greater respect for the man. I know he is not a perfect man, but he is one who has definitely paid his dues and worked his way up the ranks. Isn't that what life is all about? Reaching deep down within ourselves when life gets tough, the enemy is tempting us with an easy way out, and through all that we never give up, keeping our eyes homeward bound.

A sermon our pastor had a few Sundays ago came to mind. He spoke of, "What's God working with?" Referring to us. Nothing but dirt. Literally. When God made Adam He formed him from dirt. What does this have to do with McCain. Not sure:), but I was thinking about when he said he was thrown by the enemy into a pit in the ground. He was thrown back down into the earth from whence he came from. As low as one can get. To keep his sanity and come out of that to where he is now, is remarkable. Only God can pull you from your pit of trouble, pain, sorrow, helplessness, despair. He's the potter, we are the clay. Every time we go through the fire, it shapes us to become the beautiful creature God planned for us to be.

I don't know about you, but his speech just got me to thinking about how good God is. Whether McCain realizes it or not, and I think he does, God had a plan for him. He has a plan for you. He has a plan for me. My prayer is that he will place me to be exactly where I need to be, even if it means I need to be put through the fire to get there.

McCain wasn't my choice in the beginning. But the man's got some sense...he did choose Palin! ;)

Can't promise this will be the last political post. I'm pretty stunned myself. This talking politics is waaaay out of my league. Talking about everyday struggles and principles I can do. But isn't that what our government should be talking about?

God bless,

Carrie

M is 3!

Getting to the Heart of the Matter........



This marks my 170th post! Wow...have I had that much to say? Some would agree...some not:) I've blogged about everything from church, family, school, community, friends, politics, pet peeves, and so on and so on. Somehow between the 1st post and the 169th post, I've pushed back the real reason of my blogging. Maybe that's where "it" stays....pushed back in the far corner of my mind....ever present....but just back far enough to allow life to go on. The "it" of course is Mom being on the heart transplant list. Maybe I've not talked much about "it" for her. She is not one for wanting attention. I certainly don't want to hurt her. But it seemed to have hit me, again, like a ton of bricks today. Out of the blue...wham.... Maybe I like to think if I don't write about it, then everything must be okay. Well yes she is okay for now, but.... I don't like buts. So therefore, I'm not saying it:)



I visited with Mawmaw today. She gave Mom and my aunt a little scare early this morning, when my aunt received a call from her hospice nurse. She was having chest pains. She is better and I went to eyeball her for Mom. We had a nice little talk and as always she felt impelled to be helping me or somebody. She felt like a burden. To which I told she was not and never would be. She said she is not good with just setting. Yeah, makes my heart hurt too. She is the epitome of gracefulness.



Mom is just like her. That's why you will see Mom out and about with IV bag in tow...now in this chic new bag my friend TW brought home from PF, TN...especially for Mom. BTW....don't know if she ever told you...but she hearts it!! Her transplant doctor even commented on how stylish it was. Every woman knows you can handle anything with a great bag and some kicking shoes:) Mom's is the black/white one.



Okay back to my point. I have lots of questions/fears about heart transplants. No doubt about that. So I google it. My question today was, "why is it so hard for her to get one with her antibodies?" What I found was since Mom had multiple pregnancies and with each pregnancy her body produced antibodies in response to foreign proteins. So to find a donor match that has her same blood type and the donor, after tested, does not show many antigens that she has antibodies against, well, to say the least may be a little harder to find. I didn't say impossible...just harder. What comforts me is nothing is too hard for God.



As we map out which road to take, where to meet, who to call when she is here or there, etc...it all boils down to a wait. Thankfully, she is responding well to the IV treatment plan. God has a plan. We pray for her strength, patience and His will to be done.



Many more questions and feelings come into play here. Something that will take several posts to cover. I'll spare you today. Just one question at a time. Feel free to comment. Discussion is good for the soul.

Thanks for all your prayers and kind words, we couldn't make it without you.

Carrie

McCain totally rocked the Republican Party with Palin's nomination as his Vice President running mate all on the anniversary of women's suffrage. So let's see what you think? Will Palin help or hurt McCain? This is taking into consideration the latest news about her pregnant teenage daughter, the investigation going on into the firing episode with her sisters' husbands' boss, and her husbands drunk driving arrest some years ago. Hope I got all that right? Anyway it was definitely a shocker. Hubby just heard about her this morning when he turned to the news. Needless to say we don't watch a lot of TV. But even I watched the special news conference the day he officially announced Palin as his choice.:) To which hubby would say I have nothing do:)

As for me, I don't think we can judge her by her children's behavior. Yes, we as parents are the most influential in our children's upbringing, but let's remember why we are called teenagers during those 13-19 years. No matter how much church they get or discipline they receive, kids will be kids, they will disappoint......I know I cannot cast the first stone. As parents we pray that they will follow God's direction for their life, but like us, they are human. Not approving of the situation, just being realistic and sympathetic.

The press is nasty. To me this is below the belt kind of punch. What we need to do as a nation is to pray diligently for the campaign and Palin and her family. I cannot fathom the anguish she and her family must be going through at the time, not to mention having to deal with a campaign. Let's pray for our own children that they will forever be strong enough to resist the wiles of the Devil and not fall prey to his tricks.

On the other hand, I also see that Palin must have known what kind of spotlight this would be on her family. But what she portrayed to me was a woman who loves her family and has strong convictions. Is this VP worthy? Probably. Every political figure has their buried chest of things they would rather keep buried. Don't we all?

Yes, I am a woman. And it did kick it up a notch for McCain. I'm just saying. Who would have thought that Republicans could be the first to have a woman elected VP? I was floored. It struck me as somewhat funny. What a contrast. Not funny, she can't do the job, funny seeing an old war veteran and a mother of five.....talking about bridging the gap.

One thing is for sure, it woke me up and got my attention to the campaign. I have been praying for this election and the future of our country, but was not following it that close. Now I'm researching and watching the news on a daily basis. I guess McCain accomplished what he set out to........ at least with me.

I pray and hope for God's will to be done in this election. God is in control. It's up to the people to heed to His call. After all He gives us a choice. Let's choose God!

So, let's have us a poll. It's over on the right side of the page at the top. Check it out and by all means vote! God Bless America!

Carrie

Here's My Sign!

This here sign was in my yard this morning!

Thanks BT! You will pay! And pay dearly!! You better get those glasses back out...'cause you won't see what's coming your way:)

Yes, that is a threat! :)

Here's the master mind behind the sign......

No further explanation needed:)

P.S. Check out the spelling on the sign. The first one to find the misspelled word and leaves a comment...gets the vintage Mule Day Official Event Staff T-Shirt! See picture below.....I'll even iron it for you:)