Blessed

With Christmas being 2 days away and 2009 coming to an end, I have been thinking about my life and all that God has blessed me with. Christmas is not the only time of year that giving occurs. Yes, during this season we receive and give gifts to and from our loved ones, but so many times I think that I am selfish in that I do not say thank you enough. God has blessed me so many ways in life as well as in the past year. Below are things that I am most grateful for and thank God for providing me. My mere words alone could never say thank you enough for all my blessings, but I will promise to give it my best shot each and every day!

My Blessings:

1) First and foremost, I am most grateful for having God in my life. In the past few years of life, my relationship with God was not as close as it should have been. In 2009 I was blessed by Him. He showed me the road back to Him. He showed me love that only He can provide. I am thankful for Him Baptising me (02/14/09) as one of his children. God provides for me. He gives me strength when I am weak. He has shown me love like no other. He has never abandoned me. He has forgiven me and all of my sins. He accepts me for all my imperfections, and for this I am forever grateful. I can only pray to be the woman God wants me to be for the rest of eternity.

2) Patrick. God has blessed me with bringing Patrick back into my life. He brought him to me in a very trying time in my life. I have never been in love like I am with this man. He is my heart and soul. He treats me and loves me like no other person has ever done. He too accepts me for who I am and all my imperfections. In 2010, I look forward to becoming Patrick's wife. To say our vows in front of God and our family and friends and live a life of God as a married couple. "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." —Genesis 2:18, 21-24. I cannot leave out Brandon, Caleb and Hannah. These 3 children are beautiful gifts that God brought me when he gave me Patrick. Not being a mother myself is tough. I have no legacy. These 3 kids are the closest things to having my own children and they are wonderful human beings. I look forward to becoming their Stepmother and my wish is that I can provide them with love and guidance and be the best Stepmom that I can be.

3) My family. God has truly given me the best family a woman can ask for. My mother, she is my savior. My best friend. My supporter. In everything that has happened in life, Mom has always been there to hold me up. She has been by my side for 33 years. She accepts me, she loves me like only a mother could. She means the world to me. I love my mom more than words can express and am grateful that she was chosen to have this role in my life. She is truly an inspiration. My Dad is a wonderful man. Although we have had trying times, God has walked me through these times and back into my fathers life. He is caring, loving, supportive and a wonderful man. I am his babygirl and I would have it no other way. My sister is a wonderful, beautiful, caring sister. Only having one sibling, I could not ever thank God enough for picking her to be my sister. Although we are so very different, she has always been there for me- through thick and thin. I am so very blessed to have her in my life. Now, there is a plethora of other relatives, Aunt Jean, Uncle Larry, Uncle John, Carol, cousins galore..all in which I am blessed to have. Our family is very close knit and I know at anytime any one of these people would be there for me, as I for them. I am blessed to have their love and support.

4)Our animals. Princess, Camo, and Sugar. These 3 animals bring me smiles each and every day. They never judge me. They show me unconditional love. I thank God for allowing me to be able to provide for them and give them the home, attention and love that they deserve in life.

5) My job. Although this is not the job of my dreams, I have been blessed to have such a stable job to go to every day for the past 6 years! I love the people that I work with. These people know me, they spend 8 hours a day with me and they truly care about me. What a great feeling! I am so lucky to have such wonderful people to work with. I love my work family!

6) Friends. Its not the quantity but the quality of friends a person has. Although I don't have friends lining down the street, I have very dear friends that are beautiful souls. I cherish each and everyone of them. I am so grateful for having them in my life.

7) My health. Although I have had some health issues this year, I am thankful that it has not been worse than what it was. There are so many people that suffer from disease and illness far worse than I have ever experienced. I thank God for watching over me and keeping me healthy. I look forward to a healthy 2010!

There are so many more things that I could go on and on about, but this blog would run out of space. I just want to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. May your life be filled with many blessings! Life is precious and time is limited. Enjoy every day like its your last and don't forget who to say thanks to! He's always listening!

My Book/Movie Review

WOW!

I've never cried so hard at a story like I did with this one. I read the book first, and I must say, as it always is.. the book was better than the movie. But regardless, they were both great!

Here is a small synopsis of the story line-- it's amazing!

In “My Sister’s Keeper” story of 13-year-old Anna, who has undergone countless surgeries, bone marrow donations, and transfusions all to help keep her older sister Kate alive.

Kate has been battling Leukemia since childhood. (AML)

Her parents, Sara and Brian, have been doing everything they can to keep Kate alive, ever since the day they discovered the abnormal bruising on Kate’s spine when she was 3 years old. At the time they had another child, Jesse, but he wasn’t a compatible donor. That’s when they decided to have another child Anna, genetically engineered to be the perfect donor for Kate.

Things get messy when Anna’s parents inform her she’ll have to give up one of her kidneys to Kate to keep her alive. Anna does the unthinkable and hires a lawyer for legal emancipation for medical purposes against her parents. After being poked and prodded for years she wants the rights to her own body.

The story really tackles the ethics behind stem cell research, genetically manipulated offspring and the dynamics of family. Right off the bat, it’s easy to make a decision about what you think is wrong and right in this story. The story is told from a different character’s perspective and after hearing each person’s point of view the situation is no longer black and white.

The reason I liked the book and movie so much is because of the personal experience I have had in donating stem cells to a 42 year old woman with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). I was a 5 for 5 match for a woman I never knew. Nobody else in her family/relatives were near the match that I was. They need my stem cells as opposed to my bone marrow, because her illness was more advanced and stem cells reach the blood stream much quicker than bone marrow. So that is what I gave. My situation is a different scenario than that of the movie, but because of my experience, this is a topic that is close to my heart. This movie is hard to watch- the book is hard to read, but it is well worth every minute! Below is my short story on my experience- although different, it's my experience and I am proud of it.

I donated to the same recipient twice. She got her first set of my stem cells in November 2004. I had to take 5 days of Filgrastim shots. These shots pretty much just opened my bones so they could take out more stem cells than what your body normally produces into your blood. It's painful process. I felt sore all over and like I had been hit by a Semi-Truck. I lacked all energy. After the 5 days of shots, I had to donate for 2 days. The days were about 5 hours each and I was in a chair with a needle in each arm. They essentially take out all of my blood within these 2 days. They filtered out my stem cells and replace the old blood back into my body. As soon as the donation is complete, they transport the stem cells to the recipient who is waiting in the hospital for your donation. It was a painful process, however- it's nothing compared to what the cancer patients go through each and every day. That is how I got through it. I just thought of her and knew my journey was nothing compared to what she has gone through with this disease. My recipient did well after the first donation. She got to go home for Christmas. In March I was contacted my the Bone Marrow Registry people and said my recipient was not doing well. I did the donations again. The 2nd time was a little harder. My blood did not want to pump. Vains were blowing out because they were still healing from the 1st donations. We got as much stem cells as we could possible get, but it was not the amount they would have liked to have gotten. But all veins in my arms and hands had blown and my body just was not pumping as much as the first time. Unfortunately, 1 month to the day of my last donation, my recipient lost her battle to cancer. I never got to meet her. I have no idea who she was or where she lived. But I can only imagine the pain she had to endure. I wish I could have known her. I think of her like a twin sister that I never knew. For me to be one in a million of a match for her-- it's amazing. Our DNA's were so similar, and to think we were not related--it's just astounding. I hope to meet her face to face one day in heaven. I believe she will be waiting for me there to hug me. To say thanks. But I need to thank her-- she gave me compassion that I never knew I had. I would donate again in a heartbeat. Forget the bruising, the bone pain, the tiredness, the exhaustion of being the donor. It's the thought of helping someone. Helping someone to the point that you are their only chance in life. It's an amazing feeling and I am just sad that my attempt to help her failed. The only thing that brings me peace is that I tried. I tried my hardest to save her life. I did everything I could to help. She got to go home for her last Christmas because of me, and for that, I am thankful!

The National Bone Marrow Registry is always looking for members to join. I have always been an avid blood donor, since my cousin (who is a hemophiliac) was given a bad blood transfusion when he was 14. He contracted AIDS from this bad blood. Since this point, I have been an advocate in donating blood regularly if you are healthy enough to do so. One day while donating, the National Bone Marrow Registry folks were at the donor center. I spoke with them and signed up. It was over 6 years before I was ever contacted. Some people will never be contacted. You never know. I had no clue this would ever be me. But it was an experience of a lifetime I will never forget.

Within every one of us is the power to heal. Members of the Be The Match marrow registry stand ready to fight for those with life-threatening diseases like leukemia. If you would like more information about joining the registry or would like to take the first step: please visit the marrow registry at www.BeTheMatch.org. Who knows? You could be the one to save a life.

My Cup Overfloweth

I recently keep seeing the commercials for Victoria's Secret new "Miraculous" bra. It claims to add two full cup sizes...TWO! As someone whose cup is literally already overflowing I balked at this. Dear lord help me, if I had two extra cup sizes I'm be into letters of the alphabet that should never, I repeat never represent a bra size.

I've always been pretty well endowed in that department and any weight gain that occurs seems to always settle in one place. Patrick certainly does not complain. You can imagine my surprise when I get an email from Victoria Secret today once again advertising their new bra. Sizes AA-DD. This sucker goes all the way to DD?! Has Vicky Secret gone crazy? Why in the world would anyone who is already a D need TWO extra cups worth?!? Just wondering…

10 of my favorite things about Christmas

The Birth Of Jesus

Our Christmas Puppy

My Niece and Nephew's Holiday Spirit

Christmas Music

A Charlie Brown Christmas

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Santa!

Christmas Trees (especially pink ones!)

Christmas Lights (even the trashy ones)

Old Time Christmas Shows

Tis the Season

Christmas time is fast approaching and I am stoked! I absolutely love this time of year.


First and foremost, I love the meaning of Christmas. Celebrating Jesus' birthday is just awesome! Although the 25th is not actually His birthday, the whole birth of Jesus in itself is phenomenal! I cannot imagine what the world would be without his birth. And being born in a manger? Wow, who gets to experience that? The entire Christmas story is just profound.


Secondly, I love the decorations, the music, the lights, the trees, the entire spirit and everything that Christmas entails. I love driving down streets and seeing people's lights up and decorations in the windows- it gives me such a warm and fuzzy feeling. I turned my Sirius radio on Christmas tunes today, and I am sure the radio station will not change until the holidays are over! Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bells, and my all time favorite-- Sleigh Ride! I cannot sing worth a darn, but I will belt out each and every song no matter if I am in the car alone or I have people with me. I just cannot contain myself!


And third, I love presents! I love giving them and I will not lie, I love receiving them! It's so fun! Now, I am a horrible shopper. I hate malls, department stores, etc. Crowds make me nervous, I get cold sweats, I am scared of all the people's germs, and I don't like searching for random things to buy. I like to have a purpose when shopping. Know what you want to buy, find it, buy it and get out as fast as possible!! So for the past few years, I have started online shopping. The problem with this, is when you online shop, you get the presents early. Yes, it's fun to wrap and have pretty packages under the tree, but here is where my Christmas spirit gets the best of me. Once I have purchased a present for someone, I want to give it to them-- NOW. Not on the 25th, but NOW! And when I know someone has bought me a present, I want it NOW. Not on the 25th, NOW! And this has already happened to me this year. Both in giving and receiving! I am the absolute worst-- here is what happened.


Giving: So my mother has had an old TV set that weighs about 100 pounds for the past billion years. Don't get me wrong, it worked fine- but it is nothing like TV's are today. She has mentioned getting a new TV for a long time. Well, being that my mother is my best friend, does everything and more for my sister and I, I decided, on BLACK FRIDAY to go out and buy her a 42" Flat Screen LCD television and television stand. Poor Patrick got off work at 8:00am and I drug him to Target on the worst shopping day of the year to buy this TV. So once we had the purchase in our car, I asked:
"Where the heck are we gonna keep it?"..
I then reply back to myself...
"I want her to have it now."
So NOW is what Mom had. On 11/27/09 Patrick and I showed up on her doorstep with this television. No wrapping. No bows. Just a big Merry Christmas. Needless to say, she was in shock and loved it! Her face was priceless! Another reason I love Christmas! The face of surprise when you give a really good gift! We got it hooked up and the new stand together ("we" meaning Patrick). She has loved it since!


Receiving: I get a text today from Patrick that says: "Honey, I got your Christmas present today." Here is what I hear in my head "OMG Becky.. He bought me my present already!-- He has it now! What is it? What did he buy? I wonder if he will give me a hint, I wonder if I can have it NOW??" So I text back and ask all the pertinent questions. He laughs and I think, "why is he laughing? I want it now!" I go home for lunch and he has a small black jewlery bag sitting on the counter. He tells me if I want it now, I can have it. What?? He said I can have it now? Then before opening it, I start feeling guilty-- "I should wait. I don't want to wait. It's only 3 weeks away, Becky, you can wait." The internal conflict was horrific. I decide to call mom, she says "WAIT." So, I opened it. I got the sweetest police badge pendant necklace ever! I absolutely love it!




Am I horrible? NO!! Here is my thought. My favorite saying is "Live today as if it's your last." Because in truth, we never know when that last day will be. What if I waited and never got to see it, or what if I waited to give mom her gift and God forbid, something happened. Why not experience the joy now? Take advantage of everything you have, while you have it. Cause tomorrow is NEVER certain!


Enjoy the season everyone! Experience everyday- soak it all in. Love one another and make peace, because we never know what tomorrow will bring!