God and Baking Cakes...

I read this online...Just wanted to share...

I keep talking and God listens...But somehow we are not on the same page....or are we?


We all wonder many many many times over WHY? Sometimes we wonder, "What did I do to deserve this?" or "Why did God have to do this to me?" Here is a wonderful explanation!

A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely Mom, I love your cake."

"Here, have some cooking oil," her Mother offers."Yuck" says her daughter.."How about a couple raw eggs?" "Gross, Mom!""Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?""Mom, those are all yucky!"

To which the mother replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!"God works the same way.

Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good!

We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!

God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.

This and That...

Today is a important day for Philip. We have a out of town DR appt with the specialist. It will be the third one in two weeks. His pain level is awful and he just feels sick. They are trying to work on a plan to help him...so prayers this afternoon would be a blessing...

I have to say that one Sunday I am going to go be blessed and attend "Church Of Christ" in Burrus Chapel- Keefe Tennessee. Twice now I have gotten cards from there signed by tons of the members. I can not tell you how much that means. Can you imagine the awe I feel when I know a group of people that I have never met ...took time to sign a card and send it..and even more amazing..they continue to pray for us weekly. So one day Church family in Burrus Chapel- Keefe Tennessee I will be there to say Thank You...and soak up your wonderful messages.

Now...we all know Halloween is a fun day. But for us it holds a very special reminder. Anyone know what that could be? Any guesses?

Please keep Victoria and Derek in your prayers. I know tomorrow will be very hard for them. The thoughts of Jackson being all dressed up in his little outfit I got him just keep running through my mind and break my heart. I know his mommy and daddy just miss him so very much.

Did everyone join my giveaway? Hurry ..ending soon

Give Away Time...Smell Good Goodies...

Who is ready for a SMELL GOOD Giveaway?

If you LOVE smell good stuff..like candles and bath stuff...this is the giveaway for you.

If I get enough entries..I may giveaway more then one..Oh yes..I know...woo hoo. Ha

Would each of you PLEASE enter. This is simple...

One entry...Comment here.. that you would like to be entered
Two entries..Blog about it
Three entries..Tweet about it with a RT on it.

Last but not least...KNOW that there are days where I am not sure what I would do without each of you..

Wordless Wednesday..

Have I mentioned..I love being Jackson's Aunt?

Y'all just have to deal with me and my Wordless Wednesday post...I am going to post pictures I have of Jackson till I have no more...

And I have tons...cause he was so cute who could not just take them...all day long..Ha

For some reason...I just miss him and my sister so much today. I think the fact that Halloween is a few days away..I know he would be the cutiest thing all dressed up.

If you would please contuine to pray for my sister and Derek. They are so struggling right now.

A special Thank You

If you have not meet my wonderful friend Kristen ...you need to. She has a Etsy Store that I could and have spent hours look around. Her work is amazing...you can see that she puts so much love in each piece.

Speaking of love in each piece..I will always have a special place in my heart for Kristen ...The day after my beautiful nephew Jackson died..I knew I had to do something special...I tweeted Kristen and she sent me her phone number. I stood outside in the rain talking to her about what had happened. As a mom I could tell she was shocked and sad. She asked me what I needed and I told her...Make me something special. Not just one..but three. We talked back and forth through out the day..She sent me some pics and ideas..and most important she listened...

Two days later a box showed up at my sister's house ..my my hands were shaky. I knew what was in there..but I also knew it made things even more real..in a odd sorta way. I put the box away and waited for the right time.

Late that night I sat down with my sister and said...I have something for you..and showed her our necklaces. The sweet look on her face said it all.

They had such a simple yet powerful message,

Forever in our Hearts..a heart charm with a simple small J under it..for Jackson. The special part of the necklace is..the J is hidden under the heart...like it is a message for us..That may sound crazy but to me..It is just a reminder that he is OUR baby and WE will never forget him.

The necklace was just beautiful and so dainty. It was perfect. And it meant so much to me because I knew Kristen made it for us with love...and in a hurry also..

My sister put it on and has worn it everyday. I wear mine everyday and my mom wears hers. I am in bog trouble with Emily because I did not get her one. I need to work on that....Soon.

Thank you so much Kristen for helping me give something special to my family...It is something we will keep forever.

Check back tomorrow...I have another special blogger/store owner to blog about how wonderful they were to help me..

Not Me Monday...

Many of you know that I have been having a very hard time with my nephew Jackon's death two weeks ago.

One thing I loved most about Sweet Jackson is his big gaint smile..

I have a feeling he was laughing at his Aunt Amy ..and I bet some of you will also. Ready?

More then once I have been told I have a way of just getting things done. I have to smirk when I hear that cause it seems I never get anything done. But on this paticular day I GOT it done.

The day my nephew was buried I knew I needed to do something...anything. So I decided that his grave needed a lite that would be powered by the sun and I would give my sister a matching one and myself one. That way at night he would have a nite light to keep his grave lite and when we came home on dark winter nights we would know his gave was lite up. It just helped me to know he would not be out there in the dark. Yes I know he is not there and yet he is there. So Aunt Amy was going to lite up his small gave. No matter what....

So I decided to go to the cemetery by myself for a few minutes...before I went to buy the light. All of the sudden I see my mom's car. I know it is her because she has this stupid jack in the box atena thingy ( do not ask ) . So I am standing at Jackson's Grave and I have been crying..and all of the sudden I decide to get my mom's attention. I start yelling Mom. Mom come back. Hey Mom here I am..come back. I turn around and this lady is looking at me ..and she says to her DH..poor girl she is begging her mom to come back... I then realized just how that could of looked to someone seeing a crying lady on the day of the funeral saying loudly Mom come back. Waving my arms in the air.

So I ended up leaving to go get the lamp and I come back. No matter what I do I can not get the stake to go in the ground. So seeing that I had a rental car..I take out my keys and I am on the ground..crying in the rain trying to dig a small hole to stick it in the ground.

Yep I turn around and the same people are there staring at me. The lady says ..poor girl...I am worried about her. AKA..she thinks I am there with my keys digging at the grave to get my mom.

Yes there is more...

The next night I realised my sister's lamp did not come on. I messed with it and found it had a switched. I thought on no that means Jackson's did not turn on either. I am in my jammies and think well I will just go real quick because it is getting late and I want to turn his on.

Here I am in these black and white big flowered pants and a black top..and flip flops...I drive to the cemetery and of course the gate is already locked. I pull in the parking lot and decided I will just walk through the bushes.

I walk through the whole cemetery to the back where he is at..and turn on his light in my jammies.

As I am walking back out in my LOUD jammies ..who do I see? Yep..they were pulling out of the parking lot.

So you see...I think sweet Jackson was saying..wow my Aunt Amy really does love me...enough to do just about anything for me...

And I think that couple thinks of me today ..and says I am sure she is in a mental hospital.

Hope you enjoyed my Not Monday...

Wordless Wednesday..

Our little angel Jackson..

How I wish two weeks ago had been just some awful dream.

We miss your more then you will ever know...

Aunt Amy

Jackson Gray Turpin

VIEW/SEND CONDOLENCES

Jackson Gray Turpin, 4 month old son of Derek Anthony Turpin and Victoria Patricia Ann Darwin of Spartanburg, died Wednesday, October 7, 2009, at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center. He was born May 27, 2009, in Spartanburg, SC, and was of the Christian faith. Also surviving is a sister, Lauren Turpin of Easley; grandparents, Mike and Debbie Turpin of Easley, and Clint and Sophie Shoaf of Spartanburg; great-grandparents, Vance and Iva Lee Harrison of Greenville; an uncle, Jason Turpin of Piedmont; and an uncle and aunt, Jimmy and Amy Briggs of Indian Harbour Beach, FL. He was predeceased by his great-grandparents, Floyd and Ruby Rector, and Tony and Charlene Turpin. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, October 10, 2009, at Floyd’s Greenlawn Chapel conducted by the Rev. Steven H. Rhodes. Burial will be in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens. Memorials may be made to the Spartanburg Humane Society, 150 Dexter Road, Spartanburg, SC 29303. The family is at the home. An online guest register is available at www.floydmortuary.com.

Our Sweet Boy..Our hearts are broken

Our hearts are broken...

Last Night my beautiful baby nephew passed away very unexpectedly. Our hearts are broken beyond any words I can think to share. This little boy has brought more joy to our family . He has been the most awesome gift from God. He will never be forgotten.. Your Aunt Amy loves you more then you will ever know.

Please pray for my sister and Derek. My heart breaks for both of them. We are leaving now to be with them in S.C.

I love you so very much Jackson. you have no idea the amount of hrs I spent thinking about being your Aunt During my harder day..You kept me going.. You made me a Aunt..

You are such a blessing to our family.

Aunt Amy loves you more then you will ever know...I am so proud to be your Aunt...

Some This and That.Philip quick update

Are you guys excited tomorrow is Friday? What does everyone have planned..anything wild and crazy? Me...just going to try to rest and work on rebuilding my strength some. These new treatments are kicking my butt and taking notes..BUT I am determined that I will win this battle..and with every ones prayers and support...I know I will.

A few people have expressed some frustration with the lack of details about Philip. I would love nothing more then to share every last detail of what is going on with Philip..but I do not. Out of respect for him and our family. I think sometimes I have to remind even myself that things that are posted here are read my numerous people..and sometimes there are feelings and issues I just can not share. But I have a strong feeling..most know my heart ..already ..without me having to say a word.

The truth is...this is not a drama or a book. it is our life. It is a battle that I am trying to find a way through..and some days I feel like I do a okay job and others I admit I am not so graceful with it. But I am trying to find my way..each and everyday.

So when you do not see me post "full details" of what is going on...Just know that maybe things are a little hard and I am working on finding a path through it.

With all this being said..Philip is just having a very hard time. We have added meds..by mouth, by injections, by pain patch and by his pump. His pain level seems to be worse then ever. The DR are consulting what we need to do next. Our big prayer was that the meds going into his brain and spine would help..we are back to square one..

Philip also has had some issues with heart He has had some very scary things happening...and the DR is looking into this. It could be meds related.

This week was pretty scary. Philip had a very bad seizure on Thursday early morning. He was very confused ..to the point he did not know where he was or who we were...His meds were increased and a massive dose of adivian given. He slept for 16 hours.. I never want to see that type of seizure again.

Now how about something that I am thrilled about...Philip got his hair cut very short. He knew he would be having some medical procedures done that would be easier to recover from with his hair shorter. This is a big deal for Philip because he hates his hair short due to all his scars. You can also see the shunt when his hair is cut short...But as his mom...I so LOVE his hair cut nice and short...He is my handsome boy...maybe I will try to snap a picture..

Thank you ALL for being on Philip's team. There are days where I am spent and I know I just can not even manage the strength to pray...and yet I know each of you are lifting all of us up...
We are so very blessed in so many ways.