Where has the time gone??

I can't believe it has been so long since my last post. Time has gone by so quickly. It is hard to believe that we lost everything on Jan. 17th and here we are in a home that has been given to us, remodeled and furnished by wonderful people. Everyone has worked so very hard and we will be grateful the rest of our lives. We have been married forty-two years today and as we start to rebulild our lives here at the"Eagle's Nest", we will give thanks each day for our blessings and look forward to many more years to come. GOD IS GOOD AND HE IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!! "

ANGELS AMONG US!!!

There really are angels here on earth doing God's work. Since the fire, we had been looking at manufactured homes. We knew we couldn't afford a mortgage. The new homes were very expensive and the older ones needed alot of repairs. I prayed every night for God to guide us in the right direction. We wanted a home that didn't have a hallway (because of the fire) and we needed a walk in shower for me. God sent us angels in the form of Joe and Cindy! They had seen the newscast of our story and called Cathy (her number was on Christina's blog in reference to the chili fund raiser) and asked if we might be interested in a home they had. I called them and we met them Friday morning to see it. It had a walk in shower, no hallway, the most beautiful kitchen, two bedrooms and two baths. It even had an add on room that would make a perfect craft room for me. It was just PERFECT...and they wanted to give it to us and have it moved and set up for us!! We had been working three weeks to try and clear the land where the fire was. Joe and two of his sons came out Saturday and cleared it in one day! How can we ever thank them for giving us this new start on rebuilding our lives?? The outpouring of love, prayers, donations and encouragement has been so overwhelming...I can't put into words how humble and grateful we are for all that has been given us. We hope to someday be able to "pay it forward" to others in need. We hope to have a big garden and be able to share vegetables. I just want to get out of bed each day, following God closer and doing something for others. God is good and He is good ALL the time!!!

God is good and He is good ALL the time!!

This year has not started out as we had hoped! On the morning of January 17th, we were awakened by the sound of crackling of electricity. Pete knew exactly what the sound was! We got out of the house with only the clothes on our backs and by the grace of God, we made it up the hill (I still don't know how I did it without my cane),to watch our home burn. In about fifteen minutes, 41 years of our lives, was gone. I know that material things can be replaced, but not our precious dogs(we thought they had gotten out) and the pictures and things that Jennifer had given us! We will always have memories in our hearts...but some things like her journals with her handwriting and tapes with her voice, cannot be replaced.

The love, prayers and support from friends, family and even strangers has been so wonderful. We are so grateful!! There are days when I feel really overwhelmed about having to rebuild our lives....having to replace everything...every towel, kitchen utensil, piece of clothing, lawn mower, tool etc. It seems like we remember something else every few hours. Within hours of us getting to Kimberly's after the fire, friends were there with clothing and money for us. Mandy, Missy and Linda were there soon after we got to Kimberly's. Our church family has been there from the first day with donations, clothing, love and prayer. We are so happy to have the support of such a wonderful church...they truly are our family! Kimberly, once again has been there with us from the beginning...loving us and coordinating ways to raise funds to help us! Once again, she has proven to be the best sister and friend anyone could dream of having. Lisa has collected money from my ACH family and even brought me some of the cookbooks I had lost in the fire!
Missy helped getting our medicine replaced. A friend of Barb replaced our CPAP machines. Michelle replaced our tens unit and my arm pump. Laura brought me a Bible within the first couple of days, and the donations from family, friends and strangers has been more than we ever expected! Our nephews and George have been there every weekend helping with the clean up. This just proves once again that God is good and He is good ALL the time!

We stay at Kimberly's on the weekends for church and Bible Study. Jim and Joanna invited us to stay at their lake house. We are so grateful to be able to stay there while we are working on the clean up. It is alot closer than driving to Little Rock each day. It is so quiet and peaceful there and gives us time to think and examine our options. A fire fund has been set up for us and we have already had furniture donated to us. Missy even brought me an angel, like the ones I had collected over the years...this special one holding a dog!! Oh, how we miss our sweet Jazzabelle and Emma Grace...they were like our children!

We have been through many trials in our 41 years together...but we always get through them and we always come out a little stronger and more appreciative of the little things in life! When the fire happened, my nephew, Cory, called me. He told me that if I could get through losing Jennifer, then I could get through anything. He is right. I know that God is in control and that He is good and He is good All the time. It only takes faith as small as a mustard seed to know what a GREAT God we have. I totally trust Him and His guidance as we make the decisions ahead of us.

Home is where your heart is...not what kind of building it is! Whatever kind of home we are able to have, we know that it will be a home that love built from the outpouring of love, support and donations givareen to us.

Christina Munoz aired a wonderful interview with us last night. We are ever so grateful for the time and effort that she and her photographer, Martin, put into this segment. Not only did it show the devastation of the fire, but also my battles with cancer and a wonderful tribute to Jennifer! We will never forget this! Kimberly worked very hard providing her with pictures and other information she requested! We were so happy to have been able to meet them.


Angela Scott is having a Premier Jewelry show for us on Sunday for a fund raiser and the church is having a chili supper to benefit us March 4th! We plan on having a scrapbook crop and we welcome any ideas for fund raising! We had no insurance and are having to replace everything we owned.

God is good and He is good ALL the time!!! I will keep everyone updated on our progress. Thank you to each and every one of you!

WELCOME 2012!!!

I am ever so grateful for being able to sit here and type this post! I will never be able to express how very thankful I am for the love and grace of God, the power of prayer, the love and encouragement I received this past year from my family, friends and even strangers! I know that although I slept through most of 2011, I was able to beat this third round of cancer because of love and prayer!! In 2012, I want to follow Christ more closely, continue the Advent Conspiracy (spend less, give more, love all and worship fully), be a better friend, sister, wife, aunt, niece and sister-in-law, become more organized, be more creative and enjoy the little things in life...working in the yard and garden, enjoying the return of our little hummingbirds, being thankful for what I have, having more fellowship with friends and family, enjoying our furry daughters - Jazzabelle and Emma Grace, continuing with the "Jennifer Project" and making better health choices!

We were able to have lunch with Shannon and the kids. We had such a good time. Kimberly asked them what they remembered most about Jennifer. Treylon said she was sweet, nice and normal! They are so precious. Jennifer would be so proud of how sweet and beautiful they are. I hope to be able to spend more time with them this year!

2011 ended with Pete recovering from a heart attack and slowly starting to feel better!

I wish all of you a Happy and Healthy New Year!! God is good and He is good all the time! Much love to you!

THANKSGIVING 2011!

Our Thanksgiving plans had to be changed this year. We had planned to have all the family over here for Thanksgiving, which is something we love to do! Hubby had to go back in the hospital on Tuesday due to a blood clot in his leg. Only being home from the hospital for a week, this was very unexpected. He started having foot numbness and pain in his leg over the weekend, but was too stubborn to go to the hospital, saying they wouldn't do anything over the weekend..UGH! After daily trips to the cath lab to try and dissolve the clot, they were finally successful in dissolving it and putting the stent in on Thanksgiving Day! We have so much to be thankful for. Kimberly came over and spent the day with me. I enjoy our time together so much. I could not ask for a better sister! We took him lunch to the hospital. He was still in ICU and I don't think he even remembered us coming.

My friend, Lisa, told me that we have used up our hospital trips and illnesses for the next 38 years! I told her that sounded pretty good to me. I am looking forward to a new year and a much healthier year! I certainly don't want to sleep for half the new year!

I am thanking everyone again for the prayers, love, encouragement and support you have given and continue to give us! God is good and He is good All the time!

ALWAYS TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS!!!

One week ago today, Kimberly, Kaytlin and I went to Batesville to see our great niece, Abbi. We had looked forward to this visit for a long time. Pete and I met Kimberly for dinner in Bryant the night before. We got up early, picked up Kaytlin and were on our way. The scenery was beautiful on the drive up and it was so good to see Kaytlin and see what a beautiful and polite young lady she has become. Kaytlin is Jennifer's god daughter and she has always had a special place in my heart. I tried to call Pete several times that morning and couldn't get him to answer the phone....it is not unusual for him to be outside doing something and leave his phone in the house or in his truck...have fussed at him many times for doing this! He always thought that I just worried too much. This time when I couldn't get him to answer, I just knew in my gut that something was terribly wrong. He knew that we were on the road and I knew that he would call us or at least have his phone with him. We met Abbi and the other girls for lunch, did some shopping and went back to the ranch. I had still tried unsuccessfully to get Pete to answer his phone. I tried calling his brother, George, but couldn't get him. I called his sister, Barb, and she also tried to call George. George saw where I had been trying to call him and he called me. I told him that I was worried about Pete and asked him to come over and check on him...George was in Little Rock. When he got here, he found Pete lying in the floor and mumbling. He called 911 and they got him to the hospital. It was determined that he had had a heart attack. He had a stent put in on Tuesday and was able to come home from the hospital on Thursday. He is doing much better, but is really disturbed that he can't remember what happened. I am just so grateful that I followed my instinct and called George. It was a VERY long and stressful three hour drive to the hospital. Once again, Kimberly was there to my rescue and got me to the hospital! God is good and He is good ALL the time!

TURNING THE BIG 6-0!!!

I can remember a time in my life (and it doesn't seem that long ago), when I thought people who were 60, were very OLD!!! Well, not anymore, for sure! Especially after being so ill and sleeping through half this year, 60 looks pretty darn good, and as THEY say...60 is the "new 40"! I sure hope that THEY are right LOL!

This wil certainly be a year that I will never forget, although I can't remember very much of my almost 4 month hospital stay. I do know how very grateful I am for my wonderful sister, family and friends for never giving up on me and keeping the prayers going and the wonderful care they gave me. I have my faith in God, the "Great Physician" for giving me this miraculous healing and more time here on earth. I pray to be a closer follower of Him and to let His love shine through me and for me to be a help to others.

My birthday week started on Saturday, the 22nd, with the Race For The Cure! I have always been overwhelmed by this event. Jennifer walked with me on the Race before she passed away. We were in the last ones that finished, but like she said, we finished. This year, we had a large group of friends and relatives on our "Fight Like Debbie" team and we raised over $1200. Thanks to Kimberly, we all wore beautiful butterfly wings in memory of Jennifer! It was so much fun and I was so happy to see Mica join us, after she said no so many times of being in a wheel chair on the bridges...what a wonderful testimony to support and friendship. Another wonderful surprise was seeing Shannon and her four beautiful children there with my name on their backs....made me cry. Jennifer would have been so happy and I am sure she was smiling from heaven! It was a wonderful day. I had to be pushed in the wheel chair for the race, but I got out of the chair and walked across the finish line with the help of Kimberly...what a great feeling to do that!

We left the Race and went back to Kimberly's to get ready to go to Stacie and Herman's wedding. It was such a beautiful wedding in every way. Stacie was the most beautiful bride ever and Herman was so handsome! I felt like I was at a fairy tale wedding. I wish them the best always!

Sunday, we went to church and then we were to meet Barb, my sister-in-law in Benton for lunch. When we got to the restuarant, she had arranged a surprise birthday party for me. I was sooooo surprised!

Monday night we celebrated my birthday with a dinner cruise on the Arkansas Queen! I had never done anything like that before...it was wonderful! There were 24 friends there helping me celebrate! Patti and Joanna got everyone up and dancing! I even did the shimmy in my wheel chair...just think what I could have done, had I had my walker with me! LOL! It was a night I will never forget!

We went back to Hot Springs after the cruise because Pete had a doctor's appointment the next morning and the children (our furry ones), would have been worried about us..LOL!

Wednesday we went back to Little Rock for one of my favorite birthday presents...I GOT MY TRACH OUT....YAY!!! I am so grateful to have this last tube out of this ole body!!

I went to church on Sunday, then we had a belated birthday lunch for Missy. It was so good spending time with her...she is so very sweet and I am blessed to have her as my friend! Yesterday, before heading back home, Kimberly and I met some friends..Linda, Renee, Mira, Laura, Andrea and Mark, for a wonderful lunch at MiMi's Cafe. It was so wonderful seeing them. I miss them so much. My heart wants to go back to work with them so badly, but I know that it is time to retire this ole body and do other things. ACH will always have a big piece of my heart!

I am looking forward to the 60's with a positive attitude and a desire to do more for others and help others. I want to make a difference in someone else who is battling cancer or other devastating illnesses.

I am going to enjoy being CANCER FREE! I am sure that God has plans for me and I will try to be still and listen! Dr. Sneed said that I am cancer free right now. He said that since my cancer was so aggressive, he can't say that it won't come back. He said if it does come back, we will fight it again....I am keeping my pink gloves on and will continue to "Fight Like A Girl"! God is good and He is good ALL the time! I am so grateful and blessed!




























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