Baby Paisley and her reunion

After much prayer, Mike and Shellie have decided to let Paisley go be with her Creator. Please continue to life them up in your prayers. I know these are going to be hard times for their family.

Also, I am driving with the kids to Searcy for Miss Grace's memorial service tomorrow after church. Our Grace said another neat thing today in the car. "Mom, do I get to go with you to Miss Grace's reunion service?" I LOVE that...not her memorial, not her funeral, her REUNION, with her Lord and Creator. Miss Grace is holding sweet baby Paisley. That is a reunion that brings me joy!

Miss Grace

Our dear family friend, Grace Brewer, died peacefully this morning about 10. A wonderful woman that lived a truly wonderful life. I'm so very thankful that she was a huge part of my life. I feel so blessed. As our Grace said, "She is baking her famous yeast rolls in heaven with the angels now!"
This is the e-mail that I got from her husband today.

Dear family, friends, and prayer partners,

The journey has ended.

THE journey has begun.

Grace passed away this morning around 10 a.m. God answered our prayers and her passing was gentle, quiet, and peaceful.

Rachel arrived last night, and Grace opened her eyes to see her. Then she went back to sleep until her passing.

We've been surrounded by friends this morning / afternoon who -- like us -- are grieving joy.

You have been with us throughout this journey. We felt your prayers and support from the beginning to the end. Believe this, now, with me -- our prayers for healing have been answered by a merciful God who has supplied Grace with an incorruptible body. I imagine when next we meet, she'll have a couple of babies sitting on her lap. Now she, along with Jesus, her mom and dad, and all the other saints who have gone on before, awaits us on the other side.

Grace wanted me to share with you this line by one of those saints. It may not be quoted perfectly. It's how she lived her life:

"We're living in the land of the dying, and dying to get to the land of the living." -- Marshall Keeble

If you would prefer, Grace recommended that memorials be made to Camp Wyldewood, Box 1255, Searcy, AR 72145. She suggested that a lot of flowers would not be needed for the memorial service, which will be Monday afternoon at the Downtown Church of Christ. Flowers are for the living, she often said. She smiled yesterday when I showed her the single rose that one of our elders brought for Valentine's Day.

God is faithful. He redeems us from the grave and makes us whole. Rejoice!

Love you all,

Rod

Prayers for my friends

Please pray today for my friends Mike and Shellie Salza.
She went into labor Tuesday night and had her baby Paisley Diane on Wednesday morning. Shellie was 23 1/2 weeks along and the baby was born at 1lb 7 oz. Shellie is sore but doing ok (had a C Section) Baby Paisley needs lots of prayer, this week is very critical for her. She was transported by helicopter down to Children's hospital in Denver (the live in Ft. Collins.) They are most concerned about bleeding in the brain. So far the ultrasound they did Wednesday did not show any, so that is a blessing. Shellie was discharged yesterday, 2 days early so that she can go to Denver. Paisley is in surgery right now to repair her heart. Please pray for this tiny baby and her family. I'll keep updates posted here as I get them.

Update on Miss Grace

I know that many of you have sent me e-mails asking about our dear friend, Grace Brewer, and how she is doing. I know that their family does thank you for each and every one of your thoughts and prayers. Our internet has been out for a few days so I just got e-mail from her husband, Rod, this morning. What wonderful and loving partners that Mr. Rod and Miss Grace have been all of these years. I'm praying for peace and no pain for our dear Miss Grace.


Dear family, friends, and prayer partners:

The journey is winding down.

I wrote that line at 11:00 this morning and

for one reason or another, couldn't think of

the next line.

Now here it is after 6:00 p.m.

Maybe I can get beyond that morning phrase "winding down."

The nurse visited twice this week.

Both times she reported that Grace's blood pressure

was good, her lungs were clear, and her bowels are moving.

Grace, however, has not eaten since Friday, Feb. 1.

She hasn't been able to take much water either.

She tends to choke on it and spit it back up.

(Around 3:30 today, she took a couple of oz of water I dipped

and fed to her with a straw; then she ate 5 crushed ice cubes -- a total of 4-5 oz, approx.)

Three times today and her last trip last night, she fainted on the potty.

After the last trip, I put a diaper on her. I hope that's going to be less stressful for her.

Her mind isn't "there" very often -- she's in a fog most of the time.

Last night I read her the emails and cards from yesterday,

She listened with her eyes closed. I'd nudge her

and remind her whose email or card I was reading.

She'd nod, okay.

(Beckie W, Julie B, & Colleen O -- Grace heard your words -- what beautiful expressions!)

----

Her strong heart and lungs are keeping her going.

I don't think she's in pain.

But she's ready to go home.

And I'm ready to place her hand in the hand of the Father,

at the time of his choosing.

In the meantime, I will sit and talk through the fog,

and tell her how much I love her and how many

men and women she's displayed the love of Christ to,

and take care of her needs.

Thank you for your continued prayers, cards, emails, etc.

Love to all!

Rod

Heavy Heart

For the past 9 months or so, our little family has been praying for another member of our family. She isn't blood related, but that hardly matters. Grace Brewer is my other mom. From the time I can remember, we (my brother and I) spent many many days (and nights) at the Brewer house. Rachel and Josh were some of our very best friends growing up and our parents are great friends as well. Miss Grace (as we have always called her) made the very best grilled cheese sandwiches and always cut them into butterflies on our plates. When I have happy childhood memories, Miss Grace, Mr. Rod, Rachel and Josh are usually in those memories as well. I named my first born child after this wonderful woman, after all, she put up with me in a van for umpteen hours on the way to Disney World one summer, and of course, mainly because I love her and respect her.

Miss Grace has cancer. We have been praying so hard for her. Grace and Susannah pray every night for her and if someone forgets to say her name in the prayer, the other one gets mad and makes them re-pray. Cancer just isn't nice. I don't like it, but of all the people to teach us lessons when they are going these times, it would be Miss Grace. She said last night that she felt as close to Jesus as she ever has. I believe that so much. He is sitting right next to her because she is about as close to Jesus as I can imagine a person can be. Here is the e-mail that we got today from Miss Grace's husband, Mr. Rod.


Grace had an MRI on Tuesday. It showed what the CTscan did not.
The lymphomas are active again.
This time, the cancer has attached to/within the spinal column.

One large tumor, at the base of the spine, has caused Grace to lose use of her legs. What we / the doctors thought was neuropathy was, in fact, this tumor disrupting the nerve signals to the legs.

We met with the oncologist Dr. Koch and the radiologist Dr. Payne on Wednesday.
They explained that at this point, we are down to palliative, or comfort, care. With radiation -- scheduled daily for the next 9 days
-- Grace could regain some use of her legs, not have as much pain in her back, and maintain the ability to control her bodily functions.
Grace could have opted out of this treatment, of course, but she hopes to be in as good a shape as possible for Christmas.

Her first treatment was yesterday, and so far she has handled the side-effects all right. Both doctors recommend that, after this radiation, that we contact Hospice. We'll see about that, as time goes by.

After we got home last night, she was in good spirits. She ate well and, after resting a spell, called a couple of friends -- and intends to call some more when she's up to it.

We do not know how quickly this infernal cancer will strike back after the radiation. So the time she has here is still undetermined. In the meantime, we pray for healing and comfort for Grace, daughter of the most high God.

As I learned from the testimony of Kerri, my cousin Lora Lee's daughter, the healing will come, whether in this life or the next.
Grace looks forward to the ultimate healing, at a time deemed appropriate by the Great Physician.

Late last night as we were talking, she said with a smile, that beautiful smile, that she guessed she was closer to Jesus now. I told her that she'd been close to him all her of this life.

She's resting this morning, saving her strength for the trip back to CARTI for radiation at 2:50 today.

Please keep Miss Grace in your prayers. Give her the strength to do what she wants to do right now. Also, all of her great family, because after all, they are my family, too.

Things going on...

ESPN: The Worldwide Leader In Sports


Tonight is the night! Yes, the first game of the NFL season puts my favorite team, the Colts, against the Saints of New Orleans and I can't wait! Aaron is going to watch the game up at church with the other men as a part of the "Men's Ministry." Frankly, I think it is just an excuse to watch football and eat ribs without having to be responsible for the kids, but they will have a good time. I can watch it here at home, by myself, wearing my #18 Jersey!!

I dropped off Susie at her first day of school and she didn't hardly turn around to say goodbye. That girl is so independent. What a chip of the block, eh? I love my Susie. I'm sure she is just having a blast and I'm so thankful. Parker and I went and had a light breakfast with Mrs. Brownstone, Mrs. B and Mrs. Tefer. We did the schedule for Club 56 (that is the 5th and 6th grade bible class at church that we all teach together) for this fall and it was great. Stuff is coming together and I'm feeling like God is so blessing us with all these great kids in our lives. I hope they feel the same way about us!

Today my friends, Shannon (Pollard is her maiden name) and Greg King are having probably one of the hardest days of their life. They have known it was going to happen, but today Shannon delivered her 3rd little one, via c-section, and she died about 30 minutes later. She had a fatal neural tube defect and Shannon carried her, knowing this, until she was about 36 weeks pregnant, I think. Her name is Olivia and I'm sure she was a beautiful little bundle, just like her big sister Bailey and big brother, Beckham. I know they were so thankful for the 30 minutes they had with her. They are just in my every thought today and if ya'll could remember them and the rest of their family today, I would really appreciate it.

Heavy heart

I know I've already blogged for today, but I got an e-mail this morning and it is so heavy on my heart right now all I can do is write. My best friend from college is Shellie. We lived together our freshman year and went to Europe together our sophomore year. She and Mike got married our junior year, but they never made me feel like a third wheel. The 2 of them are are so very dear to me. We don't get to see each other much of all. We e-mail, phone and send the occasional letter. But she knows that I love her and would do anything in the world for either one of them.

Shell e-mailed me this morning with news that she went into early labor (she was due in Oct.) Monday night and gave birth to a 1 pound baby boy. His heart beat for 14 minutes and then he went on to be with God. I'm so sad. I'm so extremely sad. I have had 3 healthy babies and my best friend just lost hers. They have a sweet little boy named Adison and he is a joy. I'm so thankful for him and that they have such a wonderful little one. But, how do you deal with these kinds of things? God has given us life and the ability to produce life. I'm not upset with God, whatsoever, I'm just so upset that my friends are hurting so very much. When bad things have happened to us (me and Shell) we can't talk on the phone...we e-mail and we cry together on the computer, but I honestly think if we picked up the phone it would just be another crying session...which sometimes we need again, but this is how we communicate. Blogging is another way that I communicate. It gives me a chance to write out how I am feeling. When I got her e-mail this morning, I cried, held my baby boy, cried some more, took a shower and then cried some more. Sometimes I just don't know how to react. Bad things happen to good people, I know that, it happens to bad people, too. It just hurts when your friends are hurting. But people like Mike and Shellie are the best and I KNOW that they will be okay and they will look straight to God in this time. And for that, I am thankful. I'm praying and that is what I'm going to keep doing.

Keep them in your prayers and all the families out there that are hurting over lost babies.