Ok boys and girls. I
know I’ve been slacking on the posts lately. I’ve been busy playing referee since the kids
are out of school. It’s gone something
like this:
Try not to yell more than 10 times per day.
When bickering becomes too much, separate kids.
When separating kids doesn’t work, try not to cry.
When trying not to cry fails, lock self in bathroom.
When kids find self in bathroom, climb out window.
Ok, maybe it hasn’t been THAT bad. But there are days, people, there are days!
So, what else is new?
We got a new kitten. It never stopped meowing, and was scared to
death of Indy, our rott mix. It opted to
spend the majority of it’s time in the spare tire of every vehicle we have,
rather than to play. Then, well, it sort
of ended up going for a ride in my car, got out at the school, was found, and was
given away to a loving home before we figured out where the heck she was.
Part two of this saga is that, in a moment of weakness, we
acquired not one but TWO replacement kittens yesterday. And we weren’t even drinking. I’m not sure what happened there. As we speak, the kids are sitting at the
patio table, each with a kitten in their laps.
Their names? Drumroll, please.......
Kesha. As in, Ke$ha,
the singer/rapper of songs like Tik Tok.
and Firecracker. As
in, acquired on 4th of July.
Can you guess which kid named which cat?????? OMG.
Ke$ha. Yup. Everytime 11, my daughter, says her name, I
giggle on the inside. And sometimes on
the on the outside, too. And now you have Tik Tok stuck in your head....don't you? :)
So, while I know I’ve been slacking on updates and
silliness, there’s a reason for THIS particular update. This one is mui importante. And serious.
Some of you probably remember that, several months ago, I
shared with you some exciting news. I
had been interviewed by Shellie Nichol, founder of Hope’s Not a Crime. I was featured on her blog talk radio show,
and then she asked me to join her in a new adventure for 2014.....by becoming
one of several Ambassadors of Hope. We will be doing speaking engagements across the US, sharing our stories, spreading HOPE, and giggling as we all share good times and God. Sounds like fun, right?
Any of this ringing a bell? Well, that's not the point of this post, actually. LOL.
I feel like I need to
share with you HOW this came about. As
you know, I’ve been following Heather Brown’s story through Bringing Home the
Browns facebook page. You probably have
been, too. Over 1 million people are
watching and praying, waiting for Heather to come out of a coma and meet her
son for the first time.
Well, I noticed that Sean Brown (husband) mentioned his
interview with Hope’s Not a Crime, and started listening. Something inside of my heart just bugged
me. Nudged me. This thing, whatever it was, made me somehow
get the courage to get this chick’s email address and email her. Someone I didn’t know, after listening to
just a few minutes of one interview.
So, here I am emailing some lady I’ve never met, trying to
figure out WHY I am emailing her in the first place, and trying NOT to sound
like a complete ding dong in the process.
I shared some of my story, my journey with God, and told her I really
liked what she was doing.
From there.....well, it was just plain hilarious. Which is how God rolls when it comes to
me. He’s a funny dude.
Shellie emailed me back, got a phone number, and called me
to talk more about my story. From the
very first minute of our conversation, in just the ‘getting to know you’ phase,
there were God bombs everywhere! I said
things that spoke to her heart, completely unbeknownst to me.... and before we
knew it, we were laughing and giggling like old high school girlfriends. We wound up talking for an hour and a half
like it was 5 minutes, and have just had a great bond ever since.
Somehow, we shared the same silly sense of humor, the same
love for God, and the same goofy way of dealing with things. That God, He knows what’s up. It’s really not like me to just email someone
I don’t know, not even knowing WHY I’m emailing.....That was totally Him.
So, what does any of this have to do with you? WHY is it mui importante?
Well, here we go. The
dropping of the bomb. The spilling of
the beans.
The reason Shellie started Hope’s Not a Crime is her son,
Kody. 6 years ago, he was diagnosed with
RRP, a very rare condition that requires him to have surgery every month or
so. These surgeries are simply a
bandaid, as doctors don’t know what to do with him, how to help him, or how to
prolong his life. In these surgeries,
doctors go into his throat and clear out hundreds of raspberry like growths
that inhibit his breathing.
Unfortunately, as soon as they clear them out, they grow back. If they don’t take them out, though, he will
die.
For 6 years, this family has been enduring this, waiting......waiting.....waiting......for
the day that the other shoe would drop.
For the day that doctors would say what they had predicted years ago had
finally come.....that the RRP had gone to the lungs and become cancerous.
Filled with HOPE (since, after all, it’s NOT a crime), they
have prayed and prayed that something would turn up. An answer, an option,
something....anything.
Well, that silly ole God, He heard those prayers. Recently, He threw a physician into Shellie’s
path that actually KNOWS about RRP. He knows all about it, and is the only one
that does, apparently. Not only does he
understand it, but he has a treatment for it!
He has thoughts and ideas rolling around in his head for Kody. Things that can actually save his life,
rather than just putting a bandaid on it.
In order to become a patient, Kody had to go have some other
tests done. Those tests brought
heartbreak, though. The other shoe
dropped. The tests revealed masses in
Kody’s lungs. They looked like cancer.
This week, Kody had surgery on said lumps. We won’t know anything for a week or so. But, the bottom line is this: Whatever the tests show, one thing is OBVIOUS. Kody needs this doctor. Kody needs it sooner, not later.
The unfortunate part, and the part where you come in, is
that this doctor is in Boston. Kody is
in California. The only guy in the US
that knows what in the world is really going on with Kody, and he is on the
opposite side of the country!
And.....here’s the real kicker.....Insurance WILL NOT PAY for this. Fabulous, right?
So, Shellie is desperate to get Kody to this doctor before
RRP takes over his entire body. What was
predicted is coming true, and she is in a race against time to get to
Boston. However, she has to have the
money, first.
I’m baffled by our insurance companies, by the fact that she
can’t get treatment first and worry about paying later, and everything in
between....but don’t even get me started on that. It’s the world we live in, I suppose.
In a desperate attempt to save the life of her son, she has
set up a Fundly account. She needs to
raise $100,000 PRONTO. I know, that
number made you gag a little, right? Me
too.
So, here’s the dealio.
If, somewhere in your heart, you can find a few spare coins, go here:
You can even see Kody, himself, in a video.
If you don’t have the ability to help financially, or don’t feel
right about it just yet, you can simply PRAY FOR KODY BURNS! That God, He hears those!
Wanna get to know Shellie and her Hope’s Not a Crime ministry a
bit better first?
Wanna listen to the Hope’s Not a Crime radio show every Thursday
evening? Each one features an amazing
story of hope. The most recent one
featured makeup artist to the stars, Mally Roncal!
Please pray about it.
Don’t jump into it just because I asked.
But, please, consider the desperation of a mother who has only one
person who can help her child. It just
sucks. That’s the only way I can put it.
Thank you so much. You
guys rock!
Jennifer
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