Snow Days

This past week was a 3-day work week for me, which I absolutely loved! We were out on Monday for MLK, Jr. holiday...but then it snowed, which kept us out of school on Tuesday as well. I just gotta say, that it was wonderful! I accomplished close to nothing at all. Well, except the previous Friday when we were also called out of school due the the sub-zero temperatures. On that day, I did get my bed made, 3 or 4 loads of laundry done, the dishwasher ran, emptied, reloaded, ran, and emptied again. I also got 8 tubs of Christmas decorations sitting around my house hauled out and put up in the attic. Aside from that, I got the Christmas tree completely disassembled and bundled by branch size, re-boxed and ready to go to the attic. Then on Sunday, the red bows and garland came down off the front porch railing. Rusty got out and got the icicle lights down. So, of course, it snowed on Monday! LOL! I love it when it snows and the icicle lights are still up on the house...it's just so pretty! At any rate, following Sunday, I pretty much got nothing else accomplished whatsoever, but I honestly don't think I care. It was great just to hang around the house, cook, eat, and lounge. I very rarely get to do that. I just gotta say that I love snow days! I hope we get a bunch more this winter! I really don't like the global warming effect and that our winters are so "snow-less" anymore. :(

Snow days are the greatest and to me they are like a little added blessing from God saying, "Here, I know you need more time for this so here you go." Or..."Here, I want you to just slow down and relax....so here's a day for doing just that."

Like I said, I love snow days!

Well, He Finally Did It!!

My precious husband, after being a blog-follower for several years now, has finally bit the bullet and begun a blog. It frightens me to some degree, I must admit. Why? You may be wondering. Why would he at the old fart age of 52 take this leap and begin blogging? Well, that is due primarily to the influence the youngins we hang around with have over him. I would say he caved into "peer pressure", but honestly if they are 20-30 years younger than him, are they really his peers??? I think not! So peer pressure is not necessarily the correct term for it, but the fact is that he caved. So thanks a heck of a lot Bobby, Denira, Deena, and Allie!! Oh, and let's not forget the ever innocent influence of those whose blogs he reads whom he may or may not have ever even met...Perry Noble, Kem Meyer, Gary Lamb, Jeff Calloway...yeah thank you all a lot as well!! :)

Okay, so that addresses the question as to why he would go and do such a thing. And for those of you who may have been wondering why it frightens me to any degree at all...well, let's just suffice it to say that my husband, in his aged-wisdom, has quite a different spin on things than most...and now, thanks to technology, far many more are going to have access to his rather unusual pearls of wisdom.

No, honestly, that doesn't frighten me at all. He is quite talented at writing and being creative and expressive as he writes. And because he is typically so level-headed, and very rarely swayed one way or the other by sheer emotion, many have been known to seek out his opinion on various topics.

I guess then, that my fear may actually be that he will be better at it than am I, or that the fight for the computer will never end now that he's blogging! Oh, well!!!

One thing's for certain, should you wander by his blog, you will most likely find it unique and interesting, if not flat out right entertaining! So should you want to make that visit, you can click on the link for "Light the Darkness" and find yourself there! Enjoy.

And, babe, I'm proud of you! Resist that old fart aging thing as long as you can!! :)

Loving Life!

Just wanted to say that the past few days (week and a half, actually) have been totally wonderful! I've enjoyed being off from school and not even so much as darkening the door of the elementary school where I teach since Saturday, Dec. 20! For folks who know me, that's unfathomable!!! All that will change tomorrow, but not for the reason you may think. I'm hooked on scrap-booking and tomorrow, while the hubby (and anyone else he chooses to invite over for the big-screen access) lay around the living room and watch football, I'm headed over to the school to set up for a 3-day scrap-booking adventure!!! I have so many friends who are into this and it is such a wonderful girl-bonding activity! We get to be together, eat girl food, look at and oooh and aaah over each other's pics and then share our handiwork! I cannot wait!! Many of us got new toys that make our craft easier and so we'll also oooh and aaah over that while we share the addiction of scrapping!

I'm sure that come Monday I'll be stressed to the max that I did not go to school and do any planning or prepping for the return of students...but if so, I'll deal with that when it comes. Right now, I'm just loving God, loving my family, loving being with my friends, loving the break and Loving LIFE!!

Sisters

So yesterday I made the journey to Middle Tennessee to visit with the gals in my family. I guess you could say that I have a large family. My twin sister, Fay, and I were babies 5 and 6. We had a brother, Jimmy, who was 19 when we were born. Sadly, he is now deceased. We also had a brother, Johnny, who was 16 when we were born. Then there was our eldest sister, Sybil, who was 6, and Connie, our middle sister, who was 3. All have grown and married and have kids of their own. Jimmy, the oldest, married my sister-in-love, Freida, and they became parents all before I turned 2 years old. Their daughter, Pam, has always been more like a sister than a niece. At any rate, my beloved sister, Sybil, is moving to Tampa...today. Her husband had taken a job there many months ago, but she remained behind in Huntsville to finish out her career, and stay with the house and get it ready to go on the market. She also was staying fairly close by because her younger son, Greg, is in college at Trevecca in Nashville, plus the family was only a couple of hours away.

To say that she was there for me during my cancer battle is very much an understatement. We had the greatest distance between her home and mine--4 hours. Yet, Syb traveled the miles and the hours on numerous occasions just because that is what sisters do. She and Fay came and about worked themselves into the ground helping me deep clean prior to my surgery. Then they rotated out and came and stayed following my surgery. That's what sisters do. They held me when I cried and encouraged me with compliments of my strength and how impressed they were that my faith was keeping me together. That, too, is what sisters do.

Before the last round of chemo rolled around, during one of my 'down' moments, I was very emotional and on the phone with Syb. She offered to hang up, load up, and come to me. ...that's what sisters do. I didn't let her but during that conversation she asked me when my last round was scheduled and if I had a favorite place around here that I liked to go. I told her that my favorite place is the beach, but no, there's not any around here. The weekend of my last chemo, Syb came to be here to celebrate with us. But while I was away, she and Allie turned my living room into a beach scene complete with sand, wading pool full of water, inflatable whales and beach ball, beach chairs, umbrella, towels, buckets and shovels, etc. I don't know if that's what all sisters do, but that's what Sybil did. She also burned a DVD slide show of various beach scenes and Beach Boys music. Arriving home, I found Sybil and my Allie in shorts and tee's with sunglasses on and ready to sit on "the beach"! I love my family!

Some months later, I was sooo blessed and honored to have Sybil with me at "my" beach, Litchfield, SC. Although we've been vacationing there for 20 years or so, this is the first year that Sybil made the trip and joined us. What a blessing!

Anyway, yesterday I traveled to Middle Tennessee to see her and to bid her farewell before she moves to Tampa to re-join her family. I'm going to miss her. (another understatement!!) Sybil was the closest thing to a "mom" that I had while I fought my battle. And letting her go knowing that our visits with one another are now likely going to be limited to 2-3 per year as opposed to our monthly visits is a new and excruciating heartfelt pain. But it is necessary, and I know this. You see, Sybil's husband, Dave, does not know Jesus. And though my family has prayed for him for years, he is still distant from God. We (the sisters) are convinced that should she (Sybil) choose to stay in Huntsville where she is closer to us, David will likely never come to know God. We are all in agreement that family is your first mission field. And we are all in agreement that we want David with us in eternity. So painful as it may be, we are letting go, and sending her to her family, undergirding her with prayers, love, and well-wishes...because...broken-hearted or not, that's what sisters do.

I love you, Sybil, and I'm going to miss you greatly!

Praying for Pastors

This morning, I woke to come and check my e-mail because I knew I should be receiving a list of prayer items from my Pastor, which I did. And I was quick to send it on out to our prayer team who I lovingly refer to as "The Ridge Warriors". These folks are folks from all over East and Middle Tennessee as well as one from Ohio. In mailing things out to them, I added the following notes because these are my true and honest beliefs:

"I wanted to add my own "umph" behind Pastor's requests. Several years (okay, many years) back when I came to understand that my spiritual gift was intercession, and that my passion is servant-hearted pastors, it completely clicked with me as to why. I recalled all my growing up days in our home. My dad was a little Bible-thumpin' bi-vocational pastor. But aside from being pastor to other folks, he was just daddy to me. I lived under his roof. I knew his faults. I knew his struggles and frustrations. I knew his weaknesses. I knew he was "just a man" who was serving to the best of his abilities.

I sometimes look back and wonder if he had anyone other than my mom in his corner praying and interceding for him.

Anyways, as my Spiritual Gifts Assessment panned out, I was sorely disappointed at that time that prayer/intercession emerged as my "top" gift. I kept thinking to myself, "But anybody can pray!! And everybody ought to pray!" Then we assessed passions and I realized that my heart breaks for pastors who are in the trenches slaving away and who are seemingly under attack, taking a step forward and sliding back 3. (side note: Not long after I realized that, I read for the first time Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness. If you've not read it, it's a great read! If you have read it, you can imagine how that stoked my torch!!) It was from having read this book that I gave up my wrestle with God and said, "Ok! I get it! I will submit to prayer for my pastor(s) for all my days…and will sacrifice sleep if need be, I will sacrifice food, whatever You want me to sacrifice and I will pray."

Well, in all honesty, because of my health issues the past year and this battle with cancer, my prayers (facing the facts here) had turned "inward" to a great extent. I (and my family) topped my own prayer list and sometimes consumed it. I still prayed for my pastor(s) by name. But I know that I was not in full blown intercession for them.

Here and now is where all that changes. I guess what I'm doing in essence is confessing to you all, my fellow prayer warriors, and throwing in the "Woe is me" towel, and proclaiming that "she's back!"

So here is where I'm stepping up and leading in this warrior front the way that I believe I'm supposed to. As lead intercessor for Pastor Bobby and Ridge Community Church, I'm going to ask you all to cut 'n paste and print out Pastor's list above, (don't bother with all my ramblings on down here) and keep it in your wallet, taped to your computer monitor, on your refrigerator, your dashboard, your bathroom mirror…anywhere that you know that you will see it everyday and each time you do, please offer up prayer over it again.

BUT, I'm going to take it a step further. I'm going to ask you to at least twice in the next week, set aside a time and place and take a different posture in prayer…literally. If you typically pray sitting, then I'm going to ask you to take time to stand, or kneel, or fall prostrate, and pray. That may seem whack to you, but I guess that honestly doesn't bother me if it seems that way. :) I believe I'm supposed to ask it of you anyways.

We are only 10-11 weeks away from our 4 pre-launch services and I know I need to step it up in my prayer efforts for things coming together, for Pastor Bobby's strength, perseverance, and vision, and for the entire team.

Now, a couple final thoughts and I'll let you get to printing out Bobby's items:

1--How to say this? Uhm…most of our leadership team came together some what beat up and battered. We are a rag-tag little army at best. So in the items above where I *, I'm asking that you pray for us all. That we will be renewed, restored and that our hearts will pound wildly and passionately again for serving, and that we will serve whole-heartedly and enthusiastically in our mission to search and rescue. I believe we are the vessels by which God wants to take this city, and build His kingdom!

2--At one point during my learning journey about prayer and intercession, God drew me to Exodus 17. There I read the story of Aaron and Hur who stood with Moses on top of the hill while Joshua and the children of Israel battled the army of Amalek below. Whenever Moses kept his hands and the staff of God raised, Joshua was winning in battle. But when Moses grew tired and lowered his hands, the Amalekites would have the winning advantage. Noticing this, Aaron and Hur brought over a large stone for Moses to sit on and they held up his hands, one on each side. So his hands remained steady until the sun went down and Joshua defeated Amalek and its army in battle. We as intercessors are the modern day Aaron's and Hur's. We are to pray and undergird our pastors so that they can keep the posture God wants them to hold that the battle might be won.

Those are my true thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. Thank you for joining me in prayer!!"

So there you have it! And if you are the praying sort, I'll ask you to join us in prayer, too!

Getting Over It!!

As Thanksgiving rolls around, I'm forced to face some facts, for which I'm truly grateful. The fact is, my cancer battle is behind me! Woot!! Woot!! This time last year, I was less than a month diagnosed, and I was facing surgery on the Monday following Thanksgiving. It had been a whirlwind of doctors' appointments, tests, lab work, more tests, and on and on. It had also been a tremendous whirlwind of emotions!

With the 1 year anniversary of my diagnosis behind me, I can look back and truly appreciate life, family, friends, and especially my awesome God!! To say that the past year was one of the scariest times in my life is about as much of an understatement as saying the Atlantic is a cute little pond! However, my family and friends surrounded me, I was comforted by the prayers of many, and while the time seemed to creep at an agonizingly slow pace, it did still tick and we took it a day at a time.

In all of it, my daughter stood strong. It had to be difficult on her. It was her senior year in high school. We had always been close, but I think we found things in each other through this battle that gave us a new found respect for one another. She's stronger than I ever knew. And we are closer than ever!

I absolutely cannot say enough about my faithful husband, Rusty. Let me just say chemo sucks! There are things that folks just don't tell you. For example, for the first 48 hours following each chemo treatment, I peed red. Yep, that's right, red. And it was toxic. So everytime I went, I had to wipe the entire toilet down with a clorox wipe, put the lid down and flush, and wipe a gain and flush a second time. That doesn't sound so awful, but when you're weak as water, it's a task to stand there and wait for that tank to fill enough just to be able to flush again. I'm so glad that's over!

Another thing that you wouldn't otherwise know is that the chemo is not the worst of drugs. When you take chemo, you're hooked to an IV for somewhere between one - two hours. What happens after that is 4 days of strong meds! Most of them are anti-nausea, anti-reflux meds...and yes, we are grateful for those! However, there is one med, a steroid called "Decadron" that is far worse than chemo!! Decadron really sucks!! It causes paranoia, anxiety, fear, panic, stress, restlessness, and on and on and on! The truth is that on my first round of chemo, before we knew about the Decadron and the side effects I would have on it, I had suicidal thoughts. I trembled uncontrollably. But the worst was how it effected my mind. It was really, really difficult to just begin feeling like myself again and then realize my 2 weeks were up and I was headed back for more. Did I say that chemo sucks?

Then there is the fact that one of the chemo drugs, Taxotere, burned my hands and feet to the point that I lost several of my toenails and all my fingernails "lifted" from the nail beds. My hands burned and peeled and burned and peeled all through the final 4 rounds of chemo. And each time, they would swell and be so sore I could not hold an ink pen for grading papers or even begin to button my own clothes.

This is where the part about my wonderful husband comes in. Rusty stayed by my side night and day! When I had the surgery and was unable to lie flat in the bed to sleep, he slept sitting up in a recliner just like I did. He went to every single doctor's appointment that I had. He took notes, asked questions, filed insurance claims, fixed soup and crackers. He brought water and medicines (every 4 hours) for the four days following each of the 8 treatments. He did the laundry, the grocery shopping, the cooking! He made sure that all the forms that is the paper trail of a senior year for our daughter were completed and turned in. He made sure that her college application and her FASFA applications were submitted on time. He did it all!

When we said our vows 25 years ago we did not know what "for better or worse, in sickness and in health" could possibly hold in store for us. I am thankful that when he took the vow, he meant it.

Now, to sum this up, I say all that to say this. This year, when November 27, rolls around and we sit around the table to reflect upon the things we have to be grateful for, topping the list will be: my God who comforted me in the darkest and lonliest hours; my husband who stood faithfully by my side; my daughter who grew in strength and character; my friends and family who fixed meals, shaved their heads, dressed in pink, graded papers, cleaned my house, encouraged and supported; my medical team who guided me and cheered me on.

I am thankful for life. I am thankful for prayer. I am thankful for healing. I am thankful for peace. I am thankful for science and technology. I am thankful for returning strength. I am thankful for returning fingernails and toenails. I am thankful for hair regrowth...slower and thinner than I ever thought possible, but still, it's growing--and for that I'm thankful. I'm thankful for the appreciation my entire family has now for "family". That word means more to us than I could ever possibly explain! I'm thankful that last year is behind us. I am just so thankful to be getting over it!

Chemo Round #6

So have I really not blogged anything since December 10????

Well, let's suffice it to say that I have started chemo! In fact I began on December 27 with round #1 and as of yesterday, round #6 is behind me. So I guess I've been neglectful getting anything posted here. However, if you're just gnashing at the bits to find out details and whatnot, you can visit my space and read the blogs there. I had really thought that I was cutting and pasting over to here (at least on a couple of them) and posting them here as well. Oh well.

Let me just say that God is so good and even though there have been some set backs and some rough spots here and there, the Prayers of his wonderful people and His answers to them are more than enough! We're getting through. A specific request at this time would be to pray against any hand and feet reactions to the new drugs that I'm on. Thanks!

Love and prayers!

♥Momma Kay

Update on the Cancer Fighting Front

First off, let me say thanks to those who have been helping me pray through these steps toward battling cancer. God is hearing and is answering!

We saw the surgeon today and just as we had been praying, God began drying up the drainage that was seeping out my side through the tubes and into a bulb. It has been hitting right at 100cc every 24 hours. I requested prayer specifically that it would begin to dry up because I knew it had to slow way down from that for the surgeon to even consider removing the tubes.

A couple of times today I checked on it and I knew that it was draining way, WAY slower. I just didn't know if it was slow enough!

We went to the surgeon to have the 32 staples taken out of my chest (thanks for counting, Lauren). The nurse looked at the amount of drainage and said she doubted if he would allow the tubes to be removed. Then the doctor came in, took one glance at it and asked when it had been emptied last. We told him 2:00 on Sunday. ...so it had been 26 hours, and without even blinking he said, "Get it out of there...let's go ahead and get it on out." Wooo-hooo!!!

This is such a tremendous blessing to me because of the whole I can't move any direction without feeling like I was being pinched in the tender area on my side about 8 inches below my arm-pit...a very literal pain in the side!!

I won't lie...it hurt like crazee having those things pulled out because there were 12"-16" on each one embedded into my chest. The nurse said, "I'm going to do these one at a time and when I get hold of each one, we're going to go fast...just hold your breath...Ready? Here's the first one, let's go!"

I did have to fight back tears. I squeezed Rusty's hand hard and he wiped the sweat on my fore-head. I let my breath out right when she said, "Here we go with the second one...stay strong!" Yeee-owww--cccchhhhh!!!

But, praise God, they are out! I'd appreciate your prayers that all the drainage in the chest would just go ahead and just dry up so that it won't collect into a pool internally. If it did, it will get really sore and also runs the risk of infection....which they would end up having to drain off with a needle. Now don't get me wrong...I've prayed all along that God would give me the grace to deal with whatever today held. ...even if it meant the tubes needed to stay in longer...so I'm not doubting now...just soliciting the added prayer coverage.

I do feel like a dog off a leash!!! Life is sooooo much easier without the drainage tubes! I'm looking forward to lying all the way down tonight to sleep! Yippee!!!

And the surgeon said he needed to see me again...are you ready for this??.... in SIX MONTHS!!!

Thanks for the prayers, y'all! And keep 'em coming!!

Humbly,

Momma Kay

Well, as most of you who know me well enough to even be interested in reading this already know...I've got breast cancer. CORRECTION: I HAD breast cancer. As of Monday, Nov. 26, the surgical team completely removed the left breast and the 'axilla' (fleshy part of your armpit that houses your lymph nodes). Therefore, I no longer have any breast cancer in me. What I still MAY have however, are the cells floating through my blood stream, particularly around the axilla that can cause it to come back fairly soon. Because of this, I'm fighting back with chemo and radiation. The chemo purges the bloodstream of cancer cells and the radiation zaps the area around the axilla. So the area where it was gets a double whammie...the chemo and the radiation, while the rest of the body gets the chemo.

We go tomorrow to see the the oncologist (chemo doctor) to determine when the chemo will start and to find out who my radiation doctor will be and when it is that I will meet him for the first time. I may have a consultation with him (radiation doctor) fairly soon, but it won't be for the purpose of receiving radiation...not for a while. The chemo is first. And more than likely, I will not be finished with that until the end of April.

So as you can see, there is a long haul ahead of us. We have been able to stay strong because of all the prayers of people like you. I've received prayer cards from Louisianna, Texas, Florida, and South Carolina not to mention Tennessee. So, we know that there are people praying. I've yet to go through a single day since being diagnosed and not be told at least 5 times, "We're praying for you and your family." Those words are so empowering.

If you are one of the ones doing that, don't be surprised if we come to your mind at the oddest times. When ever we do, please stop and pray. Here's why...when we have one of our "moments" (what we call it when things get so overwhelming that all we can do is feel helpless and cry) we stop then and there and pray asking God to start an intercessor (praying person) to praying for us. Even during the night, we've asked God to wake up intercessors to pray for us. So if you happen to wake up in the middle of the night with us on your mind, for seemingly no reason at all, now you know why. Please stop and whisper a prayer because at that particular time, we are needing strength, reassurance, peace, and/or comfort.

So for all of you who say over and over, "If there is anything I can do for you..." now you know what it is. Stop, drop and pray!

This is absolutely no fun at all. Each of us would much rather be on our happy little trail to Christmas break, winter, spring, breaks, Allie's prom, graduation, recitals, concerts, etc....but there's no denying we now have this interruption in our lives. However, it is not the worst.

We have much to be thankful for! We have been surrounded by so much love and support....it is overwhelming...even more so than the dread disease we are fighting. I had a friend say "Why you?!? Of all people, why you?"

Well, to that all I can say is "Why not me?" I have a strong faith in God. I've seen Him heal people and bring them through cancers much worse than mine. I've got a husband who will not turn and run just because things are rough or because I'm now flat-chested on one side with staples running from my breast bone to my arm-pit! He has barely even left my side...not just since the surgery, but since the diagnosis. He is constantly there. And even when he happens to be in the other room, he hollers to wherever I am and checks on me. I have a wonderful daughter who has offered to give up her Europe plans and other things thinking that we'd need the money more for me now than her... and who is being a great 'team-player' for our family right now. Things that used to be taken for granted no longer are...she has rubbed my back, wiped my tears, fanned my over-heated neck...anything at all to try and make me more comfortable! I have a great job that is still going to be there no matter how many days I have to take off for surgery, doctor's appointments, chemo, etc. I have a wonderful major medical insurance plan that is taking care of nearly all our expenses. I've got a cancer insurance policy that will do far more than just 'take care of the rest'. I've had family who came and helped clean my house well enough that I'd let pretty much anybody in who wanted to come and visit. (something that I would not have done before) I have a 'small-group' of high school girls, who came and pitched in to get the rest of it done when the family had to go home. I have a church family who all wore pink on the same Sunday just to show us how they were behind us. And they've cooked and cooked and cooked. They came and sat with Rusty and Allie during my surgery. They've called and called.

Breast cancer sucks, but it is not the worst. I have never felt more loved. I am blessed beyond the curse...struck down??? Maybe. But definitely not destroyed!!!

I can't wait to be on the other side of this...stronger than ever...celebrating how wonderful God is and how He is perfectly able to heal those who call on Him.

Thank you forever and ever for your prayers for us! It is not easy. Not by a long shot! It is hard on me...but I think it is even harder on Rusty and Allie. And we are only in the beginning part of it. So your continued prayers and support are appreciated more than my little blog could ever express.

Gratefully,

?Momma Kay

People and Prayers

So last week, I made an appointment for Monday (10-22-07) of this week to have a yearly girl check up. I wasn't looking forward to it, but knew I needed to not wait until Christmas break to schedule it (which is what I usually do so I don't have to take sick days from work). I knew that I needed to get in sooner rather than later. And while this may make you blush, don't worry about it cause I'm not lookin at you. There've been some definite weird things going on with the ol' left boob. Yep, I said it, left boob. So I went ahead and scheduled. So the nurse practitioner who was checking things out also checked that out. That was 7:30 Monday. It is now 5:50 p.m. on Wednesday. Since then, things have sorta been a whirlwind!! The doc's office set up a same day mammogram and I went in @ 2:00 on Monday and had that tended to. (hurts like heck, I must say!!) Following that, they had me to change rooms and have an ultrasound. Then back for another mammogram cause the first five weren't very clear. So anyways, they didn't like what they saw and scheduled me for a breast biopsy today.

Now I'm no mental heavy weight, but I do know that I'm at a certain risk for breast cancer because of the fact that my twin sister has battled it.

That being said and the fact that all my mammograms in the past ended with a pat on the back and a "We'll see you in a year," and these being anything but that, it's enough to put anyone on edge!!!

We immediately set people to praying for us. We (my hubby, Rusty and me) came home and while I took phone calls he broke the news to Allie, our 17 year old. I won't lie, this has all the potential to be a completely scarey situation!! However, we 3 embraced and wept on the couch pouring out our own fears and comforting each other in theirs. Then the neatest thing happened. I looked up the Bible verse in James that talks about anointing with oil and praying. I have oil, I keep it just for that purpose. Well, my husband and my daughter anointed me and began praying.

The word has spread like wildfire. We've chosen not to keep any of it quiet whatsoever for privacy sake or for any other reason. NO THANK YOU!! Who wants privacy? Not me!!! I want prayers!!!!

Anyway, this morning was the biopsy. Now I'm the type to be a nervous wreck going into any unknown situation. This morning, however, I knew that tons of people were praying, some called, some stopped by before hand, some sent texts and so on. So I knew the prayers were there. When we go there, the folks would not allow Rusty to go back with me. Bummer!!! I began to get worried about getting nervous and not having him to rely on for strength. Then it occurred to me...so many people are praying for you and "I" am your strength. Whoosh!!! Peace came all over me and I was not the least bit nervous.

Aside from all that, I had the opportunity to chat with the technologist and found out that she is in fact a person of faith. Cool!! Her name is Tosha. The doc's name is Dr. McCorvy...she's on loan from a breast center in KY because one of the doctors here is out for 3 weeks and they were very short-staffed. Turns out that Dr. McCorvy is also a person of faith. Cool again!!! I shared with them both that there were folks praying for them. They thought I meant me. I explained, no they're praying for you, too. Coolness all over again!!!

Bottom line is, though they went in the side of an already sore boob-wah, and dug in to the middle of it (literally) with needles and a cutting/routing device, I felt no pain whatsoever! I'm absolutely not kidding one dern bit!! They asked continually if I was doing okay. The answer was a firm yes every time they asked. I was expecting way worse. I had people telling me of way worse. I know that this went this smoothly because of all the prayers. There was some difficulty getting the bleeding to stop when it was all done and over with...not surprising. I bleed fairly easily. One funny thing happened when they got ready to place the bandage on because they thought the bleeding was stopped. It wasn't. It was beginning to set up a hematoma under the skin and when she pressed to put the bandage on, the blood shot across the room. She squealed and I got tickled. I don't know why...it just looked like something out of a movie or something...or discovery health. I don't know...it was just funny to me. Anyway, it finally stopped, she finally got the bandage on, and 2 hours later, we were out of there.

Now I won't lie. The numbing agent is wearing off, and I'm sore. That's true. But I'm doing the ice-pack thing and I'm popping the tylenol like they said to do, so it's all going to be okay.

I will not get results until Monday afternoon, so if you all would just continue with the prayers, I'd sure appreciate it...not only for myself, but for Rusty and Allie as well. I know they really don't want to show me how scared they are. .. but I know... I know because I know how scared I'd be if it were one of them instead of me.

It's overwhelming how calm you can be when people are praying you through a storm.

I want to express a big thanks to all you who are praying. And I especially want to express a big thanks to Corrie, Deena, Denira, and Jarrett who have done an absolutely fabulous job of keeping Allie busy.

I love you beyond measure!! And I'm thanking God for each one of you in my life!
♥Momma Kay

Family and Friends

So in my 'about me' I definitely referred to how important my family and friends are to me. I seem to have an ever increasing number of them! And the other ever-increasing factor is my affection toward and appreciation of them. I love my family! It's amazing to me that I've been married to the same wonderful man for over 24 years! I am so proud of him and his spiritual journey. He is a man of integrity who is deeply devoted to God and to our family. He is without a doubt the wisest person I know. My prayer for our 'younger couple friends' is that they will always have the joy in their marriages that we have had in ours...that they will keep Christ as the rock of marriage and that they will continue to love and respect one another the whole journey!



Then there is Allie, our daughter and her 'boy' Jarrett! They are completely awesome together. Their relationship has been at least 2 years (if not longer) in the making and it has been rocky. But God definitely has made a way for them and they are solid. They compliment one another perfectly...make each other laugh, hold one another accountable, and besides that, they are just plain ol' cute together! What a blessing it is to see them serve alongside one another. Who knows what God has in store for them. I don't know, but I think I have a pretty good idea!

















And how about Bobby and Denira! Jarrett's bro and sis-in-law! No words could ever explain how much we adore and respect them! Same for so many others! Oh heck! Lemme just go ahead and splat their mugs across here. Obviously if I'm blogging them it's cuz they mean a lot to me!!




























And this photo hunt is taking forever....I'm going to have to come back and edit it in.

Rainbows and Promises

So I'm new to all this and yet I feel so compelled to get on board with it. I am a Sistuh in the Faith! And just because we are called to believe in and submit our lives to Jesus Christ and just because we have enough faith we're certain that we could walk on water if charged with such a task, that doesn't mean that we never struggle. I have faith ...a firm foundation of faith in Jesus Christ. Yet, I must confess that there has been an ongoing struggle for quite some time. And I am not alone. The really neat thing is that all through this struggle each person who is paddling alongside me has received his/her own specific reassurances and promises. How cool is that? Our God deals with each one of us accordingly...on a very personal, very intimate one-on-one basis!! I sat through a difficult meeting last night wondering why I was even there. It was by far one of the hardest things I ever done in my life...sitting there and trying my best to represent well not only folks that I love, but folks that I love who are on two different sides of the same coin. Man, I tell you, it was difficult! I started to not even go at all just as a way of avoiding the conflict. I knew that my inaction would bring great disappointment ... from myself and from others. So I tried to just 'suck it up' and go. At one point I considered walking out... thinking though, 'What kind of message is that going to send and what kind of confusion will that create!?' So I stuck it out. And it was hard!!!! I want to always do what's right. I don't mind at all doing what's right. Where my struggle is are the times when everything is so gray, you can't see where the right is and where the wrong is to even be able to figure out which one you're doing. Last night, there was gray all over the place! As I laid down though with thoughts from that meeting swirling through my head, I asked God what He thought about it. He reassured me that my integrity was in tact. WHEW!!! He reminded me of things that I could have said that I did not...which was good! He reminded me of things that were put on the table by others, so that I didn't even have to bring them up. He reminded me of where I had hung in there and stuck up for and supported an opposing view, even when it was difficult to support. And I drifted off to sleep. I slept like a rock!!! Then this morning, the greatest blessing of all. I received a random phone call that said, "Go outside your front door and just look!" So I did. There right in front of me was the most vivid, fullest, most beautiful rainbow that I have seen in ages! In fact, I think the last one that I saw that was that beautiful was while on a mission trip in New York. We took a day for sight seeing and visited Niagra Falls. The mist from the falls keeps a constant rainbow set above the falls...well except for when it's dark. In my heart this morning, I claimed that rainbow as my very own!! It is my promise that He has not nor will He forsake me...it was my reassurance that He was pleased and that the storm is passing. I can see the light that is coming for the heart that holds on...there will be an end to these troubles but until that day comes...still I will praise You...still I will praise You...still I will praise You...STILL I WILL PRAISE YOU!! I love it that He never lets go!!