The War Wages On!

I didn't want any of you to think I had succumbed to the flu.  I continue to fight and see small improvements every day.  Unfortunately, Hannah came down with it on Sunday, so I am trying to care for sick me and sick Hannah.  To top it off, Scott is away on business, so I don't even have his healthy helping hands, ugh!

I need some special prayers this week.  Several months ago, God placed a calling into my heart, a brand new ministry.  He asked me to start a group for Middle School girls to help them grow in their faith lives.  This has weighed heavy on my heart, especially since Hannah's Irish Dance interferes with our ability to have contact with our church community.

After much prayer and research, I started the ball rolling four weeks ago and began planning a Pure Freedom Retreat for a group of 10 girls here at my house for, guess when?... Yes, this weekend!  Thankfully I have an awesome co-leader who has picked up the physical prep for me this week, but I am still trying to mentally prep for this huge weekend.

We will be using the book "And the Bride Wore White" by Dannah Gresh.  Thankfully she has an amazing leader's guide that lays out the entire weekend, what a blessing!  Check out her Pure Freedom Website at www.purefreedom.org .

  













Please, please, pray that I will have the strength to give these girls an experience that will light a fire in them for Christ.  So much planning has gone into this, for God's sake, I want it to be an amazing success!  I so appreciate your support of me and know you will lend your prayers to my cause!

God bless you all!  Nancy

Not a cold, the FLU!

So, that head cold took a major turn for the worse Thursday night and a nasal swab yesterday came back positive for influenza.  I am a MESS!  I slept for 36 hours straight.

This is the worst illness I have had since my transplant, so please, say a lot of prayers for me, I really need them right now!

God bless you all!  Nancy

Did a Bomb Explode in my Head?

That was the question I woke up with this morning.  I went to bed feeling fine and woke up feeling like World War III had started in my sinuses, nose, and throat.  I know you can totally relate, who hasn't had a cold?  So, why does this seem like such a big deal to me?  Because this is, by far, the worst cold I have had since my transplant.

So, I am holed up at home, sleeping when I can, getting as many fluids in as possible, and hoping what little immune system I have will fight like he** to get my body through this!

Please say a little prayer for me.  Thanks!

She will be missed!

Whitney Fleming 
(Died February 8, 2011)

Whitney Rae Fleming, 34, passed away on February 8, 2011 after a long courageous fight with chronic lung disease. She was born January 29, 1977 in Oklahoma City, OK. She graduated from Bishop McGuinness HS in 1995 and the University of Central Oklahoma in 1999 where she was a member of the Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority and received a BS degree in Marketing. Directly out of college she was employed by SBC Communications as sale specialist. From there she was able to transition into what she loved, marketing. She began this adventure in the marketing department for Coppermark Bank before holding her final position as Marketing Coordinator for Metro Family Magazine. Her greatest passion in life was the love of her children, the “boys” as she called them. She also had a special talent for graphic layout and design and offered her skills freely to many friends and associates in designing “tweet ups” on Twitter. Whitney is preceded in death by her maternal grandparents W.D. and Quata Moss; her paternal grandparents Edgar and Jessie Wood; her uncle Dale Moss; and her HS friend and college roommate Jennifer DeCastro. She is survived by her husband, Stephen, and sons, Owen and Wyatt, of the home; her father Charles Wood, Edmond, OK; her mother and stepfather Maxie Wood Townsend and Allen Townsend, Edmond, OK; stepsisters Angela Dewey and husband Delbert, Dibble, OK and Morgan Townsend, Oklahoma City, OK; her aunts, uncles, cousins and many devoted friends. The family invites friends to a reception from 6:00 to 8:00pm on Friday, February 11th at Crawford Family Funeral Service, 610 NW 178th Street in Edmond. A service to celebrate Whitney’s life will be at 2:00pm on Saturday at Crossings Community Church with interment at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens.

Life is NOT fair!

Why would I have such a downer of a title?  Because I lost a pre-transplant friend yesterday and my heart is breaking.  Whitney, whom I have asked you to pray for, has gone to the Lord.  I know she is at peace and that her pain and suffering has passed, but I also know how much she wanted to stay here and raise her boys.  Those two little ones will grow up without a mom; it causes an ache inside me.

There are times in life that we question, "Why Lord, Why?"  He understands that reaction, and that we can't possibly understand the plans He has or how they will turn out, but He  has promised us they will be good.  In times of hurt and sorrow, we have to blindly follow, as hard as that can be.  Our faith in our loving Father cannot falter, no matter how unfair life sometimes seems.

Goodbye dear Whitney.  You were a beautiful soul on this earth and I know you will be cherished in heaven for the rest of time.  I look forward to the day that I can meet you there.

Please pray for Whitney's family, what a devastating time this is for all of them!  God bless you!  Nancy

A Feising We Will Go..

Well, we spent the weekend in Cleveland Ohio at another Irish Dance competition.  This was a tough one, with over 30 girls in Hannah's category.  Though she didn't place in the top five in most of her dances, she did get a 5th in the Slip Jig and (drum roll please) a 1st in her Hornpipe.  That is her second Novice dance she has received a 1st in, hooray!  So it was an awesome weekend!

Here she is warming up before her competitions:

The place was PACKED with people!

Look at my sweet girl's confident smile!

Scott cheated and took one picture of the girls preparing to dance.  Don't they all look beautiful?

Hannah brought her friend Emily along for moral support, she was a definite good luck charm!

Unfortunately, a blizzard attacked Cleveland while we were at the Feis and this is what we walked into as we left.  We only got about 20 miles out of Cleveland and decided we better stop and stay over.  I am really glad we did, the roads were treacherous!

Relaxing at the hotel after a LONG day!

I am exhausted and glad to have a relaxing day at home.  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

The Calm After the Storm

 I awoke this morning to sunshine.  Our entire yard was filled with crystals of snow.  A group of six young deer had ventured out into our field and were grazing on what is left of the corn field.  The word that came to mind was serene.

Following the storm of the last two days, the sunshine was a welcome change.  Yesterday was downright dreary!

Looking out the window this morning reminded me of the many storms I have experienced in my life over the last 36 years.  Some have been "storms of the century" while others have been fleeting, but no matter what kind of weather they brought, they caused stress and fear in my life.

The amazing thing, however, is that God stayed true.  No matter how hard the winds blew, the snow fell, or the hail pounded, He always brought me sunshine at the end.

If you are in the middle of a storm right now, remember God's promise to us:

For I know well the plans I have in mind for you,” says the Lord, “Plans for your welfare, not for woe!  Plans to give you a future filled with hope.  When you call to me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you.  When you look for me, you will find me.  Yes, when you seek me with all of your heart, you will find me with you," says the Lord.  Jeremiah 29: 11-14


The sunshine is always brighter and more spectacular after the darkness of a storm, just as your life will be if you trust in the Lord to guide you through.




A quick update:  My lab results are in and it does not appear as though I have any rejection or infection, Praise the Lord!  Thank you so much for your continued prayers.