Feels Like I'm Forever Saying Goodbye...

First off I just want to thank you all for such caring words on my last post! I have not had any more episodes as bad as that one was, just my *normal* increased heart rate and occasional palpitations. My shakiness has been back to normal, no more violent shaking like I had last week. I do intend on going in to the Dr to get a full work up physical done. I realized that I am also having hot flashes ALOT! Now I am way to young for any meno*crap* so I'm not really sure what to think of this, other than maybe high blood pressure causing it?!

WARNING~ Long, tear stained post....

I recently shard with you about my dear friend Terry and well I come with sad news to say that Terry is no longer with us...He passed away this past Friday night. It really is an amazing story that I of course must share, I'd better go grab me some tissues...

Last Thursday we got word from the Dr's that Terry's body was starting to shut down so to expect him to pass before the weekend was over. Friday night of course we had Friday Night Football and it was the Fall Homecoming game and J was stoked! My momma obviously didn't come to the game as she has literally spent almost all of her time outside of work with Terry. So as I got ready to head out for the game Friday night I knew I needed to stock tissues in my purse as I just felt this was going to be the time. I was sitting up in the bleachers watching the team get ready and I got a text from my momma that Terry's oxygen level was down to 44%, I instantly teared up but pushed through just praying for him and watching the team prepare.

The opposing team won the coin toss and chose to receive 2nd half so they started the game kicking the ball to our team. J is always out during the kickoff but is usually blocking as a senior boy is usually the one who catches and runs it. But this night as I watched the ball fly through the air I realized it was heading straight for J and I kind of panicked! My first thought was being worried for him running with that many kids trying to get him down LOL! Not that he doesn't get tackled in other plays but this seems especially harder with them already running full throttle! Then my next thought was OH get the camera up to shoot! So down comes the ball and YES he catches it~!! I got my camera up and started shooting! He caught the ball at the 20 yard line and started running, he almost got tackled but another player did a nice block and J cut back and shot through the gap and took off! He was running SO fast and the crowd was roaring; screaming for him! I was screaming, my MIL and FIL and SIL were all around me screaming (Hubby works the chain gang so he's right down on the side line)! And a kid dives for J but he manages to shake his fingers from his shoulders and keeps running! He ran and ran all the way to the 7 yd line!!! Then he was tackled right at his ankles, barely got him! He almost made a touchdown, but I was jumping up and down screaming and SO excited that my boy just ran that! And it was strange as I was shooting the pictures when he was running past where I was sitting the sun was so bright coming through my viewfinder that I had to put my camera down, then at some point I picked it back up and snapped a shot right after he got back up with the ball. I had tears welling up in my eyes and knew I had to text my momma right away and tell her but I knew in the instant that I had the feeling to send her the message that she would tell me back that Terry was gone...So I sent her the message and she text me back "That is awesome! Sis, Terry just passed, his pain is over"....OH the sadness that hit my heart was like a 2 ton brick...I just broke down in tears, my SIL put her arms around me and covered my face for me and I just cried. I knew in that instant that God was giving me some kind of gift with that run and the light coming through. It was the strangest thing ever! I text my momma back and told her that it seemed Terry had passed at the same time J was making his run, in true Terry style. My momma agreed that it was a gift indeed.

When I got home and went through the pictures I got to the set when he was in front of me and J was literally barely visible through the light that filled the picture, it was blinding. I enhanced the picture so it's more saturated now and J is viewable.

After the tackle!

Saturday night my momma and her friends and I all got together to have some wine and share memories of Terry. Just kind of a grieving time for us all to be together. I went early with my momma and we had dinner and did some shopping and then went to our friend's house. During our time of talking about everything I found out the exact details of Terry's passing which truly left me amazed...

My momma had sent me that message that his oxygen was so low and his breathing became very violent and so sad to watch so her and Terry's daughter and his ex-wife (whom he was still great friends with) all took their turns telling Terry that it was okay to leave now, they wanted him to be free from the pain and they would be okay. His daughter who is 19 yrs old struggled so hard to say those words to her daddy but she did it for him. The nurse was in the room checking his vitals right after his daughter said her goodbye's and he flatlined, the nurse said "that's it, he is gone" then they all started sobbing hysterically and within a minute or so Terry very suddenly gasped for breath and his heart started again...The nurse was SHOCKED, she said she had never seen anything like that, but his breathing was very hard and difficult for him so they knew that he had fought his way back because they were so sad. So they then all took their turns again telling him it was going to be okay, they did not want him hurting anymore and to go meet Jesus, this went on for 10 minutes and he left again for the last time...

At that precise time my J was running the ball and that bright light blinded me, one of our other friends was driving to the hospital to be with Terry and she was blinded by this strangest light, just like I was. She described it to me as I was describing it to her and we both were at a loss and just new it was beautiful and blinding. All of this time that Terry has been sick he and I both believed that he would be healed. When he got the diagnosis back in May of the metastatic disease he told me "this will not kill me, I will beat it". I was so upset and sad that he was not cured, that he was no longer with us! I wanted him healed!!! 

It was told to my momma by the nurse at the hospital that our body does what they call "modeling" when it is shutting down. Which explained his hands being purple Friday morning, see *modeling* is when the heart shuts off blood flow to the "non-important" areas of the body to protect the main organs while your body is shutting down. Even your brain, the last to go is the heart which explains why you seek God with your heart and not your brain because the heart is the strongest. One of our friends said she too was so upset because she too believed he was going to be healed and then another one of our friends said that's what we're missing. God didn't lead us astray in our thinking, he told us Terry would be healed but we just assumed it was healed HERE with us...But it wasn't that way, he was healed through Jesus in Heaven...WOW that was an eye opener!! So while we grieve the loss of our friend we are most thankful that he is HEALED and no longer feels the pain.

Terry a wonderful friend who will always be missed...

Today we buried our friend and he will be terribly missed! It was so funny to hear how many different people said one of their favorite things about Terry was his hugs! We all thought that but didn't know the other thought that LOL! He was a gentle giant, one of a kind that's for sure...

With a Sad, Heavy Heart and Tear FIlled Eyes...

I have had so many friends and loved ones fight different battles with cancer that I am just so sick of losing people to this nasty disease! I think the majority of us has all lost someone to cancer and how I wish that wasn't the case. A very close friend of my family's is fighting a terrible battle with Metastatic Melanoma. I used to work for a cancer center and it was a common thought among those highly educated with the different diseases that Metastatic Melanoma would be one of the worst cancer's to have.

Terry has worked with my mother for probably somewhere around 20 years and is such a superb man. I actually in recent years have secretly (well and not so secretly LOL) hoped he and my mom would date! He is just such a neat guy and pretty much one of the most amazing guys ever! So about a year ago he was diagnosed with Melanoma and he had removed it but for some reason his Dr didn't see it necessary to undergo any further treatment. I wasn't very happy with that answer but he trusted his Dr...Then about 4 months ago he called his Dr's office because he had a mass growing out of his shoulder, their response to him was "it would be best for everyone involved if he would just wait to see the Dr at your re-check appt that is coming up"...I was floored!! I mean seriously I cannot believe they would say something like that to a patient! So he obliged and when he was seen they sent him in for some further testing and was then diagnosed with the Metastatic disease. Terry was very optimistic and very adamant that he was beating this thing, it would not kill him. Then his knees started to hurt within a week of finding out and he was then sent in again and was found to have the metastasies in both knees. The Dr gave Terry the treatment options of going to a specialist hospital in TX or staying local and doing a chemo/radiation combo, when Terry asked him if he would benefit from going to the clinic the Dr told him no he would treat him the same here! WHAT?! NO YOU WON'T!!! I was SO upset, I talked with my mom at length about it and why he should go and she truly tried to convince him to do it but he "trusted his Dr". So he stayed and started the treatments and continued to have intense pain in both knees, at the wedding I shot back in May he was just a couple of weeks into diagnosis and he could barely walk!

This continued over the next few months, I cannot even tell you the number of times I have felt like his level of care was well below standard as far as the Dr's reactions and performance. The combination of chemo drugs that he was on was a standard treatment but there were a couple of other immunotherapy drugs that he should have been on to ward off any new cell growth and he was not put on it. He also needed blood transfusion due to low white counts and the Dr failed to order that as well. Terry continued to work even when he could barely walk, he was in so much pain that the meds weren't even touching it! Finally last week he was told that he needed to go on disability because they were needing to put him on a Morphine and Oxycontin mix to try and control the pain. Still he found no relief, so they ordered a CT scan to "investigate" the pain. Wednesday afternoon he was told they could no longer treat him and he needed to contact Hospice care...The cancer had spread from his knees up into his hips and had literally eaten through his hip bone to the point that it was nearly fractured. Let me just add here that Terry is 6'5 and built pretty solid so that was a huge blow! They also basically said the cancer has spread to multiple areas but didn't name anything specific. I was devastated when I received the call, this man that I want so badly to beat this disease is losing this battle at a rapid speed! I had held out hope and faith from the beginning that he would be spared and he would have a heck of a testimony to share. I wanted so badly for him to be okay, I don't know why but this saddens me to the point that it physically hurts! You all know my dad is no longer with me and somehow I guess I hoped he would fill that hole. Terry is SO great with my kiddo's, he loves to watch DD ride and thinks J is a super young man, so much of how my dad was.

I guess I started losing hope really about a month ago after I got a phone call from my mama saying she had a HUGE secret that I could not share with anyone!!! Big time, like I think she threatened my life LOL! But Terry told her she could share the news with me and ME only! He had been praying that if he was going to die from this battle with cancer that he win some money so he could pay off his debts and not leave his 19 yr old daughter with any financial trouble *insert tears*, well he did it...He played Keno and won $100,000...My momma was so happy for him but she said "I was heartbroken inside when he told me because that means he's going to die"...So after he paid taxes he walked away with $70,000 and paid his debts clean.

Terry had one wish to fulfill this weekend before this disease completely took over and that was to go to a local fair and watch an annual rodeo that DD runs in every year. He has grown up around this town and has never missed one yet. It would be his last time to see her run and he and my momma and their friends had it planned out that they were getting a wheelchair from another friend and they would wheel him up there. Well when Hospice came out on Friday they decided that they would just get him a wheelchair so they left and returned with it and Terry was in the chair with his roommate and roommates wife along with the Hospice RN and he went to adjust his position in the chair and Mike (the roommate) heard a terrible pop then Terry was in TERRIBLE pain so the RN immediately called 911...He broke that hip, the one the cancer killed. WHY?! I don't get why he couldn't have had just one last thing to make him smile....So Terry lies right now in a hospital bed waiting for Monday morning for his Oncologist to decide if he should have surgery and have a pin put in or not. Apparently the Dr told him at his appt last week that if they operated the cancer *could* spread. Which is true but the other choice would be to be bed ridden until he dies, so what is the lesser of two evils?!

My sweet J came up with an idea for DD to paint TT in a heart on her horse for the rodeo Saturday night as a tribute to Terry and we would of course record it and take it to show him. DD was thrilled with this idea but was having a case of nerves Saturday morning and started saying maybe she didn't want to run because Krissy had been off so long and they'd only been practicing for 4 days. I said to her that it was her choice but if she didn't she wouldn't be able to pay that tribute to Terry so she said YES she wanted to do it!

*And yes my artistry skills leave alot to be desired!!

So Saturday night we headed out for the rodeo with awesome friends and family to support her (my momma stayed with Terry) and my Hubby said she was a ball of nerves before her run. See last year at this rodeo was the one where she did the 360 spins off Pete and crashed into barrel 2 with her back and head. BUT she has been back there to a fun show on Krissy and did really well...So anyhow the Hubby says she was grunting and making all sorts of noises trying to get her nerves out LOL! But she came in shining like a star and ran that pattern! It wasn't a perfect run but it was clean and my family and friends were hollering for her, it literally brought tears to my eyes...I was SO very proud of her and she was proud too...I took a picture of her and Krissy before the run and sent it to my momma who showed it to Terry and he just loved it!

So now we wait, wait and see what the Dr will say. And we pray, pray alot...

DD's Tribute run

A Promise is a Promise....And I Always Keep My Word!!

About a week ago Rachel over at "Once Upon A Miracle" posted a "True Story Tuesday" post about "Glamour Shots", oh yes you remember the place....Right?! I mean everyone went there didn't they? Or was that just me...and Rachel of course... Well in case you don't know Glamour Shots was a place you went and got those GLAMOROUS pictures taken.... *I'll just put this in Rachel's words* "The ones that make 14-year olds look like 21-year olds, and 65-year olds look like… well… like some really mature kids trying on makeup for the first time". BAHAHAHA LOL!!! SO True!

So Rach and I had a little discussion about this and vowed if she would I would...Post those pictures...Oh yeah, she did it! Here is Rachel's Link to "The Glamour Shot Promise", or you can click on the Glamour Shot button on my side bar! Thanks Shana!

So just how did my Glamour Shots session come about? Well a dear friend of mine had them done and then purchased a gift certificate for me to do some as well! So that I did after Christmas in 1993, I was all of 15 years old! So here they are without further ado!!



OH and I should mention that my Hubby carried these 2 pictures of me in his wallet until they were almost unrecognizable LOL!!




Yep that's me in all my GLAMOUR glory!!!! Now come on if you have some of these shots link up and share them with us!!

Prayer Warriors I Need You!!!

Okay Friends and Family, I once again come to you with a prayer request for a dear family friend...I will do my very best to explain the need without identifying the family as they are seeking for privacy right now...

This family is great!! They have wonderful children and mom and dad are wonderful people as well. At a recent routine checkup appt for dad he requested a CT scan to have a clear mind from a previous illness, basically he wanted to be sure it was all gone and he would continue to be OK...Well in that scan that got some discouraging news that there is a mass in his chest so after a couple attempts they were finally able to get a specimen to send off for pathology... They have been waiting and waiting for these results, of course mom is having more anxiety waiting as we women tend to worry and dad is seemingly doing well..Today they received a preliminary report and they believe it to be Large Cell Lymphoma...They do not know what type as of yet but the specimen has been sent to Mayo for full testing and hopefully they will get news next week. So please everyone I beg of you to pray for this family, my friends... I know I am not giving you very much to go off of but God knows and lets surround this family with so many prayers that they will feel the love!!!

Thank you all!!

We Had a Great Grand Opening & I Got to See 2 Fellow Bloggers!!!

Saturday the 28th was the Grand Opening for my store "The Rhinestone Cowgirls"!! My SIL and I were very excited and my wonderful Mom came to town Friday and stayed to help all day Saturday, she was such a blessing to have there with me!! We opened our doors promptly at 9am and our first 2 visitors were none other than Paula from Broken Y Ranch, and Leslie from Cow Pies & Mud Pies!! I was SO excited to see them!!! Paula and I have met before, we actually knew each other through church friends before I ever found her blog or she found mine and it took us a bit to figure out that we knew one another LOL!!! And I got to see her at a local rodeo over the summer!! Leslie I had not met before, but I tell ya I felt like I had known her for years!!! These gals are such a BLAST to be around, I had so much fun with them in the shop!! We are going to take a little road trip to OKC sometime and I am just thrilled about it!! I have to say one of the funniest things that happened while they were there but I didn't even know it until that evening. My Hubby and son J were running some last minute errands for me so they came in and I hollered at J to come in so I could introduce him to the girls, cause I am just so darn proud of him!!! My DD was not there as she was over hanging out with her cousin. So later that night the Hubby says to me "so were the 2 ladies that were there first this morning your blog friends"? I said "OH yes that was Paula and Leslie" he says "yeah I figured that out as I stood in the other room and you introduced everyone but me"!!! I said "OHHH *really* I did that"?!?! He says "yep, you called for J and asked if DD was with us but never asked me to come in"? I CANNOT believe I did that LOL!!! And the worst part is he came in and helped to take our pictures for us and I still didn't think of it!!! BAD WIFEY!!! SO Leslie and Paula I will make it a point to formally introduce you girls the next time we see you LOL!!!

Leslie & Paula, Such AWESOME ladies!!!!



Leslie, Me, & Paula!



Leslie, Me, Paula, & Jen


So the rest of the day was quite fun, we had a friend travel out to see us, and my SIL's mom came out, my Auntie, my Granny, & my Cousin came out!! And we had some great friends in town that came by. And we met some new people that we hadn't seen before!! So it was a great day, and I am very excited for the future of the store!!!

This Story Breaks my Heart!!

A few months ago I shared a story of a family that we rodeo with. At the time that I wrote that post Brett the husband/dad had been in a very bad lawn mower accident, to read that post go here. Brett has been recovering and undergoing multiple different surgeries and physical therapy's, he has really been working hard to get as back to normal as he can. His road has been long and tough and it will continue to be that way for a while. So whilst they have been trying to move on with their lives they have had another HUGE life changing event...

On September 10, 2009 Karody who is the wife/mother of the Robbins family was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma of the right breast grade 2. She has had some positive things to her type of cancer such as she tested ER/PR Positive and the HER2/neu was good (not over expressive which would be a bad thing). The ER/PR positives are good because that means she will be able to receive hormonal therapy. So her current plan of action is 5 months of chemo followed by bilateral mastectomy with immediate reconstruction and possible radiation. Karody is hoping and praying for no radiation. She is a vibrant young woman who has 2 small children. She is a barrel racer and loves riding!! She is also hoping and praying that she will be able to attend the rodeo circuit that our kids do together as it is a very big part of their lives..

So friends I ask today that you would please add this family to your prayer list. If you happen to have a prayer ring or prayer group at church please, please add the Robbins family! I can not imagine how stressed and exhausted they must be feeling.. When I talked with Karody about everything she expressed that she is focusing on getting better and being there for her family and I asked her if there was anything I could possibly do for them and she said just prayers please.

Best Friends and Lost Time

When I was a child every year on my Birthday one of my mom's lifelong Best Friends would pick me up and take me to eat or shopping just do a little something fun during the day time (see my Birthday is in the summer and my mom would be at work). I always thought to myself that it was so strange that they were best friends but yet they never saw each other! I always swore that when I grew up I wouldn't be that way!!

I have a group of girls that I have been best friends with since we were children. The longest friend I have had since kindergarten her name is Shanna and we have been best friends now for 26 years! My next best friend Trisha I have known since the third grade which means we have been friends for 23 years! Another I met in my teenage years and her name is Jamie and we have been best friends for 15 years!! So those are my main 3 Best Friends, now ask me when the last time I seen them was?!?!

Well Shanna has had a rough year and so therefore I have not seen her for over a year!! Trisha I had not seen for about 2 years!!! She has been doing great and there is really no reason for not spending more time with her other than we both have husbands and kids so we are always busy!! Jamie I actually seen a couple of weeks ago and then before that about a month ago because we had just spent a day together!! But before that it had been about 6 months!

So tonight I drove the hour to the city to see my BFF Trisha!! I was so excited to see her! I took DD with me so she could play with Trisha's girls, they have grown up together...Well more so when they were littler LOL!! So Trisha and I went to dinner and then just spent hours talking! Our relationship is this, we can go not having seen each other for forever but we always just pick right up where we left. And we do talk on the phone of course, we just don't get to visit in person often!! I had a blast with her tonight!! She has struggled with her weight ever since she had her first child over 15 yrs ago and in the last year has literally cut her pant size in half!!! NO KIDDING!!! She looks great, and it was so fun because she loved my jeans and wanted to try them on but her old brain was thinking and she wasn't sure she could fit into them....Well she put them on and they fit her great!!! I told her they looked better on her than they do me LOL!!! It was just amazing to see her transformation, she has always been beautiful but didn't feel that way while she was heavier.. So now she feels really good!!

So the lesson I learned today is that I am what I said I wouldn't be....But I do intend on changing that and making more time to have an occasional lunch or dinner with my favorite girls!!!

The Honest Scrap Award!! For me?!?!

So I have recently met a wonderful, wonderful new friend named Lins and she's over at Goodbye, Martha. we have discovered that we live in the same state and share alot of the same interests!! So cool, I love reading her blog!! And I love the comments she leaves for me!! It is so strange to me how we meet our new friends here in bloggosphere and come to love each and every one!! So I thank you Lins for my award!! I love it and I can't wait to nominate my 10!!

Here it is!! Isn't it a beauty :~)



"The Honest Scrap award comes with a caveat or two. Firstly, you have to tell your readers ten things about you they may not know, but that are true. Secondly, you have to tag 10 people with the award. Thirdly, let all the people you've given the award to know that they've gotten it (comment on their blogs or something). And finally, make sure you link back to the person who awarded you."

OK here we go...
1. I am a severe night owl...I just can't sleep when "normal" people do LOL!! I have always been a night owl, where I would like to stay up late but it has gotten really bad in the last year. Last summer my DD started having night terrors where she would get up and do random things and then just scream and cry and say she was so scared!! example: One night I hear her in my office and I go in there to find her rummaging through my drawer and when I asked her what she was doing she said "looking for a knife to kill the bad things"...And I shook her and shook her until she finally woke up and she had no clue why she was downstairs and had no clue what had happened. Well it became so frequent I started staying up until it would happen so I could catch her before she did anything, finally she said video tape it so I can see. Cause like I said she was dead asleep through these episodes..So I did and she was pretty wowed when she watched it...Then it basically just stopped, only has them once in a blue moon now...But my sleep schedule is way off now!!! Ok that one was long...sorry...

2. I am super obsessed with my feet and socks and shoes...I refuse to wear socks that aren't pristinely clean, I never go barefoot not even at home. I always wear my socks and either have slippers or shoes on...Of course except when I sleep :)

3. I am really scared for my kids to grow up...I feel like I will be lost without them!!

4. I always wanted more than 2 kids but for some reason we can't get pregnant...Well we have lost 2 pregnancies, but we have 2 kids...Strange, I always tease my Hubby and say when our daughter is grown we will get pregnant...He doesn't always laugh back :)

5. I can't drink many of the things I love like coffee, red beers, pop...My limit's are water and tea!! But I'm content with that LOL!!

6. I never imagined at this point in my life I would be so happy!! It's very surreal for me...

7. I used to think 30 yrs old was ancient...I'm 30 now, and it's definitely not ancient LOL!!

8. Because I had J so young there is a possibility that I could be a grandma sometime in my 30's *eek*, of course I pound into J's head do everything else first!!

9. I can't stand liar's, I would rather be told the ugly truth than be lied too...

10. I secretly wish I had a good singing voice because I LOVE to sing LOL!!

So there it is...10 things you may not know about me!! NOW I get to pass this award on to 10 fantastic people....All of these great ladies that I choose have great blogs, and I love their open honesty about their lives...The good, the bad, & the ugly!!

1. Paint Girl @ Adventures of the Painted Creek Farm PG, you always take the time to pop in and I love getting your comments!! They always brighten my day :) You are such a great person!! Your love towards people and animals amazes me!! Remember I often say we are alot alike LOL!!

2. Amy @ Our Daily Blessing...Life Amy, I want you to have this because the things you share with us are so vastly personal and I thank you for letting us be there for you..And you are just one heck of a woman, mother, wife and friend!!

3. Paige @ Malfunction Junction Paige, when I first found your blog I was hooked!! I love your total honesty and you just always find a way to make me LOL!!

4. BEC @ BrownEyed Cowgirls BEC, I love how you view things in life and you also always give total honesty!! Your blog is great and I'm so glad to have found you!!

5. Dusty @ Copperponyscowgirl Dusty, your words of inspiration always help me to check myself and I love how you keep it real for me!!

6. Paula @ Broken Y Ranch Paula, you are just an amazing and caring individual!! I am so glad to have met you! Well we will meet in person soon!! Since I too think we are kindred spirits!!

7. KDW @ Blackjack Land and Cattle Company KDW, I love that you are so dedicated to your church and your daughter, and I love getting to see all of her video's!! Your blog is so great to read, nothing like good country roots!!

8. The Wife @ Gizzards & Calf Fries TW, one thing is a must to say about your blog...Your pictures ROCK!! Especially when you throw us a little treat every now and then LOL!!! But serioulsy I love reading your blog and looking at your beautiful pictures!!

9. Jan @ Jan's Place Jan, I love to read about the happenings around your place!! And I love that you are such a great grandma!! Your family is extremely blessed!!

10. GP @ Musings from Montana GP, although I only connected with you recently I already LOVE your blog!! Your stories are great and you are a very deedicated woman!! And you help me think LOL!!

There are many more who deserve this award as well, but I think you ladies are the greatest!! And Lins I second the nomination you got for yours, you definitely deserve it!!

Being Thankful

I had a post all set up for today but in light of some things today I have decided to delay it till tomorrow...You know I as a person am just extremely tender hearted, to come across anything sad will stay with me for days and I will have trouble getting it out of my mind..I don't know why I am this way, I think I just have a real and deep sadness when I have to think of something bad that happened to someone. My Dad passed away 3 1/2 yrs ago and I will never get over it, I will never be done hurting but I am OK with that. I loved him soooo much, he was my rock as a child and throughout the rest of my life till he died. It is not uncommon for me to cry over something that doesn't even involve me if I find it sad... I think this is why I had such a sadness for TW with the death of her dear friend, I couldn't even imagine what that would feel like and my heart just breaks for her and her friend's family.. So The events that happened this morning just really snapped me back into reality of how quick people can be gone...

My Hubby called me about 11:00 am this morning and told me that one of our dearest friends was in a horrible accident...The minute he spoke those words my heart sank in fear that something had happened to GS.. Hubby quickly explained that he was OK, but the wreck was bad. GS was headed to a job in a town about an hour from here and he had his worker and his 2 sons with him. 1 son is really good friends with J, matter of fact he just stayed over 2 nights ago. The other son is friends with DD, they are in the same grade and we often tease her that they will end up married one day as he has always had a bit of a crush on her :)So Hubby was headed to the accident as was my BIL who was actually on the phone with GS when the accident happened.

They had stopped in a town at about the half way point for a restroom break and a soda and off they went again to the job. A few miles out of that town GS encounters a car drifting over the center line (2 lane highway) and she was not correcting so he then proceeded to drive his truck into the ditch, he was driving a Dodge Quad Cab Dually and also had a massive gooseneck flat bed trailer he was hauling. So he enters the ditch with only the driver's tires on the asphalt at this point and was hoping the lady would miss him, but she didn't...She ended up hitting his dually tires and then her car went under the trailer and the trailer came unhitched and flipped but because of the safety chains it did not break free, so the trailer lands upside down on the bed of the truck. GS's employee ran to the other vehicle and she was killed instantly...The entire top of her car had been ripped off and was wrapped around the trailer. This woman was 65 I believe, and apparently was a diabetic who had gone off of her medication and there was people looking for her everywhere but couldn't catch up with her because she was traveling across the state. There was actually a man already following the lady and was on the phone with the police when the accident happened, he had been following her cause she went blasting by him at about 70 mph and was swerving everywhere so he thought she was drunk. Upon testing with the coroner's office they determined that her blood sugars were so off she should have been in a Diabetic coma..

So I was then told that the younger boy did not put his seat belt on when they left the gas station and his dad did not know that. But the reality of this is that if GS hadn't of seen this car doing this (which he says happened in a flash) he would have been hit head on and his son who was in the middle seat would have likely been ejected from the truck...*sighs* Makes me tear up just thinking about it. I told my Hubby that they are only alive by the grace of God, every detail that happened was just so surreal and they walked away without a scratch..So today I have spent my day thanking God for the safety of my friends and praying for the family of the lady who lost her life...

Attitude of Gratitude Award!!

I have been given this award from Paint Girl over at Adventures of the Painted Creek Farm. It is the Attitude of Gratitude Award, I'm so thankful that you gave this to me Paint Girl!!!! You are such a great person and I LOVE your blog, and I'm so glad you decided to go public!

Rules of accepting and sharing this Award!

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs that show an Attitude of Gratitude.
3. Link to your nominees within your post.
4. Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received this award.
5. Share the love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for this award. Tell us how you've come to have an Attitude of Gratitude.

I of course would first nominate Paint Girl but since she has received hers I'll just say that I would nominate her too!!! I have many reason for why I would nominate Paint Girl so I'll give you a few. Paint Girl has an awesome passion for animals and she takes excellent care of ALL of her animals, she goes above and beyond what alot of other people would do. Another reason is she always has great blogs!!! I really enjoy my time to sit and read her blogs. And just one more, (I have many more but I'll share 1 more) Paint Girl is just an all around fantastic person, I think you may need to read less than 3 lines of any of her blogs and you would figure that out :) Well I made the decision a couple of months ago to start my blog. I was really unsure of how to do this and so I just started popping around and before I knew it I had some great new friends!!! I love blogging and I love reading everyone else's. You know I have found it so rewarding just to hear everyone's stories, the good the bad and whatever else they may feel!! I personally have grown from some of the life stories that I read, there are some that bring me to tears and I don't know how they withstand the heartaches they are going through. And then there are those who always keep me on my toes and full of laughter!!! I just want to thank all of you who come and read my blog, I love it and I'm so glad I made the choice to start mine!!!

1. Train Wreck I would like to say one thing about TW, her blog was one of the first ones I started reading and from the moment I read what was going on in her life my heart was so saddened.. But then again so enlightened with the things she has done through these hard times. So TW I give this to you, I know you are probably to busy to pass this on but I wanted you to have this because I think your great!!!

2. Dusty Devoe Dusty I know you have already received this but I too will add to that nomination. Dusty has been so kind to me and I really love her blogs and her copper pony is just a beauty. One thing is always for sure when you read Dusty's blog and that is there will be something in there to remind you to be thankful for everything in our lives.. So thank you Dusty for being such a great person!!!

3. Pony Girl Pony Girl to me is just an amazing person!! She has the greatest pictures with all of her stories, and she can really make you laugh your butt off!! PG (like the rest of her family blogs that I read) loves her pony and she really goes the extra mile in taking care of her horse!! He is beautiful as is she!!!

4. JamieH Jamie was one of the first followers that I had and I want to say thank you to her for helping me learn this experience!! Jamie is fantastic, she is so truthful in everything she says. She isn't one to try and hide when things are rough and I think that takes a strong person to be able to tell their troubles. So Jamie with everything you have been going through I think you deserve this award!!! Oh and did I mention she does a "Tasty Tuesdays series" and she has some great food!!! Props to you Jamie!

5. Kristen Kristen is great!!! She has one of the neatest blogs and she designs some great jewelry!! I love to read her stories and look at her pictures, they are great!! Kristen I want to thank you for popping in to my blog when I know you are soooo busy, I love your blog and I'm so glad to have found you!!

6. A Cowboy's Wife I am fairly new to W.O.W.'s blog but I gotta tell you this gal has a heart of gold!!! She has written and done some great things for her fellow blogger's and I am so glad to have found her!!! She is one heck of a hard worker and her blog's are never boring!!! She is just an all around sweet heart!!! So thank you!!

7. Paige Now this is my newest blog find, "Malfunction Junction" and I tell you this woman is amazing!!! She got me hooked on her blog from about the second line in a post!! She has the funniest and almost unbelievable stories!! She never seizes to amaze me, she is awesome, funny, and kind!! I really love her blog!!

8. Broken Y Over there at Broken Y you will meet an awesome lady!! She is a believer in Christ and she blazes it with a passion!!! She has a great blog, and is oh so dedicated to her family!!! I am so glad to have found her also!!

9. Rebekah Rebekah is a young lady that is wise beyond her years!!! She too is a strong believer in Christ and I love her heartfelt blogs!! She is a great inspiration to all!!!

10. Heather Heather is a great lady I was introduced to through a blog swap and I love reading her blogs!! She has 2 GORGEOUS kids and I love to see pictures of them on her blog. And most of the time with those pictures comes a funny story too!! I am so glad to have been hooked up with her, she is great!!!

I hope you all enjoy my nominations!!! I love so many blogs, but I thank these people for being so great!!!

Blog Swap

So I signed up on Country Girl, City Life to do her "Blog Swap"!! So today I got my swapping buddy!!! Her name is Heather and her blog is http://whatsaherakovic.blogspot.com/ I had a chance to read some of her blogs this morning and I can't wait to read more!! She seems like she'll be lots of fun, so thanks Kati!!!