Thankful Thursday

This week has come with a lot of scares so I am in need of prayer for my 2 year old Zoe. She has been sick off and since the beginning of April spikeing high fevers and becoming very lethargic and refusing to eat or drink.

 
Monday it started again and I just had a feeling something was not right. So Tuesday when she woke up again with the fever I took her to the doctor and I am very Thankful that I did.
 
Her urine and blood work show some signs of possible kidney problems. We will hopefully receive more answers today from another test she had done yesterday. They could never get enough urine to culture so my poor baby had to be cathed. I am thankful that my husband took her as I don't know if I would have handled it. I needed to go to work so we o parted from the hospital and he took her back to the doctor for the cath. Her fever got up to 105.7 on Tuesday which is very scary for a mommy, as most of you know. We have spent much of the week at the doctor and hospital. I am Thankful she is feeling better. Please pray for good results and treatment to help her get well.

• So first thing I am Thankful for is Mother's instinct
• Zoe is finally started to feel better

Last night we have severe storms here in Georgia. At work we were evacuated into the Emergency Shelter a couple of times due to the tornado sirens. On my way home from work at 1:30A I could not get down the road toward my house, a HUGE tornado hit there and leveled houses, had trees in the street and power lines just hanging there. I talked to some people in the road and they said one couple who's house was leveled were inside the home but were safe.
I had to turn around and adjust my route. But as I went a different direction I found the tornado path again and there were power lines all over the road, telephone poles broken in pieces in the road, and more trees down. The tornado went right over the Fire Dept. I was able to get home but it ended up taking me 1 1/2 hours. A tornado hit my friends lake house and it is gone and their boat turned upside down in the water.

• I am extremely Thankful my family was safe. And I pray for all those who lost their homes. There were 2 fatalities in the city next to ours. I could not believe the devastation that storm left.
• I am Thankful for my mom letting Ava spend the night so she could take her to the movies today. The poor thing has been on Spring Break and has spent it at doctors. We had so much planned this week for her and I. We weren't able to do any of it. She is going to see "Hop!"

I also added some Easter pictures below because the Resurrection has been the GREATEST thing I am Thankful for this week.



I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! Blessings to you all this coming week.

CVAC Memorial Service

What broke in a man when he could bring himself to kill another? ~Alan Paton

The moment a man claims a right to control the will of a fellow being by physical force, he is at heart a slaveholder. ~Henry C. Wright, The Liberator, 7 April 1837

The CVAC (Crime Victims Advocacy Council) annual memorial event on 4/10 had to be one of the most heart wrenching things to be a part of. So many people who have lost loved one's to violent crime; whether DUI, murder, or teen violence they all have suffered tremendous losses. Family members can line up and walk up to a microphone and say who they were here for. To look into the eyes of other's who are hurting, there just aren't any words. In the Atlanta area alone 176 murders took place in 2010. With 365 days in the year every other day in Atlanta someone lost a loved one to a selfish act of violence.
We all lit candles in memory of those lost. I think I cried out a lot that I had been holding in for so long.

The 2010 Murder Wall was revealed. I looked at all the names on the wall and none of them were personal to me except my brother's. But all of those people have a story, family who mourn their loss. They have now become a statistic, just like my brother. I think that hurt the most at that time. I had to leave the room, I couldn't stand the sight of my brother's name etched in granite for so many to see not knowing who he was, his smile, his generosity, and all of the things that made him, "HIM."

 His Birthday was 4-14 and we went to the grave and sat for a while together with a few family and friends who would drop by. He is missed by many and has made a mark in a lot of lives; he will never be forgotten. I love you and miss you like crazy Brother.
A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble. ~Charles H. Spurgeon

Humbling, Honesty, I got Awards~na na na na, & One Silly Girl *Post It Note Tuesday*

 

 

 MY LOVELY AWARDS FROM A SWEETHEART AT MELODY MAE! THANK YOU FOR MAKING MY DAY~HUGS

OK SO I AM SUPPOSED TO TELL YOU 5 THINGS YOU WOULDN'T KNOW ABOUT ME. PRETTY EASY SINCE I HAVEN'T EVER MET ANYONE OF MY BLOGGING FRIENDS, MY LIFE FRIENDS MAY ALREADY KNOW BUT THIS GOES OUT TO THE WORLD OF BLOGGERS!

1. Being Tan and a new Hairdo make my day;especially the one's where I am down in the dumps

2. I paint my girls toes and nails almost everyday (literally)

3. My brother has given me a HUGE payback in my 2 year old, Zoe. Just too much alike; I am very scared. Did I mention how SCARED, Very, which could really be very x 100,000,000

4. I have a terrible habit of picking at my hair; been like that since coming out of the womb.

5. I don't believe I have actually started the "grieving process" and that frightens me

Now it's time to pass along these tremendously fantastic and utterly special awards...

1. Pineapples n Pickles

2. All Work and No Play Makes Mommy go Something Something

3. Some Kind of Wonderful

4. Love is Everywhere

5. Undeserving Grace

To all these beautiful ladies and their blogs I thank you for your inspiration.

One last thing I want to add: SNIPETS FROM AVA(5 yrs of age) 

Ava: Mommy do you know that woman over there in the white shorts *at church on Saturday*?

Mommy: I don't know Ava I can't see that far, mommy has bad eyes

Ava: You should eat more carrots then mommy



Glorious Day

Wishing everyone a blessed and Happy Easter from my family to yours! We are lucky to live in a nation where we can publically worship the King and what he sent Jesus to do for each of us. To take it for granted is like throwing away a million dollars (or whatever $ value you you think will make you happy). The ultimate gift in life is FREE, no strings attached and no family looking for payouts, it is there for us all and will replace all monetary things. It was given to us by a price paid that we, sinners, do not deserve. But God's love for his children, outpowers all that was, is, and is yet to come. Casting Crowns O'Glorious Day has become one of my favorite songs and I wanted to share it with you on the day we celebrate Jesus and the resurrection, the price that he paid before you and I ever walked this Earth.

"He IS MiNe" what a comforting and powerful truth! He has been given to us to redeem us from our sin and wipe away all the wrongs.
I found this poem...In a small book called Heaven.
I once scorned ev'ry fearful thought of death.
When it was but the end of pulse and breath,
But now my eyes have seen past the pain
There is a world that's waiting to be claimed
Earthmaker, Holy, let me now depart,
For living's such a temporary art.
And dying is but getting dressed for  God.
Our graves are merely doorways cut in sod. ~Calvin Miller

John 20:24-29
Christ's nail-scarred hands and feet in his eternal, resurrected body prove that his suffering and redemption-and the face that they were necessitated by our sins-will not be forgotten.
The departing of believing loved ones is not the end of our relationship with them, only a interruption. We have not lost them, because we know where they are.They are experiencing the joy of Christ's presence in a place so wonderful that Christ called it Paradise. And one day, we're told, we'll be brought back together in a magnificant reunion to 'be with the Lord forever. '
1 Thessalonians 4:17-18
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.



In the moment that we who are saved shall meet our several friends in heaven, we shall at once know them, and they will at once know us. (JC Ryle)
Jesus died on the cross as the only one worthy to pay the penalty for our sins demanded by the holiness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21)  God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. On the cross, he took upon himself the Hell we deserve, in order to purchase for us the Heaven we don't deserve.

I found this little quote and I devote it to my brother..."If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever" ~author unknown

It's the circle of life, and it moves us all, through despair and hope,

through faith and love, 'till we find our place, on the path unwinding. (Elton John)

Thankful Thursday

Undeserving Grace hosts this great blog hop every Thursday so we can remind ourselves of the things we are grateful for since we tend to spend much more time on the things we do not have.

Here is my Thankful List from this week:

• Zoe is finally feeling better! poor thing has been just terribly sick for over a week
• My husband who doesn't give up
• Cross my fingers but that I think I have found a sitter so my husband can go to the CVAC memorial with me~he hasn't got to go to anything that has to do with my brother's death
• Power & Electricity-after a full day of no power; you really have to be thankful for it b/c without it life can be pretty yucky~I was just not made for pioneering
• That Ava is so excited about her ABC Circus performance at school Friday! can't wait to see her
• A pretty quiet week so far

If I sat here long enough I could think of tons that I am thankful for but for now, I leave you with this...
The mind of a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." - Proverbs 16:9

CVAC

CVAC’s Annual Memorial Service will be April 10, 2011 at First Baptist Church of Decatur, beginning at 7 pm.

Our keynote speaker is Claudia A. Barnes.

Her topic will be “God Makes No Mistakes”

"I am now one of many who are members of a club we did not want to join."
Her husband was a victim of the Brian Nichols 2005 Fulton Co. Courthouse shootings. The full story can be viewed here Click Here.

March 11, 2005 began as usual for me and the love of my life, Judge Rowland W. Barnes. There was absolutely no warning that my whole life would be transformed into one of despair, heartache and utter turmoil in the matter of a few minutes. The Fulton County Courthouse assassinations of Rowland and his court reporter, Julie Brandau, along with the murders of Deputy Hoyt Teasley and Federal Agent David Wilhelm, plus many other acts of violence, changed so many lives.

It was two months later in May, on a motorcycle trip to Washington, D.C. to honor fallen peace officers, that my mind was cleared and my heart at peace. There were several times when I was asked unexpectedly to address those attending the planned events. All I could expound on was the fact that God makes no mistakes. I was asked to return the next year as a guest speaker. Having worked at the courthouse myself for 24 years, I remained at my job for another three and a half years. Every day during those last years, I had to force myself to go to the building of the crimes. God led many employees to my office, as well as visitors, who seemed to find a source of comfort in my presence. In 2006, I was asked to become a Board Member for CVAC. It's amazing what God has done through me to assist other victims in their struggle to comprehend the change of paths in their lives. He has also led me to fight for new legislation for victims, to speak out in the community, and has given me a passion to spread information to a society who knows nothing personally about the effects crime has on others.

Please join us in celebrating your loved one’s life and your continuing love for them.

C.V.A.C.

My brother will be featured on the murder wall at this Memorial Service.

I am excited to hear what other's have gone through and how they have managed to cope with their loved one's death. Their site is sponsored by Jennifer Ann's Group to STOP TEEN DATING VIOLENCE.

Sharing In The Party!

I am linking up for the ULTIMATE BLOG PARTY 2011 WITH 5 Minutes for Mom!

Hi I'm Heather! I am called many things; a child of God, wife, mommy, daughter, sister, supervisor, grandaughter, aunt, niece, Hev to my friends, well, you get the point. None of these things define who I am as a person just what label I have been given at any particular time. Most important is that I am a child of God, a Christ follower, a woman trying to abide by his Word to grow a deeper relationship with Him.
In January 2010 my life took a turn in a direction I had never imagined. It was always something you "hear" about but never can fully understand, until you are stuck right in the center of it and there just isn't a way out. On the 30th of January in 2010 my little brother (only by 15 mths but still little to me) was murdered. I fell apart but not completely because fortunate enough for me I knew enough about God's love for us. I had began my journey with Christ to truly know Him and not just about Him about a year before this happened. He is WHO has held me up, put back the pieces I lost and is still holding them together.
Some days I lose it, some days I just cry, some days I find joy and happiness, some days I can feel peace, but everyday I am reminded of what was lost. Taken so selfishly by someone who tried to be God.
I have 2 sweet and very precious daughters, Ava is 5 and Zoe is 2! They brighten my days and can also make mommy a little "you know what," trying to find that 5 minutes for myself. I have been married for 7 years this May to a wonderful man, Rob. I am learning to deal with my grief, my responsibilities as a wife and mom, my work responsibilities and continuously learning to depend upon God's strength to accomplish the things in my day. This blog was really started for me, as a way to release some of my feelings and show how God has helped me. I have met so many wonderful bloggers in the process and am so thankful for many of their encouragement and prayers.
I live in Georgia right where I grew up! I love that I am from the south but I am also interested in what the rest of this world has to offer.
So please stay, look around and if you think you will like me, I would love to get to know you!
God Bless, With Love,