Two Updates in one...

Update from yesterday (Sunday, Jan. 27th):

Today has been a blast.
Of course, I was a little disappointed when we woke up and had no hot water. Ugh. I got over it though. Our services went really well. Have y'all ever heard of Faith Promise Missions?? We have a mission conference every year, where we have 3 different missionaries come to visit and we decide afterwards if we want to support them or not. Our church currently supports 42 missionaries. I'm very proud that we are such a missions-minded church. Anyways Faith Promise Sunday is the Sunday after our mission conference where each person (as they feel led, it's not pushed on anyone) decides what they feel God would have them to give each week towards support for our missionaries. We had our highest amount promised in the history of our church...$101,000!!! I know that might not sound like much for a church to raise over a year, but our church runs under 100 people every week. I think it's amazing and I'm so excited!

Right now Katy, Bradley, Randy, & I are playing Life: Twists & Turns. I LOVE this game! Anyways, I'm off to finish playing, but I also wanted to mention my baby sister, Katy will possibly be engaged soon. Ryan's been in Alabama for work the past two weeks and all he's talked about since he left is getting married. Katy says she thinks he'll be proposing soon. I'm so excited for her!!!

And today:

I had the best weekend! Of course Friday and Saturday were great with celebrating Bradley's birthday twice...once at Olive Garden with friends and once at Cheesecake Factory with family. (Can you believe I lost 3.6 lbs after eating at those places? I did good!) We then spent Saturday and Sunday nights at Nanny & Poppy's. It was so much fun. We love spending time with them and had a blast.

Today I slept in til around 11, then watched All My Children, the news, One Life to Live, and General Hospital. I love my soaps. We had praise team practice tonight and it went really well. It tends to go pretty slow when a certain person is there, but she was sick so it went really quickly tonight. After praise team practice we stopped by Sonic because Katy wanted something sweet, so she and Randy got sweetheart shakes and I tried a Java Chiller. It was good! Then we came to mom and dad's and played Life. We played about two hours. Have I mentioned we love that game?

I'm anxious. This week is the last week for employers to get their W2s out, so I should be getting mine and Randy already has his. I'm ready to know what we're getting back. I know I've mentioned it before, but when Randy got divorced, his work somehow screwed up his deductions, so he owed $4400!! Yeah. So, we just finished paying the rest last year. We're looking forward (and praying for) a nice return this year so we can put some in savings.

I'm also super excited to report that after two weeks of being part of the biggest loser challenge on xanga I've lost 4 lbs. I know it doesn't seem like much, but losing 3.6lbs this week as opposed to only .4 lbs the first week is exciting!

Well, I'm off to finish watching Legends of the Fall with Daddy & Randy. Please continue to pray for Nate, Tricia & Gwyneth. I know specifically right now Tricia just needs some good quality sleep to detox from all the stress going on. It must be so hard to be away from Gwyneth right now, but I know that God will make this difficult time all worth it for them in the end.

Real quick...

Because it's time for bed and Praise Team practice before church comes earrrrly in the morning. I'm having problems with headaches again. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but please pray that God will just intervene and they'll go away without another exploratory surgery or lots of medication. Also please pray for my friend Paula-Beth. Her father passed away unexpectedly this summer and next week she'll be making her first trip back home with her new baby Lucy...and her daddy won't be there. It's going to be a hard trip for her, so please pray that God will give her strength and peace. She's an amazing friend.

Also continue to pray for Nate, Tricia, & Gwyneth. Specifically that Tricia will start sleeping better through the night and that Gwyneth will continue to poop regulary so she's not all stopped up. :) Thanks y'all!

Got a call from the doctor's office....

They want me to come back in (I was there Friday) to discuss my lab work. Blah. I'd really rather "discuss" it over the phone and not pay another $35. Either they say "your cholesterol sucks, do better about taking your medicine" or "your cholesterol is good, stop the medicine." How hard is it? It's just frustrating because it seems like these people will do anything to get you in the office and paying them. Grrr. I'd change doctors, but I LOVE my doctor and I've been with him since I changed from a pediatrician. Please just pray that it's nothing serious and they can just tell me over the phone. Also, I'm starting to have really bad headaches again and I'm not sure what's causing them. I had some problems with severe tension headaches/migraines for a year or so, and had surgery last March to check for a condition, but thankfully I didn't have it. Since the surgery I haven't had any trouble with the headaches, but now they're back again. Please pray I can get some relief.

Please also pray for Tricia & Gwyneth. Tricia woke up with a slight fever and Gwyneth has some intestinal inflammation (I believe, check the blog). Thanks!

Happy Wednesday!!

Recap from the past few days:

Sunday: Started antibiotic for my upper respiratory infection. Those are rough since I have asthma, but my PFTs were the best they've been since I was diagnosed with asthma. My antibiotic made me severely sick, so I stopped it. (I'm calling today for a new one.)

Monday: Relaxing day with Randy. Saw 27 Dresses for the 2nd time. Loved it even more!! :)

Tuesday: Fasted from internet for prayer for Nate, Tricia, & Gwyneth and Josh, Carley, & Kaitlyn. Had lunch at Chili's with Randy. Praise Team practice. We're singing "We Speak to Nations" and "Lord Most High" since they are somewhat mission-themed. Our Mission Conference starts tonight at church, so please pray for the missionaries who'll be sharing their fields with us.

Today: My stomach seems to be trying to get itself straightened out. I'm not convinced it was just my medicine that caused me to get sick. I think I might have had some type of 48hr viral thing because Randy had some of the same symptoms. Also, I've been fighting one of those on-the-verge-of-a-migraine headaches since Sunday. Woop-de-doo. I seriously wanted nothing more than to stay in bed this morning. And I mean I really wanted to stay home. My head hurts so bad! Randy mentioned this morning that I may need to see someone about those again. I haven't really had trouble with them since my surgery in March.

Please continue to pray for Tricia, specifically that she'll make it onto the transplant list soon, get her lungs, and that her body will accept them. Also pray for her donor. Pray that the Lord will prepare his/her family for this difficult loss and that if they don't already, they will come to know Jesus as their Savior through this.

Also pray that Gwyneth continues to be infection and complication free. :) I am so excited as she continues to grow and as Tricia continues to do better and better. See Nate's blog for more details and pictures.

Also pray for Alice. She just received her lung transplant yesterday and so far is doing well. Pray she recovers quickly and herbody doesn't reject the lungs.

.edit.
Just from what I've read this morning, they've done the autopsy but it was inconclusive. They say they need to run more tests, but I read an interview where he said that since filming "The Dark Knight" (the new Batman movie that comes out in a few months) he hadn't slept well. He plays the Joker and according to this interview, he said he was very disturbed by the character and hadn't been sleeping well. The pills found near him were Ambien and he was reported as saying at the time that he'd taken two one night and they only worked an hour. It seems to me like it was probably an accident. He took a pill or two, couldn't sleep so he took another...and was so out of it he might've continued that way...
It's so sad.
.end edit.

RIP Heath Ledger

I'm sure you've all heard by now about Heath Ledger. Ugh. I'm so sad. No, I didn't see him in Brokeback Mountain, and I didn't agree with the story of that movie at all, but I'm still sad. My heart hurts for his family and I can't help but wonder if he ever came to Jesus as His Savior. I pray he did. His poor baby girl won't ever really know him. I can't imagine how his family must feel. Pray for them.
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Happy Martin Luther King, Jr Day!

It's chilly outside and has been raining/misting all day. Randy & I went to see 27 Dresses today. I liked it so much he wanted to see it, so we went. We actually have a theater here that has matinee tickets for $3.25 so it's not breaking the bank to go. He loved the movie. How could he not? He loves him some Izzy! After the movie we had a bite to eat and then ran to Walmart for Lucy's food, a new collar, and a toy. We also stopped by Dollar Tree and I grabbed a gift for my secret pal at church. I got her some body scrub and a snowglobe. You definitely can't tell either were only $1.
We had dinner with my parents and little sister, and we just finished playing Life. I love that game! I won too! I think we may end up playing again in a few minutes. Mom and Katy are making brownies right now (I'll probably have something else for snack.) It's Girl Scout Cookie time. Ahhh. Bad timing with me being on a diet, but I ordered three boxes of the new kind that are in 100 calorie packs. They're SO good.
Well, I'm off have family time.
I won't be online at all tomorrow. A friend of mine setup a week long fasting for Nate, Tricia, & Gwyneth and our friend Carley, her husband Josh, and baby girl Kaitlyn. Most of you know The Lawrensons story, but most don't know Kaitlyn's story. Basically (in short form) Kaitlyn was born by emergency c-section Thursday morning (October 4, 2007) at 11:14. She weighed in at 6 lbs 2 oz. She was imediately transported to Children's hospital in New Orleans. She has a heart condition. Baiscally one of her valves is too small to flow blood through AND she has a hole in her heart. At the very young age of 2 months old she's already had open heart surgery and has a long road ahead of her. She's such a sweet, special baby girl and her mom is a friend from xanga. So, each girl is taking a day and fasting from something. It's not necessarily food because many are pregnant, breast-feeding, or recovering from EDs so food would not be a possiblity to fast from. The point is, fasting means giving something up to pray for a need. I decided to give up internet for the day because the internet is a big part of my life, so fasting from it would mean alot of praying time. Tomorrow is my day, thus the reason for not being on here tomorrow.

Please continue to keep Nate, Tricia, & Gwyneth in your prayers and also Carley, Josh, & Kaitlyn.

I just heard the most amazing sound....

Tricia speaking!!! Wow! I linked the post w/the video so check it out. After praying so hard for her, it's amazing to not only see her, but hear her voice. God is so good. I'm beyond speechless.

Fabulous News, Prayer Requests, & Praises...

The big news for today is that Tricia is awake!!! Woohoo! Praise the Lord!!! Nathan has asked that if you would, please join him (and me) in making this Saturday, January 19 a day of prayer for those who are on transplant lists and awaiting transplants. :)

Prayer Requests:

• Bro.Cooper is having an angiogram this morning. Pray it goes well & the doctors find the info they need
• Paige Jeter - my friend who's father passed away yesterday morning
• Harrison Hoke - liver biopsy Friday (she's 10 yrs old)
• Lois Cooper - fighting a nasty sinus infection as well as working & spending the rest of her time at the hospital with Bro. Cooper
• Jessica Turner - having her baby any day now
• Kaitlyn Rousse - preemie dealing w/multiple open heart surgeries, extubating not going well
• Carley & Josh Rousse - her parents; strength

Special Prayer Request

A dear friend of ours, Bro. Everette Cooper was taken to the hospital by ambulance tonight. They think he had a heart attack. When we left the hospital they had decided to keep him overnight for observation, but hadn't given us any definite answers as to what was going on with him. We were able to have prayer and let him know we love him, but please just pray for wisdom for the doctors and for this to not be anything serious. Please also pray for his wife, Lois as she is fighting a nasty cold right now and can't stay at the hospital with him.

Thanks!

Here's a laugh...

Wanna hear something funny? Ok, not funny to me but I'm sure y'all will get a laugh out of it.
Randy's at work so I ran with Katy & Ryan to grab a bite to eat (Whataburger, it was delicious), stop by Academy for Ryan to use one of his Christmas gift cards (I never realized what cool stuff they have!), and were getting in the car leaving Academy and somehow I poked a hole in the bottom of my cup. Well, needless to say Dr.Pepper went everywhere including my pants, front and back, and all over the seat of the truck. Ahhh! I was so ticked. So since we were running to Walmart to grab Ryan some coveralls for work, I just bought a cheap pair of pants and changed in the bathroom. I hate that feeling though. I was so mad!
So back to eating dinner. We went through the drive-thru and took the food to the airport and watched the airplanes take off and land. That's so much fun.
Anyways, just thought I'd share my story. Also, please pray for Ryan. He leaves Monday for Alabama and he'll be there for three weeks for work. Katy's upset..they've been together for 5 years and never been apart that long. Just pray for his safety and that he'll be ok.

Oh Happy Day

It's been a wonderful day so far. Fridays are my day off, so I slept in with Randy (since he didn't get home til 6:30ish) and then we woke up and had a sandwich together. I love those times. The ones where we just sit together and do nothing but just be together. Through Nate & Tricia's story I've been reminded not to take those times for granted. God has drawn me so close to His side through this story. I'm ashamed that it took someone else going through such a scary situation, but I am very very grateful that Nathan has shared his story because I find myself praying even more than usual which was quite a bit anyways, and I enjoy those times with God. I'm just amazed every day as He continues to perform miracles in these lives.

I'm looking forward to Sunday morning's services at church. The Praise Team is doing "Shout to the Lord" and "Days of Elijah", two of my very favorite praise songs. We also practiced "It is You" by the Newsboys and that's probably my most favorite worship song. It's almost impossible for me to sing "Holy Holy is our God Almighty, Holy Holy is His name alone" without raising my hands. That song just really touches my heart.

Well I'm off for now. Going to browse around.

Attention

Clara O'Kella!!! Invite me to read your blog please because otherwise I can't read it or message you silly goose!

Give katybug my love and hugs!

Urgent Prayer Request

I just received this email from my mom's best friend's (Sheila) sister (Cindy):
We received a call at 3:00 AM this morning that Mike's nephew, Christopher Sanders, was killed in Iraq. We are heading to New Mexico today to be in support of his family. Please pray for Christopher's wife Dara and 2 young children, Mike's brother Kelly and his wife Marie and their 2 other children Beth and Mike. Mike's mom and step-dad, Shirley and JW Weldon. Mike is close to his brother and and was close to his nephew. He needs much prayer as he ministers to his family, of whom many are catholic. He has witnessed to them numerous times. Pray that the Lord gives us words of comfort and hope for them.
Mike is Cindy's husband. Please pray for this family.

So...

I'm trying to think of something smart to say other than "I'm new to this," but I am, so I'm slowly figuring out how all of this works.

I needed a place to express myself and write daily that's more like a journal. I'm excited! :) I do need help with figuring out how to add pictures(to the top) and "jennyize" (Webster's definition: make like me) things on here, so if you know how and don't mind enlightening me I'd appreciate it.

My thoughts are everywhere today, yet I'm focused. Does that make sense? I've been reading (as I know so many thousands have) Nathan's blog. What an inspiring story. It is such a true example of some of the strongest faith in God I've ever seen. God has been so good and continues to answer the many prayers offered for Tricia and Gwyneth and I continue to be amazed. I've always felt that I had a very strong faith, but these people, they put my faith to shame. It's most definitely not a competition whatsoever, I just strongly believe that God has placed this story in my life to cause me to trust in Him even more and be more grateful for the blessings He's given me. I am a big prayer person. I pray all the time, for everything. I pray when my puppy is sick, I pray when something small is bothering me, I pray when I hear police, ambulance, or fire sirens. I pray all the time. I believe in prayer. It's speaking with God and what could be greater than laying my burdens at the feet of, or sharing my gratitude with, (whatever it is at the time), my Heavenly Father? There is nothing greater. God is wonderful, merciful, and gracious and I am proud to be His child. I am so thankful that He sent His one and only son to die and pay the price of not only my sins, but the sins of every person who lives or ever will live, if they only accept Him. Amazing love.

If you haven't already, you should definitely check out Nathan's blog: www.cfhusband.blogspot.com and please keep him, his wife Tricia, and their new baby Gwyneth in your prayers.