SaintMom Blog

Happy 16th Birthday, Elle!

Today is Elle’s 16th birthday. YAY! I love you, Elle.

Now, I’m too tired to blog…I exercised too much today. Literally, I really did. A total of 3 classes at the Y and walked 3 miles in the heat. I won’t do that again.

It’s 8:30 and I’m literally going to bed now.

Who’s ready to join me for a step class??? Come on people, quit making excuses! (Like I haven’t made excuses for years!)

Hope you all have a good night…a few things to pray for real quick:

Elle (now that she will be driving herself)
The Gammons
Kenny Gammon’s truck (it broke down today…this is his work truck!)
Julie and Becca Jones and the entire Jones family… www.caringbridge.org/visit/juliecossarjones
My aunt Libby (cushing’s syndrome)
My dad (he seems stressed out)
Coach C & Mrs. C’s impending trip to Russia to get their new baby boy!!! YAY!

I’m sure there are a lot I’m forgetting…but I’m SO TIRED…

Tonight I am thankful for my bed.

Goodnight.

Some advice for those who workout…

For those of you who know me well, you know that since the kids started back to school I have begun a workout regimen that consists mainly of step aerobics. I go to the YMCA at least 6 days a week for this. I have a question…why do so many people SMELL SO BADLY? Do they not know about deodorant? Don’t they know that water only doesn’t cure stink? Ya gotta have SOAP! Good GRIEF! Each night I take either a warm bath or a shower right before bed so that I am clean for my sheets and for the next day. Sometimes I take one in the morning also if I have work appointments that day. AND, I USE SOAP IN THE SHOWER AND DEODORANT AFTERWARDS. Now, what that does for you is prevents the stink from returning once you start sweating in the gym! Some people don’t know that though I guess. EEwwwwwWWW! Get a clue people!

Anyway, I haven’t had much time for blogging this week. Step aerobics has taken over my free time! However, I have lost 7 pounds since the kids started back to school! SO - YAY FOR ME! And for my poor heart that is tired of pumping blood from here to Egypt I’m sure it seems.

Please continue to pray for Julie and Becca. You can read updates and see pictures of them at www.caringbridge.org/visit/juliecossarjones Julie is doing a little better, but she is still in critical but stable condition. Bless her heart. Can you imagine? I pray for God to continue to touch her body for healing. Also, for Becca and Ben.

Well, no husband again tonight (he’s in podunk) so I get the bed all to myself again…feels good for a few nights, but eventually I miss his snoring or something.

My aching muscles need the bed now…sorry for a short post tonight…I’m TIRED!

Today I am thankful for our doctors and nurses at the hospitals who do so much to save our lives when needed. I thank God for using their hands for healing. I thank God that Julie & Becca are both fighters and are still living.

My picture of the day is of little Baby Becca back in the NICU in Jackson, TN. I’m not sure how the pic will turn out because I copied it from the caring bridge website, but you’ll understand how little she is. 1lb 11oz Sweet little angel…probably just wants her mom.

Update on my prayer request for Julie

She made it through the night and this morning her brain was swelling. They had to drill a hole in her head to relieve the pressure. Also, her liver is not functioning and she is on dialysis. They are trying to find her a liver for a liver transplant. She is here at Vanderbilt and the baby is back at the hospital in Jackson. The baby weighed 1 pound and 11 oz. The last report on the baby was that the heart was still strong and she was sucking on a pacifier. Her name is Rebecca (Becca).

As I’m sure you can imagine, this is so hard on this family, especially the dad/husband Ben. Aaron went down to Vanderbilt today and stayed for a few hours and is going Monday and Tuesday this week on his lunch break. He is going back to Greenfield this week from Wed - Fri and is going to meet up with another one of their friends to help take care of the yard and other things at the home of this family.

I am begging for anyone to read this to pray for this family. Pray for Julie and Rebecca’s full recovery so that they will finally be able to meet one day and live a life together.

I hope you all have a wonderful evening. I will blog later about other things. Have a great week!

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST

One of my husband’s good friends (he’s known him all of his life) and his wife were expecting a baby. Due to the mom (Julie) getting preeclampsia they had to take the baby early and the baby only weighs a little over a pound. The mother is not doing good at all and had to be flown to Vanderbilt from Jackson. We were told that her kidneys and liver were shutting down. The baby has a strong heart and is in the NICU at Jackson. The dad (Ben) came here to be with his wife and his parents are with the baby at the hospital in Jackson.

The last report (about 9:30 on Saturday night) was that Julie made it through the flight and was in critical care at Vanderbilt. The doctors won’t give any percentages on her chances of survival but are optimistic since they deal with and treat this condition all the time.

At a time in their life when they should be celebrating the birth of their first child, they are going through what will surely be the hardest time of their life. I pray that Ben will not lose his wife and/or his child through this. I pray that God will heal Julie and protect the baby and help her to grow healthy. I ask that you all join me in prayer for this family. We had prayer for them at my parents house tonight.

Thanks in advance for any and all prayers.

We’re going to the fair tonight!

Our MJCA cheerleaders will be performing at 7:30 at the fair! We are going out to the fair tonight to walk around and to watch them. If any of you are reading this would like to join us, COME ON! Let’s GO! We’re leaving at 6:15 if any of you want to carpool up there with us in our TANK…I won’t have my little girls tonight, so we are staying OFF THE FREAK FILLED MIDWAY! (Not directed towards the normal kids over there!) We’ll be walking over on vendor row and through Fiddlers Grove. Hope no one hits me with brass knuckles over there! (Referring to comment left a couple of days ago about a bad fight in Fiddlers Grove last Friday night).

Looking forward to seeing you all there tonight!

Congratulations to Coach & Mrs. C!!!

Today they found out that they are getting a baby boy from Russia (I think it was Russia). His name is Luke! He was born in May of 2007. I think they are getting ready to fly over there to meet him and then they have to leave him there and come home for a while longer. Then they get to go back and get him after staying with him there for about a week or so. I may have some of this information wrong, but it’s close anyway.

This afternoon everyone was telling me that they were so excited that they had to leave school. I’m sure there was no way to concentrate on teaching with that on your mind! I am SO HAPPY for them. I know they have been waiting for this for SO LONG.

Coach & Mrs. C - YOU WILL BE SUCH AWESOME PARENTS! I can’t wait to see you in action. If you ever need a babysitter…I’ve got room in the Armada for ONE MORE!

We all love you both so much. You will be in my prayers as you travel and as you go through this life changing time. E-mail me the picture for the website!

Once again, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

My girls are off to Camp Hillmont!

My sweet little girls are getting so big! Today they left with their 5th grade class from MJCA to go to Camp Hillmont in White Bluff, TN. I’ve been there before on a youth trip as a chaperone. It is a really cool place. I’m sure they are having fun…but this is really their first trip away from home without being with family. Well, Carly did go to a gymnastics camp for a week a couple of years ago, but I’m not really worried about Carly. To be twins, they are so different! Carly is VERY independent. She thinks like an adult a lot of the time. Sometimes I have to remind her that I am the parent! Carly can take care of herself and never gets homesick. However, little LOU LOU (Casey) gets homesick VERY easily. She doesn’t get far from my side. She is the one I’m worried about. I am hoping that camp will be so much fun and wear them out so badly that when it gets quiet and she’s ready for bed, she won’t miss her mom and dad being there to pray with her and tuck her in. I told Carly to watch out for her “little sister” and Carly said, “Mom, it’s only by 2 minutes!” I couldn’t help but laugh.

And can you believe I didn’t take my camera this morning to get pics of them leaving?!?!?! What is up with that? I guess my brain was frazzled from packing 2 ten year old girls who think they’re 14 already and then making sure they didn’t forget anything, AND painting their fingernails and toenails for the trip. I guess the nail polish fumes got to my brain. Anyway, Patricia (another mom) did bring hers and got some good pics. I will post them onto the website hopefully tomorrow evening. I would do it tonight, but I am BEAT!

Yes, I’m tired. I’ve been doing this wierd thing they call DIETING and EXERCISING! I’m not sure how well that’s gonna work out for me, but I’m giving it a try. I seem to have a heart issue. My heart is tired of carrying my rump around and can barely pump enough blood for me! So, gotta lose the weight! And just when I was really getting used to having it around!

I’ve been doing the Genesis Step class at the YMCAs around here, and also the Powerlift class. I really like them, but man when I get done with them I feel like I’ve been hit by a MACK TRUCK! Hope someone keeps a defib machine nearby! OK, I’m joking, and I know I shouldn’t joke about that. You all know me though…gonna joke about anything I can, for sure! So, if any of you ladies would like to join me, PLEASE DO!

Today I got my Uppercase Living order in. I LOVE THAT STUFF! I picked it up tonight and as soon as I got home I started putting it up in my house. I got 2 peices done and they look terrific! For those of you who aren’t familiar with that, check out this website: http://ncorley.uppercaseliving.net Those 2 pictures of the refrigerator and the bedroom wall are in my friend Debi’s house. Her house is gorgeous anyway, but the Uppercase stuff just adds something to anything! I’ve even customized my own stuff for my girls rooms. I had their names made really big for their walls above their beds. They are adorable. If any of you are interested, let me know. I’m thinking of having an actual party…just not that kind of person (except for PURSE PARTIES of course!), I don’t like Pampered Chef type stuff, or Arbonne, or anything like that. This Uppercase Living stuff is the first thing I’ve ever liked that is sold independently like that.

By the way, thanks to all of you who leave comments. I get e-mails regarding this blog all the time, but I love getting the comments so that other people can see them. And if you think they didn’t go through after you hit submit, it probably did go through, it’s just that I have to approve them before you can see them. Thanks to Shawna (new mom at MJCA and an old friend of mine) and Jennifer Hamblen for leaving me comments recently. And also to all of you who have left them in the past, thanks!

Well, I suppose it’s time to head to the bed…but my husband is sick and I can hear him croaking up there in the bedroom. I’m not the most compassionate wife when he’s sick, he likes to grunt and it drives me insane, but I’m trying harder this time. But when I AM SICK, the world must stop so that everyone can take care of me! I am very good to my kids when they are sick, though. Of course, they’re my kids! But I am trying to be sweeter to my husband when he is sick. Today I met him for lunch and took him some medicine and helped him find some other medicines he needed. I hope he doesn’t get pneumonia again! He got that back in March I think and he was SO SICK, and I was horrible about it. It’s just, the grunting! But I’m learning to cope with it…I love him enough to get passed it. He’s worth it. Hopefully I won’t end up on the bonus room couch tonight!

Today I am thankful for Mr. Kenneth. He delivered my girls safely to Camp Hillmont along with their 5th grade class. Afterwards, he called to let me know he got them there safely. He is SO PRECIOUS! Mrs. V went with them. My girls love her so much. And, so do I! I don’t think I’ve ever known a better elementary pricinpal! She is AWESOME in every way a teacher / principal should be. Her voice just soothes me and brings me down to elementary level…lol. So, I’m thankful for her today also! WE ALL LOVE YOU MRS. V!

My picture of the day is of the group of kids that left for the trip today. If you are reading this, please say a little prayer for them to have a fun time bonding with their class and teachers and to have a safe trip home. If you’re looking at the picture, my girls are on the right, near the front kinda…Casey is wearing a white and blue tank top and Carly is wearing a light blue t-shirt.

Freaky Friday at the Fair

I am a Christian. I think a strong one actually. But if any of you are going to be offended by me talking about the people I saw at the fair last night, don’t read this. I have to vent. This blog is my therapy.

SO - we took the girls and their friends to the fair last night. For a while, I felt like I was walking in another world. I was struggling to find normal people like me! (As IF I’m normal!) I kept seeing people with their faces painted strange, strange piercings, VERY strange clothing (most of it didn’t fit) and I became SCARED! What happened to the t-shirt and shorts with tennis shoes? Or jeans and a t-shirt!!?? Why would anyone want to wear thigh high converse boots to the Wilson County Fair? And why would ANYONE want to wear a shirt that is at least 100 sizes TOO SMALL for them? Look, I’ve had a problem with my thyroid so I have a little extra weight on me…which is why I wear clothes to cover it up. I’m so sorry if I’m offending someone out there reading this, but please, please, please…I do not want my kids or myself to have to see these teenagers wearing sleeveless and strapless shirts that show thier pudgy belly out of the bottom of it! What in the WORLD is attractive about that? Again - I’m sorry if any of you reading this were one of those people, but seriously, put on some clothes and stop trying to be “hot”. Good GRIEF. That’s like ME wearing a thong bikini to the fair and thinking it looked GREAT! (Sorry for the bad mental picture!)

And what’s up with the demonic face painting? When did it become cool to imitate Satan? I feel sorry for those folks! And, this one girl had so many piercings in her nose that there is no way her nose hairs could properly filter the things that come into her body through her nose. Can you IMAGINE having to take all of those out for a cleaning!? YUCK! I’m gonna barf my breakfast just talking about it! I’d hate to see what happens if she gets a head cold!

OK - so I’ve been very judgemental today and I’m sorry. That is not good. Since I am the kind of person that likes to do good, I felt it very necessary to put this on my blog as a community service announcement.

On another note, the kids enjoyed the fair. I was terrified that one of the rides would break with them on it. I don’t know why I let them do it if I’m scared. I don’t want to deprive them of the once a year fair fun. And the chances are that the rides won’t break, but I don’t like chancing anything when it comes to my children. I just pray that God will protect them when I can’t.

Well, I’m gonna sign off and do a little housework.

Today I am thankful for God’s protection. Even when we can’t feel it, HE is watching over and protecting us from harm. There are SO many times that something bad could have happened, but God put His hand on the situation and saved us once again.

My picture of the day is of the kids at the fair last night. My girls are on each end, Casey on left, Carly on the right.

Gammon Update 8/14/08

Dear Friends and Family,

It has been awhile since my last update. Sometimes I wonder if I should
still update then I realize we still need your prayers. I still believe
PRAYER is powerful.

How are we? Umm, are there words? Not really. As I have said before it
is getting harder not easier. I can honestly say this is the hardest
thing we have had to go through. “Go through”…Is this what we are
doing? I am not sure the words “go through” is right. We are not
really going through we are just crawling. We have not completely
figured out how to go forward yet. Now that school has started and
life is starting to move. We are not sure how we move with it. I mean
how do you move forward when you feel a part of you is gone. YES, my
head tells me we must move forward. My heart says, NO! Okay, in reality
we are moving forward because that is just the way life is. Right now,
we are just moving forward because of God’s love and gentle push. Only
by HIS LOVE!

Grief, Suffering and Sorrow. These three walk hand in hand. Not long
ago I read a book called, Hind’s Feet on High Places allegory. The
story is of a girl named, Much Afraid looking to feel loved. Her
shepherd takes her on a journey to find this love. As she travels her
shepherd provides her two companions, Suffering and Sorrow. To make a
long story short she learns lessons of accepting and triumphing over
evil, of becoming acquainted with grief, and pain, ultimately, of
finding them transformed into something comparably precious; of learning
through constant glad surrender to know the Lord of Love Himself in a
new way and to experience unbroken union with Him. At the end of the
story her companions, Suffering and Sorrow are transformed into Peace
(Suffering) and Joy (Sorrow).

Why did I tell you about this story? You see, even though we are on our
journey walking with Suffering and Sorrow. We also know in HIS timing
our companions will change to Peace and Joy. As with the girl, Much
Afraid her journey was not short. So our journey will not be short.
Some days I think, Oh, okay I have a handle on this. Other days, are
not so controlled. As with any journey you must take one step at a
time. Sometimes you just need to stop, sit and catch your breath. It
is at those times I realize our God is the All Powerful. He is who He
says He is…..LOVE.

Just another thought before I move onto our prayer requests. Grief is
powerful and shared with many who have had to endure this mighty
emotion. An emotion that can be controlled and yet best to be released.
As I read these words from another father who had lost his son my grief,
my pain, and my heart leaped off those pages as if they were my words.

“PUT YOUR HAND into my wounds,” said the risen Jesus to Thomas, “and you
will know who I am.” The wounds of Christ are his identity. They tell
us who he is. He did not lose them. They went down into the grave with
him and they came up with him-visible, tangible, palpable. Rising did
not remove them. He who broke the bonds of death kept his wounds.

To believe in Christ’s rising from the grave is to accept it as a sign
of our own rising from our graves. If for each of us it was our destiny
to be obliterated, and for all of us together it was our destiny to fade
away without a trace, then not Christ’s rising but my dear son’s early
dying would be the logo of our fate.

So I shall struggle to live the reality of Christ’s rising and death’s
dying. In my living, my son’s dying will not be the last word. But as
I rise up, I bear the wounds of his death. My rising does not remove
them. They mark me. If you want to know who I am, put your hand in.

POWERFUL WORDS!!!!

Prayer requests:
Our journey through grief will be a healthy grief. Satan comes to
steal, kill and destroy. He does not care that we are grieving. He
looks for our weak points and then pounces. Please be in pray with us
that when our weak points are becoming visible that God’s covering will
have already been applied.

April…Job. That the Lord will provide the right job at His right
timing.

Dylan…Strength and acceptance. That he will constantly feel the
Lord’s strength, He will feel accepted with whom he is and not try to
live up to his brothers legacy. He will be able to a part of Dustan’s
legacy and not have to compete against it.

Kenny…Job . That he will be blessed with Godly favor. He will stand
tall as he walks this grief journey in front of so many of his peers.

For each of us to make Godly decisions as we are faced with so much
confusion is our lives right now.

Let me take a moment to apologize for any of you that has not received a
thank you card yet. I have had several hundred to do and honestly am
going very slowly. Know that we appreciate everything that each of you
have done. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Resting at His feet,
April

Today I am thankful that God catches all my tears in His hands.

Jen’s Favorite Things

Oprah has nothing on me, wanna know why? Because most of her favorite things are things I can’t afford! So, my list of favorite things should be more “normal person” friendly. (Don’t you like how I make up my own words and phrases?)

Here are some of my favorite things:

Cell Phone - Blackberry Pearl or Blackberry Curve. Great for people on the go a lot like me!

Book - other than the Bible, I like the Janet Evanovich series of Stephanie Plum novels. They are hilarious! I have hooked several of my friends on that series!

Car - Nissan is my favorite, just about anything Nissan. I LOVE my Armada and Aaron’s Frontier, but I think he wants a Titan next when Zach takes over the Frontier.

Vacation Spot - Gatlinburg is a vacation that has the feel of home, so that comes first. After that I’d say a cruise of the Carribean.

Computer Brand - HP

Store - Target

Watch - well, this one is tricky. I really want a Bulova watch but I don’t need to spend that much on one, so we’ll just go with Fossil.

Clothes - t-shirt and shorts or capris with a sweatshirt when the weather is a little crisp. Can’t wait for that weather!

Camera - Canon - I have the EOS 30D and I love it. I also love my digital point and shoot Sony DSC-H5 - I use it most of the time unless I’m shooting indoor sports.

Photo Printing Place - Walgreens or Shutterfly - I get good deals at those places.

Place to get gas - Kroger of course, since I can get 10 cents off each gallon. I need every bit of discount I can get with gas prices this high!

Body Wash - Dove extra moisturizing stuff….mmmm…makes me wanna go take another shower!

Shampoo - who cares about that? I just have to have good conditioner and other products.

Hair Products - Frizz Remedy - DON’T LAUGH and Tres something mousse, in black can. Also, I have to have a diffuser for my afro head.

Flower - mmmm, don’t really care.

Hamburger - I’m pretty easy on this one…gotta be Burger King. I like them thin…

Pizza - Umm, seriously? I could eat just about any pizza. I used to love Godfather’s Pizza, but you can’t really find them anymore.

Candy - I love Mike & Ikes. I also love chocolate candy bars or chocolate covered popcorn and/or peanuts. Let’s just say it’s safe to say I love chocolate.

Music - I love praise and worship songs, but I also love southern rock. I’m a fan of the Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Three Doors Down, Black Crowes….and no, I don’t drink beer.

Sandwich - Pizza sandwich from PotBellys. YUM YUM!

Dessert - Used to be a hot brownie with nuts and ice cream. Now, it’s just CHEESECAKE! Preferrably with a little chocolate syrup on top!

OK, getting bored with that now, but I may update the list as I think of other things.

Tomorrow is Friday, and the first week of school for this year will be complete. It was a good one! And I have gotten up every single morning by 5:30 and went for a walk with my sweet and adorable husband. Week one has been a success!

Today I am thankful for my husband. He encourages me, loves me, and helps me with anything and everything. For the first time in my life, I feel complete. He is half of my soul. He is my best friend. We have been together for 6 years and I love him more every single day. I love you, Aaron.

My picture of the day is of my little friend, Sarah. She wanted her pictures taken and made 7 frames for her pictures. So, when she found out that I took about 150 photos of her during her photo shoot, she stressed out about not having enough frames! Now she’s making more. She also taught me a lot during our photo shoot…Sarah is indeed smarter than me. (I’m not joking, either!)

Hope you all have a great weekend. I will post the latest update from April Gammon next. Every time I read anything she writes, I get chills and cry. I’ve never known someone to move me so much and really make me think hard about life. We love you April, Kenny & Dylan.