Special People

I never thought I would ever be interested in running.  Don't get me wrong, I do NOT enjoy it but I do like the thought of getting exercise and a little time to myself!  For those of you who don't know, I am signed up to do the Half Marathon in October so when I heard about the Colon Cancer 5K Race in June, it was a good distance for me to be at by that time.  My good friend Tabitha is a colon cancer survivor and this race was to honor her strength and courage during her fight over this disease.  Please keep her in your prayers, she is going in for a scan tomorrow morning to confirm that her cancer is still gone.

After the race I went to spend some money at Keegan's Rummage Sale.  His blog is attached to ours so please check out his story.  He is fighting for his life - one way is by going to NYC for a wonderful opportunity to be a part of a new study to beat his disease.  This is going to be very expensive but as a parent, it doesn't matter what you have to go through, you will fight for your children no matter what.  Please consider helping his family out at purchasing some BBQ.  When we were going through our own trial last year, our friends put a similar fundraiser together and it helped our family out so much.  You can purchase the BBQ at www.bbqbenefit.com, it will be ready for pick up on July 16.  If you are out of town or don't eat pig, please go to the website to make a donation.  Thank you in advance for your generous hearts.

I had the privilege last week to go see Ellie again in Cincinnati.  She has stolen my heart from the moment she was born.  Her parents and I only met a few months ago but have grown so close.  She had to have surgery this week.  April has posted the most beautiful pictures of Ellie on their blog.  We have it linked to our blog - go meet her.

When I got into town I met April and Matt at my favorite restaurant in Cincinnati in June - Dewey's Pizza.  I only like it during the month of June because they have a specialty taco pizza that is SO good.  The waitress told me that it was a good thing I came in when I did because as of Sunday the taco pizza was no more until next year.  I decided to go in and get a table and had been sitting there for about 10 minutes when the table next to me got up to leave.  I looked up to see one of Rebecca's nurses that I haven't seen since June 10 of last year.  (I loved when we had her.  I remember talking to her about making a scrapbook for Rebecca and she gave me some websites that I could create them on.  She even brought in one of her own scrapbooks so I could see the quality of them.)  She was eating with another nurse that we haven't seen since June 10.  (If my memory serves me correctly, she was our night nurse our first night in the CICU.  She was so patient with us.  As you can imagine we were very inquisitiveness and scared - not a good combination.  I also remember one time, I thought Rebecca's bed warmer warmed her a little too much.  She happened to be our nurse that night and I kept asking her questions about why her head was so hot and warm and if she needed to do something to fix it, if she was too hot - she loved me that night.)

I remember it so clearly... we were walking out of the unit to leave with our sweet Rebecca and both of them came over from the other wing of the unit to tell us goodbye.  That is the kind of people who were caring for Rebecca.  When they tell us that Rebecca holds a special place in their hearts it's true, they really loved her.  We have been up to the CICU many times since we left there with Rebecca but we are never there during night shift hours.  I have wanted to see our night nurses so bad - I love how our God works.

Thank you to everyone who was praying for our family this month.  June 10 was full of different emotions.  I felt so blessed though to be able to sit with her at her grave during the hours that were so tough a year before...we got to talk and listen to songs together.  My mom stopped by and gave me the most beautiful and precious letter that I will cherish my entire life.  It was a letter written to me and Brandon from Rebecca.  Here is a picture that I took at 6:15pm.

 

I am re-reading a book that describes what someone goes through after losing a child.  My sister-in-law lent me this book right after Rebecca passed away and the similarities in it to our situation was unbelievable.  It has touched my heart in so many ways and if anyone has lost a child, knows someone who has lost a child, or just wants to know what emotions a mother goes through after losing a child, I would encourage you to read this book.  She writes, "People constantly ask how it is that I am not angry with the Lord.  My honest answer is that I have been angry, and I have been disappointed.  What I have not been, and what I refuse to be, is disbelieving."  Angie Smith, I Will Carry You.