Our Grace Soaked Journey Continues....

I just spent about 30 minutes typing my first blog and obviously I don't know what I'm doing. I was doing the spell check and somehow lost everything I put in. I'm screaming right now if you haven't figured that out. But not too loud because the boys are in bed. :-)

Let me see....

This blog is dedicated to a very loving and caring wife, mother, nana, daughter, sister, and aunt. We have traveled a grace soaked journey with her for the last 10 years since she was diagnosed with lymphoma in 1999 and had a stem cell transplant in 2003. In August 2008 she was diagnosed with leukemia and went to be with the Lord on September 9, 2008. It has been a journey full of blessings as well as disappointments, but we have continued to praise God throughout it all. He answered our prayers and healed her. She now has 100% perfect body....no more cancer, pain, needle sticks, medications, chemo, transfusions, hospitals, infections, sores, etc. She is happy and healthy and worshiping God all day, every day. How lucky is she!!

Most of our bunch is in Texas and their area just received much destruction from Hurricane Ike. Ginger & Harv got their power back on Sunday, but still do not have cable. So, Ginger can't get on her computer. I think she is having withdrawls. Rusty and his family got their power restored on Sunday night. Stacy and her bunch are still without power, but are staying with a friend that does have power. Their kids started back to school today. So after two weeks of no school, they are getting back to a somewhat normal schedule. Please pray for the areas that were hit by Hurricane Ike. The news shows a lot on the Galveston area, but there is a lot of destruction in other areas too. I know that where they live...Lake Jackson still has 75% without power.

As for us, we are moving right along. Kurt is in fall baseball so we are staying busy with that. He is a catcher and is loving it. He wrote in his prayer journal last night "Please be with Nana in Heaven" The boys don't say much about it, but their little minds are thinking about it much more than we realize. I am struggling with a few things which I noted in my first blog that disappeared and I am having trouble finding words again. I find it hard to believe at times that she is no longer here with us. I lay in bed at night thinking about all the things she won't get to be involved in with the boys...functions at the school, ball games, birthday parties, graduations, weddings, and even great-grandchildren. She was at Kurt's baptism and was so proud of him. But now she won't be here for Nathan's. I think about the day we found out that Tyson health insurance lifetime max was increased to $1.5 million effective Jan 1. Mom would finally be able to have her transplant in January! Mom's comment was "if I make it that long" I think she was half joking & half serious. I could not understand her thinking. Why would God work this miracle if he wasn't going to let it continue all the way through? Then the day that we received the news that she no longer had MDS, but that it had progressed to Leukemia. We all cried. But then I thought...this means that Medicare will now pay for the transplant. She won't have to wait until January! Again, why would God lead us in this direction only for it to end up that he would take her home anyway? I don't know. I don't understand it and I know I won't until I get to heaven. Maybe he knew that her little body coudn't make it through the transplant and he wanted to go ahead and take her to save her from having more pain. I don't know, but I have to just turn it all over to HIM and let HIM cover me with a peace that passes all understanding...so that I don't have to understand it, but can accept it for good. (easier said than done sometimes)

Grandma is struggling a little. She is not sleeping well. She said when she lays down at night all she can do is think about mom. She has called her doctor and they have increased one of her mediations so that will hopefully help her. We (Grandma, Rick M, the boys & I) all went out to eat tonight at Catfish Hole. It was very good and I am very stuffed!

Rick seems to be doing ok some of the time and not ok at other times. Mom had not been to church since I think February. She went one Sunday in July and wore a mask to protect her from getting any germs. She was a little shocked when they showed her on the big screen with her mask on. If you knew mom, you would understand. She hated wearing those masks! and then to see herself on the "big screen"! I don't like to see myself on those on a good day. Anyway, Rick said that this past Sunday was very hard. He was at church and they were singing a song and flashing pictures on the screens. One of the pictures was of mom wearing her mask. He said that was very hard. I can see why it would be.

Please continue to pray for our family. Every day is a struggle, but maybe just a little different than the day before.

Ginger will be on here soon to post her first blog. If you have not experienced one of her devotions, you are in for a real blessing. She will have you laughing one minute and crying the next. God has blessed her with her writing and a way of expressing what the Holy Spirit has pressed on her heart. She is an amazing woman of God.

I'm signing off for now. I know I had at least one more paragraph on here before I lost it, but can't think of what it was. Oh, well. I'm kind of afraid to do the spell check now so please ignore my spelling errors! :-)

Have a wonderful evening and rest of the week.

Love in Christ,

Christy

Wow, that's a long first blog. Sorry to be so long winded.