This picture by the tree was taken shortly after Benjamin was saved.

Psalm 1:1-3 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

On March 6, 2006, young Benjamin placed his trust in Jesus Christ as his Savior. He was six years old, and his heart was tender. We believe it is God who saves, and God uses hard things, even death, to reveal His love for us. After all, he did send His only Son to die for the sins of the world. Earlier that day, the doctor told BC and I that our unborn baby (3 months in the womb) had died. Naturally, Benjamin had questions and wanted to know exactly what he needed to do in order to spend eternity with Jesus, where his baby sibling was. He prayed a prayer confessing that he was a sinner in need of a Savior, and he thanked Jesus for providing a way by dying on the cross. A sad day was definitely made sweeter! We sang the hymn, “Happy Day”, and we praised the LORD together!

On a humorous note:
Earlier that year, his brother Bradley was praying at nighttime prayers. He mentioned our family members names, but out of order. Benjamin whispered to me, “Momma, he didn’t pray in birth order!” I smiled. We certainly do not need to pray in birth order or get “saved” in birth order. Benjamin’s heart was ready before his older sister’s, and that was okay, too. We are thankful that on October 22, 2011, he was baptized.

His favorite verse: John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Bradley’s special day of salvation…

This picture, also by a tree, was taken shortly after Bradley was saved. (Psalm 1:1-3)

On February 20, 2007, at the young age of five, Bradley asked Jesus into his heart and asked Him to be Lord of his life. He acknowledged that he had sinned “lots of times” and that he believed that Jesus died for him, and that His blood was the only thing that can wash away his sin. We sang the hymn, “What Can Wash Away My Sin” that day, and he was smiling big. After that, Bradley asked, “Does this mean I’m one of His men?” Praise the Lord! Yes!

Earlier that month, God used two funerals to speak to Bradley. On the previous Tuesday, we had buried his sweet great-grandmother. Then, on the Tuesday before that, we buried a young friend, Timothy Kyler, who had cancer, but most importantly, he had Jesus. His dad shared the gospel as requested by Timothy, who didn’t want any possible excuse for anyone attending his funeral not to join him in heaven. The gospel message was clearly presented and Bradley, age five, was listening. He started asking questions, and he put his trust in Jesus Christ two weeks after Timothy’s funeral.

On a humorous note:
When Bradley was four, after viewing a friend’s baptism (Prisca), he said, “Me want to go in the water with my clothes on right now!” We are thankful that he is saved, and that he was baptized on October 22, 2011.

His favorite verse: Psalm 23:4
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

I am thankful that BC could baptize our boys in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. I am also thankful that my dear friend’s girls were baptized, too. It was a beautiful morning at the lake. Due to the wind noise, the four children being baptized made their public profession of faith to those gathered around before they went into the waters.

Interestingly, this was the same date that I was baptized…many years ago. Also, this date is a favorite of ours because 23 years ago on October 22, BC and I began dating each another.

2 John 1:4 “I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.”

Romans 6:4 “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

We spoke the same language, shared similar thoughts, and just had a lot of fun together.

Sure, we fought at times, but mostly we laughed…and sometimes it wasn’t at the most appropriate times (like during a class or a prayer).

We also loved talking together. Unfortunately, we never mastered the art of talking while driving…and ending up at the correct location-lots of examples to share there. I remember in seventh grade, the youth minister was trying to take us home (this was way before GPS and cell phones) after a youth group function. We knew our address, but we had no idea how to get to our house. The only thing we could remember was that we lived by a Kroger. So, hours later, we finally made it home. Then, the night before we started college, we practiced driving out to the university. We were so happy we made it there, but just because you arrive at your destination, it doesn’t always mean that you know how you got there, or exactly how to get back home. Lost in a bad part of town, we frantically called our parents from a pay phone and told them that we had no idea where we were, and that we saw some scary-looking biker dudes, and then we hung up. Needless to say, that was one phone call my parents did not like to receive!

When we started babysitting together in fifth grade. The mom was leaving and said (to her kids):”Y’all be good.” And C. and I said: “…We will!”

We worked together, and even when we had different jobs, they were right next to each other in the mall. We were usually a good team.

However, we broke a few things along the way.

There was that time where we broke a window to get into our house because we had to go to work (I think we were freshmen in college). We were very disappointed to find our other sister had been home the whole time…but she was taking a shower when we rang the doorbell!

We broke our fingers on the same day, at about the same time, but different places.

We made a game of everything. When we were in third grade, we would take our dirty socks off and throw them at a picture on our bedroom wall. We even kept score. The loser would have to stand on the rocking chair to get them down. Sadly, C. broke her arm retrieving socks, and that was the end of that game.

Then, there was the time we burned the wall by the oven when we were making popcorn. The way I remember it, we each thought the other one was watching the oil in the pot for popping popcorn on the stove top. That was when we learned not to pour water on a grease fire!

We married best friends, too. They both shared the same name. Our first born daughters were born on the same day, just five years apart. Our second daughters were born only a week apart. Also, I had contractions when I was trying to help C. with her second delivery (I was four months pregnant), and they ordered me to go home, but I was able to get them under control, and came back.

Back in the days when we didn’t even know what a carb. was, and frankly, didn’t care, we devoured an entire extra large pizza…and we were proud of this feat!

We also have always loved singing together, and I am thankful that the Lord has blessed us with each other and He is the theme of our songs.

Now, at forty, we both have a G.P.S., cell phones, and we microwave our popcorn:).

I had to get her back for "decorating" my house. After all, she is five minutes older!

Pictures from our “funeral” given by my wonderful, yet crazy, aunts and relatives!

Grace has always been very full of life and sweetness. She loves to sing and to care for her family, and she is quick to think of others. She is very gentle with children and loves to have fun and play games…that is, until someone gets hurt. Unfortunately, four out of eight times, that someone has been Grace. As I have probably mentioned before, she has had the most E.R. visits than any of our kids. Therefore, she was lovingly referred to as “Danger Girl” by an observant neighbor:)

We realized Grace was daring when she was just a baby. Because she was so tall, she managed to escape her crib at a young age.

When she was only two months old, she had two teeth already. At six months, she had eight. This was different from my first two daughters (whom Grace sometimes called “girls” when she was learning to talk). Because of her teeth, she was able to bite off things unexpectedly…like a plastic toy baby bottle of the girls, a glass ornament, and a Dorito. We had to constantly remind people not to let her “gum” anything because she was a baby with many teeth! I did many finger sweeps on her!

She was very skilled with her long hands when she was an infant. She took off a button from my blouse at church one day, and handed it to me. She did the same thing to a friend of mine. While we were eating, we always had to place our glasses pretty far from her because she could easily reach them. I remember one time when she spilled a huge glass of ice water on Daddy!

One night, I stood by the fridge and asked BC what sounded good to eat for dinner. Meanwhile, our ten-month-old Grace quickly crawled into the fridge and took out the egg carton (cracking a few). So, we decided to have eggs for dinner!

“I like food, Momma!” exclaimed our little picky eater one day. Whew!

When she was four, she lost her entire nail in the bedroom door jamb. Evidently, she was trying out a new look, as preschoolers do, and her sisters laughed at her ensemble of a swimsuit worn over her pink “footsie” pajamas. She said, “I’m telling Momma!” as she slammed the difficult door, but she forgot that her other hand was in the door jamb. The nail was off and the finger was cut to the bone (partial amputation)….and flapping. She rushed to the nearby bathroom and put it under cold water. When I came in, she calmly said, “Momma, I think I need a band-aid!” Ouch! My college first-aid class did not prepare me enough, as I panicked, called an ambulance (we only had one car at that time), and sent my other children to a neighbor’s house. This would be her first ambulance drive…wearing the interesting outfit…and her first four stitches. After that, we had what we called “an open door policy”, and doors were not to be closed by little hands.

When she was four, she asked me, “Momma, do you think I should cut off my fingers?” (as she was holding her hands out in front of her). Of course, she meant to imply that it was time for me to trim her nails!

And when she was a young toddler, she would hold her hands straight out, open her eyes wide, and round out her mouth with a silly face, and then make all of us laugh! She laughed right along with us.

Grace has always loved chewing gum. Once, when she was very small, we were shopping at Sam’s. Grace was in the front basket. I’ll never forget the moment I saw something blue in her mouth. Being surprised, I asked BC if he happened to give her some gum. We were both horrified when he said, “No”. “Oh no!…ABC gum!” (Already Been Chewed), we gasped, and I fished the nasty gum out of her mouth.

As seen below in the picture from Bradley’s Ball birthday party, the aquarium, not the pinata, would break the following month, and Grace, unfortunately, would end up with stitches. When they gave her seven stitches, she assumed it was because she was seven years old. (In her defense, she did have four stitches when she was four).

Her knee was deeply cut by a fake coin that came off (well, the boys cut it off) from a sewing embellishment which had been previously used for a pirate outfit. It was unknowingly buried under a couch cushion. Later, when Grace kind of jumped to sit on her knees on the couch, she was cut by the mysterious buried treasure. These things just seemed to happen to her.

Grace also had quite the imagination, and two imaginary pet dinosaurs when she was young. Their names were “Pee Kee” (Picky) and “Bahshe” (Bossy). They were the flying kind.


She loves monkeys. She has always wanted to get one when she grows up.

Her other love is sharks…scary, huh?

Like many girls I know, Grace has always had a fondness for shoes. The first time she went to a “Payless Shoe Store” and saw the many stacks of shoes, she was an overjoyed preschooler. She quickly told me, “When I grow up, I want to work at Payless and be a doctor!

On 9-11-01, Grace trusted in Jesus for her salvation. She asked me if all the people that died in the twin towers and airplanes went to be with Jesus. We talked about life and death; heaven and hell; sin and self, and later on she was baptized by Daddy.

She loves flowers. Whenever she spies flowers, her eyes open up like they are about to bloom (like one of those flowers that you might view with time-lapse photography on nature shows).

Here is our 14 year old beautiful young lady!

More on our sweet Grace…a.k.a. “Danger Girl” here…

water balloon incident…

Grace at age 8-if you look closely, you will notice her left pupil is larger than her right.

aquarium accident…

birth story…

One thing is for sure…God has given her extra grace when she has gone through trials. Praise His name…the One who is full of grace.

P.S. What is the most daring thing I heard that she did?…Years ago, she tried to see how many steps on the stairs of our house that she could jump down safely…but, she missed a few. Yikes! She was okay, but promised me she would never try that again!

Michelle's first cake experience.

You always sucked on those two fingers, and grabbed some of my hair with your other hand. You came out of the womb with a blister on those same sweet fingers! You are currently wearing braces largely due to this:)

When Michelle was a 6 month old baby, she would hum along when I sang her to sleep. As a young toddler, she could hear a song once and pick up on most of the lyrics, and the tune! Often, she would ask me to play “Moah’s Ark”, which is what she called “Mozart”, when she was young.

Michelle at age 3 was talking to Nonnie on the phone and she said, “I like my watch!” Paige then tells Michelle: “Tell her mine, too!” So, Michelle said, “I like sister’s watch, too!”

As dinner was coming out of the oven, patient two-year-old Michelle shouts out: “It’s ready! It’s ready! Praise the LORD!”

When Michelle was four, she asked me a cute question (around Father’s Day): “When is ‘Kid’s Day’?”
Also when Michelle was four, she was on a walk (with other people nearby) and she asked Daddy: “Master, why do you always speak in parables when a crowd is near?” (a quote from the Jesus video.)

Michelle

When Paige was five, she went to the E.R. for high fever. When she came home, Michelle wanted a “bracelet” like the one the hospital gave to Paige. Well, three days later, Michelle had a bad bike accident, and was absolutely thrilled to get her own “bracelet” and air cast. She exclaimed, “I love this!” as she pointed to the air cast!
At this age, she also enjoyed making homemade paper “Brandy” dolls (the name of her doll family). I had to smile as she pointed to one of the dolls and described, “Momma is the one with sleepy eyes!”:)

Her love for purses started at a young age!

One of her hardest birthdays...Paige (on her right) had just been diagnosed with cancer, and had eye surgery a few days before Michelle's party.

You

Bradley asks, “Daddy, are you following that truck?”

Daddy utters, “Uh, no”

Then I question, “Why do you ask, son?”

Bradley explains, “Well, it has a sign on the back that says, ‘Follow me.’”

And sure enough, it did! Seven year old children are literate and literal some times!

Today, Bradley turns eight! He will be king for the day-crown and all! He will be leading, and we will be following his wishes (where to eat, what to play, what to do, etc). He has never been a fan of ice cream, until just recently. Seriously, sometimes we would venture out to get ice cream cones and he would just ask for a cone. Most people were surprised to hear a child requesting a solitary cone, but that’s how he liked it (or rather, didn’t like it). Then, if we had ice cream at McDonald’s, he would just opt for fries instead. So, this is his first birthday that he will be enjoying ice cream with his cake! Happy birthday, son! I love you!

Check out the news….October 5…most common birthday

However, it also happens to be the most germ-carrying time of the year, as well. So, we are currently not well. I don’t know about you, but the birth of germs is one birth we do not celebrate around here! All six kids seem to have the flu right now. Once again, we will trust in God’s plan, and His timing.

1.) I almost drowned at my sixth birthday “pool party”.

2.) The funny thing was that I accepted the dare to swim across the pool in a floaty race.

3.) A funnier thing was that I offered my floaty to my opponent…because she didn’t have one.

4.) Funniest of all, was my sweet mom (who also could not swim) jumping in—with her clothes on—to save me!

5.) My parents made me join the swim team.

6.) I learned to swim, and I swam fast (esp. when there was a snake swimming right beside me). I later became a lifeguard, and taught swimming lessons.

7.) When I was in ninth grade (at high school), I took a fall down the stairs, from the top to the bottom, and broke three of my ribs.

8.) I found out my kidneys were refluxing (I had three ureters), and had an operation to fix it. One kidney was the size of a quarter on the X-ray. They told me that at least I had one. One year later, my little kidney miraculously recovered and I had two normal-sized kidneys. This was the first time I realized that nothing is impossible with God! The doctors even called it a miracle.

9.) I wrecked my first car.Thankfully, nobody got hurt.

10.) It was raining that day.

11.) You know, I still don’t enjoy driving in the rain, and my younger sister still doesn’t enjoy it when I drive.

12.) I was in drama in high school, and I got the lead in the Jr./Sr. Play.

13.) I played a new high school teacher in “Up the Down Staircase”.

14.) I must have liked it, because I have a degree in teaching, and I am currently teaching high school to Paige.

15.) However, the real drama started when I had kids. I had no idea, when I joined the Drama club, that I would be a lifetime member!

16.) More drama came when I had a miscarriage.

17.) I was told I wouldn’t be able to have any more children (when I only had two). The LORD is so good and in control…I have six blessings!

18.) I hemorrhaged with my third and seventh child. These were close calls! Praise the Lord for His mercy to me!

19.) Then…the most painful experience ever…kidney stones were developing. I had to have one surgically removed.

20.) More drama came when my oldest was diagnosed with cancer in 2002.

21.) The doctors initially thought it was allergies, and I had to ask for an MRI.

22.) More drama came when I attended funerals for children…

23.) Some (total of ten) of our little friends who had lost their battle with cancer.

24.) My heart was breaking.

25.) It really was.

26.) On our Make-A-Wish trip, I realized I couldn’t breathe very well.

27.) An elderly couple passed me when we were hiking on Mount Rushmore.

28.) I jokingly told my hubby that I wanted to die in Texas.

29.) I seriously knew something was wrong.

30.) I thought I was out of shape.

31.) I had a lot on my plate at the time (I mean this figuratively and literally)

32.) But I didn’t think it was my heart.

33.) However, my gynecologist thought it was my heart.

34.) She is the one who discovered I had a problem.

35.) When she was listening to my heart, she said it was irregular:

36.) Atrial fibrillation.

37.) She told me to go see a cardiologist.

38.) I told her my husband always makes my heart skip a beat, but I hesitantly set up an appointment with a cardiologist.

39.) At first, the cardiologist reassured me that it was probably nothing more than caffeine-caused.

40.) I drank Coca-Cola at this time. Not to mention, that I also consumed way too much chocolate!

41.) My excuse for this was that some nights I had very little sleep.

42.) I had six kids who sometimes needed assistance at night.

43.) Particularly the one going through chemo. and the baby.

44.) So, I had some tests done on my heart, just to make sure everything was okay.

45.) I was familiar with the wait that often occurs after tests are performed.

46.) So, I had gone by myself to get the tests done.

47.) I did not know the doctor would give me my results that very same day.

48.) He did…and the results were that I had a hole in my heart, probably since birth.

49.) He told me that a lot of people don’t know they have this problem, and they are usually dead by my age. Nice, huh?

50.) He told me I really should have died giving birth to my first child, or running in high school.

51.) I said, “It sure felt like I was dying giving birth to my first child, and running in high school!”

52.) I was feeling okay, but…broken.

53.) Kinda like I got a defective part.

54.) I was determined to smile in the face of adversity.

55.) I left the office, and I was driving home on the busy highway.

56.) I started griping to my Lord. “Why this road, Lord?”, I asked.

57.) I told him things like: “Haven’t we paid enough to the medical profession?”

58.) A truck in front of me had some voting signs in the back.

59.) Just then, one sign flew up and covered my windshield.

60.) My prayers changed drastically.

61.) The sign flew off (that’s one dangerous way to get people to vote).

62.) However, it was there for seven very long and scary seconds or so.

63.) I told the Lord that He could have taken me right then.

64.) I told him I wouldn’t complain anymore.

65.) Mostly I didn’t, but sometimes I would forget…(remember, He is the only perfect One!)

66.) Jesus gave me peace about the situation.

67.) I told many to pray for my husband.

68.) He was really helping me out a lot.

69.) I was taking it easy,

70.) And popping aspirin and Plavix (to avoid a blood clot).

71.) I had an operation to try to try to mend the hole in my heart.

72.) The procedure was performed on our wedding anniversary.

73.) Operation was not successful.

74.) I was thankful to still be alive. There is no 100% with surgery.

75.) The hole was too big for the Amplatzer device.

76.) They told me they needed to order a different part.

77.) I suggested going to Auto Zone over O’Reilly Auto Parts.

78.) They laughed, and thankfully did not take my suggestion.

79.) I recovered from the first failed operation.

80.) I had another operation to fix the hole.

81.) This was a somewhat experimental operation.

82.) I told the doctor I knew where I was going, and I wasn’t afraid to die,

83.) but that I had put in my request with the Lord that I might finish my job as a mother of six.

84.) Operation 2 was done over Spring Break.

85.) Operation 2 was unsuccessful.

86.) The new part would have caused more problems than it was worth.

87.) I was a little discouraged,

88.) but told myself that God sees the big picture.

89.) I knew it must be for a reason.

90.) I slowly recovered from that surgery (my femoral arteries wouldn’t stop bleeding, so they had to apply tremendous pressure.)

91.) They signed me up for open-heart surgery.

92.) I had it on Mother’s Day weekend—2004.

93.) I referred to this time as Mother’s DayMONTH!

94.) Everyone was so kind.

95.) The operation was successful. Praise the LORD!

96.) I could breathe like I never could before. The body SO compensates.

97.) The Lord really does see the big picture!

98.) Had they done it the other way, they would have missed the second hole that they found.

99.) I am thankful that my heart trusts in Him…my Savior and my Lord. He has been with me all the way! I put my trust in Jesus at a young age by believing that He died on the cross for my sin, and He rose again on the third day. I have hidden His word in my heart, and I have enjoyed a daily relationship with Him. I have witnessed so many answered prayers. Since that time, there has been no fear of death, but many close calls. It has been  reassuring to know that He holds the keys to life and death!

100.) How is the status of your heart? Find peace and hope and life in Jesus!

Some of my highlights…

• Seeing and hearing all the faces of my dear brothers and sisters in Christ…lifting up their voices to the King of Kings! I especially enjoyed hearing my Paige and Michelle sing a lovely duet.
• It was fun to see my son Benjamin playing the king, as well as Mike.
• Watching my youngest son play Pharoah (yes, I was concerned when he begged me if he could play the “bad guy”. I think he wanted to wear the cool hat). By his request, he asked Grace, Faith (his sisters), and Allie (a friend) if they could fan him with palm branches (Oh brother, right? Should I be concerned about this?). They graciously did, and I think he was the only one who stayed cool during the play! Mike played Moses, and did a great job!
• Seeing and hearing Baby James playing the part of Baby Jesus. Ah…the humanity of the Son of God and the Son of Man! A friend at church said this was the first time he ever thought about Jesus crying (it was not a silent night…).
• Seeing the beautiful cross (made by Mike) appear behind our (foam board) family tree of Christ (based on “Matthew’s Begats”). We had all of the names in the genealogy of Christ, found in Matthew 1, placed on the tree. When we sang “Behold the Lamb”, the tree was moved, and the cross revealed!
• I couldn’t find my folder…someone had accidentally moved it. So, I had to “wing it” on one song. However, I realized that messing up on a few words reveals my humanity, my imperfections, and it allowed me to share with a few how there is only one perfect, and sweet Lamb of God.
• It was also neat to see my somewhat reserved daughter, Faith, play an angel—flying solo. She has come a long way this year. It was great to hear and see all the sweet angels singing. I enjoyed seeing the shepherds with their sheep. Thankfully… the sheep did not shed all of their wool (which was the cotton  “baa”-atting that the girls glued onto angel costumes they had made for them). At dress rehearsal on Saturday, the little lambs discovered the sheer delight that could be found from shearing their wool with their own hands—LOL. I am still finding pieces!
• Seeing Mary and Joseph (Larry and Libby) labor…showing the labor of pain and love that Mary went through (and thankfully our pregnant momma who played this part did not go into real labor…yet!)
• I also enjoyed trying to visualize what these songs would look like…when acted out, and seeing it all come together. I am thankful for the memories we made as we were remembering our precious Lord and His awesome sacrifice.
• Glorifying His name, lifting Him up, spreading the good tidings of great joy…that was the ultimate highlight!

Some great verses…

Gen 22:7-8  “And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, ‘My father’: and he said, ‘Here am I, my son.’ And he said, ‘Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’ And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering’: so they went both of them together.”

John 1:29  “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ ”

1Peter 1:18-19  “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”

Rev 5:12  “Saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.’ ”

Rev. 12:11  “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

Rev 21:23  “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.”

Then, he later went on to mention more names: “Uh-Oh, Nonnie, Grandma, G.G., G.P., Kane, Aunt Dorothy, Uncle Troy, Uncle Brad, Uncle Mike, Aunt Cyndi, Aunt Katie,  Aunt Jen, and Uncle Jay,  (and I can’t remember the rest right now)”. Those are definitely one-of-a-kind names and people! I can’t wait to share this info. with his future wife someday! LOL!

This reminded me of the time when Paige and Michelle (then age 3 and age 2) were driving with their grandparents (Nonnie and Uh-Oh), and Nonnie asked them what they thought the new baby’s name should be be (Grace). Paige answered, “We wanted to name the baby “Moocus” (as in…gross mucous…), but Momma wouldn’t let us!” We referred to “snot” as “mucous”  back then (and we still do). Maybe it was “snot” a good idea? Well, my parents said they were laughing so hard that they had to pull their car over just to wipe away their…tears!

“I lost over half of my blood volume…normally, that’s fatal! I shouldn’t be alive!” The slightly insane man that said this, was attacked by a bull shark while trying to show the world that bull sharks “normally” won’t bite you. This statement has also been quoted by myself. Twelve years ago, I hemorrhaged after delivering my third child…Grace. The shark’s jaws did not fail to clamp down on this man’s leg–starting a pool of blood; however, my uterus did fail to “clamp down” to stop the internal pool of blood inside of my body.

Looking back…that delivery went so well. I was in a hospital, but they let me have my wishes to deliver my baby as naturally as possible. I had no meds. and no I.V. I even remember saying…right after she was born…that I felt like I could deliver another baby. The nurse told me she’d never heard that one before! I just honestly did not have unbearable pain issues at all. But then…severe pain came.

I told the nurses that I was having really bad contractions…worse than when I had been in labor. They told me that after pains usually get worse with each baby. They offered me meds, but I said I’d wait (nursing baby and all). Then…the worst headache came my way. At this point, I took the Tylenol. I could hardly think. When I was being wheeled down to maternity, a nurse asked me how big my baby was, and I mistakenly said, “22 pounds!” What I meant to say was 22 inches long (8 pounds 10 ounces). (I think I was just impressed with her length.)

I remember calling the nurse to get her assistance (not even two hours after the delivery)…so I could go to the bathroom. When I moved to get up…the whole room moved with me. I saw BC with our two young kids, my folks, and aunts. They were waiting by the door to come visit. Well, BC said my face was sooo white…like I was “giving up the ghost”-white. I told the nurse that the room was spinning, I could barely hear, and I thought I was going somewhere. I was going somewhere—into shock! The nurse screamed out for additional help, as she saw the amount of blood that flooded out of me. Meanwhile, my husband, family, and friends were also screaming out (quietly though, as they were escorted out) for additional help…by praying to God.

I remember the nurses drawing the curtain, and that I now had an even worse feeling in my stomach…a “something is terribly wrong-feeling”. They promptly had four nurses in there. Several were desperately trying to get an I.V. (with Pitocin ) in my arm (which was hard because my blood wanted to go to my vital organs), and one nurse was trying to take my vitals (blood pressure), and I was in awful pain. There were two nurses standingpressing on my uterus to get it to contract in order to stop the bleeding.

Then the doctor came in and manually removed the clots. I felt like I was getting beat up by every one of the gang. I was screaming out in pain, and verbally begging God for mercy that I might live. They were getting ready to do an emergency hysterectomy, when they thought they got the bleeding under control. Praise the LORD! Thank you Doctor V. and nurses!

I had lost over half of my blood volume, and I was so weak, but I was alive. I remember being so wimpy that I couldn’t even lift the heavy fork to feed myself, or move my hand to wipe away my tears. Thankfully, Grace was such an easy baby. Family members fed me, and prayed for me, and helped me get back on my feet…literally. Not to mention they helped care for my hubby and three kids while I recovered (…it took all my strength just to nurse Hannah). I was weak for weeks, and I am so thankful for each one of them!

I received several units of blood during a long blood transfusion on July 4th, 1997. All the while, I was reminded of the importance of blood. I reflected on the blood that was shed to make America free. But more importantly, I was especially thinking about the power of the blood of Jesus Christ…His blood gives each one the opportunity for true freedom and eternal life with Him forever. It’s been 12 years now, but those are days you never forget.

The doctor said my uterus just failed to contract like it should—kind of a “freak thing”. I guess my internal organs struggled with a touch of A.D.D. there. They got distracted, and forgot what they were supposed to be doing. Well, I forgave it, and went on to have three more blessings…and with the doctor’s blessings. She just asked that I get an I.V. and have Pitocin after the birth to help my forgetful uterus. Again, I share these stories because I am thankful, and I want my children to know that God is always in control…of all things…including life and death, and He is full of Grace.

We had decided to name our third, Hannah Grace, before she was born. “Hannah” after Hannah in the Bible, who prayed for a child. I was told weeks before I conceived Hannah Grace, that I was infertile. So, we prayed about that, and God heard our prayers! Her middle name was “Grace” because God had graciously given us another blessing. I’ll never forget when BC told me, “Well, Hannah means “Grace”, and so does Grace. It looks like we have been doubly blessed by God’s Grace. First, with the safe delivery of a new life…Hannah, and second..with the blessing of your life…preserved–double Grace!” BC and I cried the day we got home, as the enormity of what could have been, sank in. We knew God was strengthening our faith—drawing us closer to Him, and He was strengthening our marriage through some tough times.

In the hospital, I received a name card with Hannah’s name, “Graceful”, and it had this very special verse on it:

“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him.” Nahum 1:7

Another verse that revealed such truth to me was:

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” Lev. 17:11