Romans 12:12

December is one of my favorite months and like most people I have a list of all the fun holiday things I would like to do.

*Bake Christmas cookies & goodies for family & friends
*Go look at Christmas lights
*Take Faith to the Christmas store so we can buy a new ornament for the year (I have bought her one every year so that when she leaves the home she will have her a good collection to start with on her first tree)
* Buy gifts

*Pick a tree out and decorate it

and the list continues.....

I was especially looking forward to this Christmas with my new lungs and energy. I thought for sure I would be able to accomplish many things for my family and friends and do lots of fun things with Faith. Well I was in for quite a different Christmas and an opportunity to examine my heart. As many of you know December started out with my scary episode in AL but Praise God we were able to come home a week later and I thought,"OK, now we can enjoy the rest of the season". A week later my WHOLE family, extended family as well all got sick with the tummy virus! Just as I thought we were better and that I had some how missed this sickness I got the bug on Christmas Eve and so I spent it with Faith, Jason and the trash can. So, the next day we had to cram in seeing all of our different sides of the family and therefore just how it worked (not by choice) out we missed 2 of our Christmas dinners so by the time we got to my moms house that night we were tired, hungry and a little frizzled out. Faith had not been feeling well ALL day and was very cranky so before we headed to my moms we decided to give her some Children's Tylenol for her running nose and cough. I was in a hurry getting things together and Jason asked me the dose for her and either I said the wrong thing or he heard different I'm not sure but he gave her too much. We realized that she had been overdosed on the way to my moms house (Christmas Day night) so as soon as we walked into the house we had to call Poison Control and make sure we didn't have to make a run to the ER or something. Praise God she was fine and it did a good job of drying her up and she was in great spirits!

You always hear, Jesus is the reason for the season. But.....is he really the center of our Christmas? This is the question I had to really ask myself since everything had fallen apart and my joy seemed very slim due to all the things I wasn't able to do with Faith during the holidays and our plans constantly changing. It was as if He had allowed all the "traditional" things I do for Christmas to be stripped away and then pose the question..........Where does your joy come from?

It's not in the doing or giving of Christmas, it's not baking goodies (which I'm not good at anyway, hehe), it's not the decorations or how we spend Christmas, it's not even that I have new lungs (even though I am truly thankful!). Although all these things have reason to rejoice in, it should not be the center of my joy.

"Be joyful because you have hope. Be patient when trouble comes, and pray at all times." Romans 12:12

I read this verse Christmas morning, I can have joy because I have hope. Hope in what? In Jesus who came to earth as a baby and grew up and chose to feel and understand what it was to walk this difficult road we call life and then lay down His life for us, sinners so that we might have hope. Just as Jesus was raised from the dead we can have the same hope that for those who have trusted Christ as their Savior we too might be spiritual raised to life and live with God forever.

Like I said before it was a strange and very different Christmas yet it was a kick in the pants that I needed. To examine ones heart is never easy and most of the time I find it quite unpleasant but then sometimes we have to allow him to clean the cobwebs so the light can shine through.

Here is a look at some of our activities in December~

My sweet cousin, Jessica was able to stop by and see us when I was in the hospital the first of December. Her two cute little guys~ Lucas & Alex

I asked Jason if I could have one of these huge blow up Christmas decorations for our house and the answer was.....No! Although I really would like one of those snow machines so we could really have snow on Christmas!

Sick & pooped out on Christmas, this was the only time she would cuddle so Papa took full advantage of that!

Hayden, Callie, Tyler & Landon

Enjoying the nice crisp weather with Nana (or Nannie what Faith has changed it too)

Love my new Dora pj's that mama & daddy gave me

The new style....a onesie, shirt, head band & boots!

Tea anyone? Love to have tea parties with my new tea set

Sweet babies, our nieces~

Nan & Lily

WOW!!!

All I can say is WOW! It has been quite the ride since we have moved back home with trying to adjust to a new place again, the holidays, the scary episode in Birmingham with my health, all of our family being sick over Christmas and just finished celebrating Callie & Hayden's wedding! I look back and think how crazy yet I also am so thankful I was able to keep up and really be apart of all the activities (I could have skipped the being sick part though).

I feel like I have so much to share with everyone since my last post so I'll try to catch up a little at a time. =) Hopefully I'll have some good pictures up of the wedding and some things we have been up too the past couple of weeks. For starters I got to work on getting my Christmas stuff down, as it has been placed on the back burner with everything going on. But HEY! my Christmas tree continues to live on! Now that is a miracle! Anybody that knows me knows any living green thing that comes into my home never stands a chance to live longer then a couple of weeks....or days!

Ok, I've rambled on about nothing but I just wanted to let people know we are still here and doing well. I'll try to update more soon....Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas....from our home to yours!

No surprise the Christmas season has come up faster then I was ready.... so with many regrets I will not be sending out a formal Christmas letter this year. Please except this blog post as our Christmas greeting and hope you are enjoying the season with your loved ones. It's hard to believe it's only been a year with all the new changes in our lives yet it's been a joy to share with you all our adventures, joys, difficulties, struggles & victories!

I put together a slide show that gives you a glimpse of what 2008 looked like for us. I think I got a little carried away with the pictures but I enjoyed doing it. So enjoy watching however many you want! =)
Our lives were forever changed in 2008 when I was given the gift of "new" life. It's hard to put into words the overwhelming thankfulness my family and I have to the donor family who decided to unselfishly give someone the gift of hope in the midst of their darkest hour.

It sure has been an full 6 months filled with transplant, my mom's wedding, moving back to TX, gaining 2 new sweet nieces, Jason getting back into his job & looking forward to Callie & Hayden's wedding in January! God is faithful and we have seen His grace and miracles time and time again through our journey. Through this transplant experience I'm reminded of how God too unselfishly gave us the gift of hope. Sacrificed His son, His son that was perfect so that we might move out of the darkness and into the light. We are all in need of a spiritual donor, a Savior and Jesus is the perfect "match" for us. He bares the scares for us and we are given new life. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas celebrating our Savior and spending time with your family & friends.

Love~ Jason, Emily & Faith

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagles." Psalm 103:1-5

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

*I think we need to start a new tradition of doing January greeting cards instead of December....hmmmmm..just a thought! =)

Tis the Season......to be sick....Fa La La La

Lysol, hand sanitizer, Sprite, crackers, trash can..........what do all these have in common?

A fun weekend with the yucky tummy virus! Well, I guess Jason and Faith felt like I was having all the fun being sick so they BOTH decided to try it out. I think they both would agree it's not to much fun. I feel so bad for them! So, we have been laying low since Friday and continue the weekend theme of Pj's & sleeping.

Poor baby....it's been rough

Just to let you know I'm doing what I can to NOT catch this bug! My hands are going to be so chapped due to washing and hand sanitizing. I've been calling on my Healer to just put a shield over me and keep me healthy and strong.

Hope you all are staying well and enjoying the season!

Home Sweet Home

Well....it was quite the adventure getting home. To make a long story short neither Jason or I had our picture IDs because we got new licenses so all we had was our paper temporary license and Jason lost his temporary during our stay in AL. PLUS, I had my IVs (medicine bags more then 4oz) that had to go with me on the plane. So, to say all that we were very concerned about getting through security! I think our saving grace was that I brought our birth certificates just in case. Although we were searched high and low (all 3 of us), we were allowed to go through!!

Anyway, we are home safely and it is good to be home. Hopefully we can relax some and just enjoy the Christmas season.

A Good Word, goes along way

Sorry for not updating yesterday, my sinuses got a hold on me and I felt pretty much worthless all day. They did manage to get a PICC line in, praise God! So, I was able to get that big central line out of my neck, although my neck feels like it's been in an accident. Lord willing, the plan is get to be discharged tomorrow and leave for TX, Saturday morning. I will continue to be on IV's for a little while and I think it's going to take some time recovering from this pneumonia. I'm ready to be home with my little girl & family and enjoy my living Christmas tree while it's still living! (Thanks Cal, for keeping it alive!)

The angels brought Good News to the shepherds and I too have had a sweet "angel" Monica, my respiratory therapist who comes in every morning to bring me a good word. She is always bubbling with God's love. I'll ask her what the Lord has been speaking to her today but many times she is just quick to share the simple, strong truths of God's word and His love. When you spend any amount of time in the hospital you can see on the faces of those who are hurting, people are clinging to some kind of hope or joy. That's what Christ came to do......bring hope to those who are in despair, joy for the broken hearted, healing for those who are sick & most importantly Christ, the bridge that would bring us Home.

Thanks for sharing your family traditions! I loved them! I again, always appreciate your words of encouragement! I never knew how much support, encouragement and love I would receive being able to share my journey through a blog. Thank you!

Traditions!!!

Well, you never know what a day or night will bring and last night brought some crazy events. I got up around 3 a.m. with my head pounding and the pain so intense I thought my head was going to come off! The nurse checked my blood pressure and it was sky high at 188/116 (normal is 120/80). So over the next 6 hours they tried to bring my blood pressure down with medicine but the craziness thing about it was that standing up was really the only thing that would give me some relief. I would stand up and my pressure would drop to 100/90 but within seconds of sitting back down it would jump right back up again. So my sweet husband held me up over an hour so I could get some relief. By 9 a.m. they gave me some strong pain medicine and things were starting to level out again. Needless to say my blood pressure has been all over the place, it was way too low when I came into the hospital (68/43) to (188/116). There are a couple of reasons why it might have jumped so high-1) Dehydrated, because they gave me lots of fluids and then gave me Lascaux to remove the excess fluid off my lungs or 2) one of my ant-rejection meds is way off.
His mercies are new every morning though and praise the Lord my oxygen level has gone back up into the nineties, breathing on my own. My lungs are sounding better and my cough is getting less as well. I have felt your many prayers and I thank you so much!

OK, despite my sickness I am very excited about my favorite time of year.......CHRISTMAS!

Although we should always reflect on the birth of Christ and what an amazing gift that has been given to us, it is a great time of year to celebrate! I could name lots of things that I love about Christmas but I really enjoy the different traditions that families do together. Since Faith is getting older and starting to understand more I really want to start doing some meaningful things with her during this special time. So.......I would love for you to share some of your favorite traditions, memories, ideas or fun things you do with your families during this season.

I look forward to reading some great ideas!!! Hope you all are doing well. Love ya

6 Months!

It's hard to believe it's been 6 months since my transplant. A journey I have had to take one day, one step at a time. A journey that has had many joys and many difficulties. There has been lots of learning and I pray growing in the process. Wish I wasn't spending my 6 month anniversary in the hospital but you never know what a new day will bring. I'm so thankful for what the Lord has done though. The doctors have decided that I have a strep pneumonia as well as low on blood and my white blood count (which is suppose to fight infection) and dehydrated. I was given 2 units of blood yesterday and lots of fluids. I woke up this morning with my oxygen reading between 70-80%. (Which they have stayed in the high nineties) So, I am on oxygen to keep it up. I'm still very tired and praying for strength.

We never know when the Lord will call us home but on Friday it became very real for me and Jason as he watched. I remember looking out of the window of the chopper and seeing the beautiful sunset. It seemed so calm, so beautifully made by my Creator. I know that if my Creator can make something so amazing as a sunset that He is able to put back together my very sick, confused body. Don't get me wrong I have had my breaking moments and I just try to cling to the verse that says, "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock." Isaiah 26:3-4. Praise the Lord we have wonderful friends who are helping out with Faith although I miss her very much. Jason is holding in there well just a little torn sometimes on where he should be, with me or Faith.
*Please pray for strength, healing, hope and a steadfast in Him.
*Praise the Lord, my uncle Tom is doing OK. They believe the new stem cells are working and his immune system is getting stronger. I know he is still battling some hard things but I hope he is moving into a wonderful season of great health! Thank you for praying for him.

Let me count my blessings.......

*I'm alive
*No Rejection!
*My hubby & little girl are here.
*At a good hospital
* I still have good lungs!
*We have the most amazing friends and family, thank you!



This is just a starter list in being thankful for God's grace! It's amazing how fast life can change in one moment. I was doing good all week and then Thursday night (after the bronch) was feeling very achy and running a fever of 102.8 with Tylenol. So after I passed out at the house, Jason high decided not to wait any more and take me in. Jason had been talking to UAB on the phone letting them know what all is going on but some of these symptoms are normal after you have a bronchoscopy.. However, the ambulance did pick me up and take me to the county hospital, were they worked to stabilize me until the chopper came to air flight me to UAB.

It has been tough physically and emotionally the past few days and the night they were trying to stabilize me was very difficult for Jason to watch and for me praying this was not it! I just kept praying the Lord would give me strength to get through this and the grace to live and have more life to live.

He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he will answer you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:19-21

Thank you for yours prayers....maybe we will know more tomorrow. I'm doing better, still weak & tired and my white blood count is VERY low right now.

Saturday Afternoon Update

I just talked to Emily and she has been moved to the HTICU which is the low acute portion where Jason can stay and Faith can visit. Today has been a fairly smooth day and she has stayed stable but is recovering from a very difficult day yesterday.

She was never unresponsive but had a lot of complications as they tried numerous times to stabilize her. The ambulance team put in 3 different IVs on the way to the hospital and they ended up having to put in a central line because her veins would not work. She was also on 100% oxygen for most of the night if not all, but is breathing normal air today.

Emily is tired both physically and emotionally and is just thankful to be alive after what she experienced yesterday. I believe she and Jason both were the most scared they have ever been about what was happening and the severity of the situation. She is extremely aware and grateful for God's grace.

She is hoping to have internet access later today and if she's up to it, she might post on the blog. Please continue to keep them in your prayers. Thanks! Emily T