Saturday, July 31, 2010

Prayers Needed for Riley and her Family


Please keep the Philpot Faily in your prayers. Here is the latest information I have received. This is taken from the www.carepages.com for Riley Philpot.


A New Journey


Posted 1 day ago


We praise God for his presence AND our hearts are aching.


I was going to say “for His presence BUT our …” but the above statement says it better for me. Nothing that we have heard changes the fact that He is with us, and how we feel does not change how great He is. So we are thankful and sad.
As many would have expected with our delay in updating, we have gotten news that has taken us time to process. Riley’s cancer has returned in her right lung and likely in her left lung as well.

We knew the moment the doctor called us out of Riley’s room to “talk” with us. The blunt facts are that we have already tried everything for Riley that could have cured her. There is no treatment that can achieve a cure. The initial recommendation by the doctor was to remove the nodule in the right lung. “But why?” could not be answered, especially when the cancer has returned so quickly and that we are facing the probability that it has already spread to the left lung.
What do we want to do? This is what our heart must decide. We can’t medically have what we really want. We met with another oncologist about a treatment plan. She agrees that we have done everything possible that could have cured Riley. Surgery, a new chemo regimen and/or experimental treatments are treatment options. None of the options discussed would provide a lasting effect and would have side effects even if considered “very well tolerated.” Another treatment option is to wait for a while to make a decision knowing that no further treatment may be the best for Riley and our family.

We had planned a crazy road trip to see family after our expected good news. We wanted to return home after the news was not what we wanted, but Riley and the kids wanted to continue with our drive. So now we rest in Iowa with plans to travel back home over the next week, stopping and visiting folks along the way.

We will be able to share more later, but we must find the best option for Riley and our family. Right now we have to rest. God is with us today as much as He was before we heard the news. Riley feels great. She and all the kids know the news and are aware of its meaning. They are all handling it in their own way. Riley and we are admittedly scared, but hopefully we can better understand her fears as the days move on.We continue to praise God and give Him all the glory for He alone can make good out of this not so good situation.
In our weakness we allow Him to hold on tight to us,


Kirk and Kelly


Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, and perservere in prayer."

Thursday, July 22, 2010

~ Smores ~


I love Smores any time of the day! Just Because!
Check it out~! www.SmoresSmiles.com
What could be better?
I am entering a contest for a S’mores prize pack as a member of the Mom Bloggers Club.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

~~Another CSN Giveaway sited~~



Marilyn's Money is having a giveaway for a $60. CSN Stores Gift code!

Head on over and enter. Her giveaway will end 7/24.


Friday, July 16, 2010

CSN Giveaway




I found a CSN Giveaway over at Inside BruCrew Life!
Check it out.
There are low entries!
Click HERE for the giveaway!
Hurry, it ends 7/18

Thursday, July 15, 2010

The way I feel today!

Do you ever feel sad, alone, depressed, angry, hurt, heavey hearted and you don't know why?

That is the kind of day I am having.

I just want to cry... But what good would that do?

So I ate a honey bun...Did that help...NO.

I Don't want to be at work and I have so much to do.

God Help Me!! Please!


KwikMySpaceComments.com
Thousands of Free Graphics @ KwikMySpaceComments.com

Sunday, July 11, 2010

~CSN Winner~









First of all I want to thank EVERYONE that entered my giveaway! I have enjoyed having you all visit my blog! Second I want to say "I am really computer illiterate!" Durring this giveaway I have tried to number my comments (several times) and then I have been trying to "capture" the random.org thing! I gave up and did the copy & paste thing!
So here we go... the Winner of the CSN giveaway is....


True Random Number Generator
Min: 1
Max: 159
Result: 93
Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Who Said:

July 6, 2010 1:39 PM

Teaching Mommy said...

follow you on twitter as @frankandkatie - entry 2
frankandkatie at gmail dot com

She is quick! She has already claimed her prize!
Happy Sunday everyone!

Friday, July 9, 2010

Update on Riley Philpot & Family

~ This is the Philpot Family~


If you have been a follower of mine for a while you have heard me speak of Riley Philpot. Riley has battled cancer since May 2006. She was 6 years old.Her family is such an inspiration to me. I wanted to share the latest update that I received today. If you would like to know more about Riley visit CarePages.com and search for Riley Philpot. You can also read more about her on Riley's Army.





This is written by her mother, Kelly. It is long, but well worth the time!




Birthday Wishes!

We have been blessed these past few weeks enjoying time together as a family. We were able to attend a 2nd Lighthouse retreat, which is a Christian retreat to the beach for pediatric cancer patients and their family. We met many new families, enjoyed seeing old friends, and were fortunate to encounter several sweet souls. Once again we were uplifted as a family during this retreat by God’s healing power.
We had the pleasure and honor to speak to the Rosemary Beach church on the Sunday before our retreat began. We shared God’s story of Riley and our family and we thanked them for their generosity in donating housing and hosting this retreat. The pastor spoke of Abraham throughout the service and spoke of his faithfulness to God despite his difficulties in understanding God’s plan. When the pastor said we have to trust God even though we don’t understand His plan, I had to raise may hand to ask if he would allow me to share Riley’s insight. Thankfully he allowed me to get up once again to speak.
I shared the story when Riley relapsed the second time last August. I told them how she knew something was wrong when a physician friend hugged Kirk in the office and then she asked, “What’s going on?” I replied as I was able by saying, “You know how much we love you? God loves you even more than we can imagine. No matter how bad our situation is God is always with us. But sometimes we just don’t understand His plan.”
Riley’s quick and simple response was, “Well I do.” As I was crying I asked her to please explain it because I was having a little difficulty. She said, “His plan is to do what is best for all of us.” I explained to the congregation how difficult that was to hear as a mother devastated by the potential of her child’s disease. I had to chew on Riley’s insightful words for quite some time before I really came to grasp His message through Riley‘s words. I now understand that our situation may not always seem to be best for Riley, or for our family, but it is what is best for us all. Only He knows how to capture all of us and get us back to Him. And so I explained that only God knows how Riley’s situation is bringing people closer to Him. And for some odd reason I challenged the congregation stating, “It may even be someone here today that will be brought closer to God by hearing His story of Riley.”
Amazing enough we were approached by a lady later that week who explained that her sister was visiting and she was in church and heard us speak. The year prior she had insisted she did not need God in her life, however after hearing us in church she decided she wanted to bring God into her life. WOW! How He can make good out of all things.
When we got home from our Lighthouse retreat Riley purchased a “Birthday Wishes” jar with a gift card she had received for her Birthday while we were gone. She placed a few wishes written on paper in her jar. I was very curious, but did not want to be too nosey so I stayed out of the jar. However a few days ago she had taken her written wishes out of the jar and placed them on her dresser. When I was cleaning up her room I stumbled upon her wishes. I was shocked to read them because they were bigger than what I call a “Good Mamma Wish” or otherwise an important wish.
After I discussed them with Kirk we sat down with Riley to see if she would be willing to share her wishes with us and others. After we explained that sometimes it is necessary to share a wish to help it come true, she agreed. She certainly wants her wishes to come true and so do we, so we are sharing them with all of you now…



1) I wish that people would see that people look different but are more alike than they think


2) I wish that everyone would think about others before themself


3) I wish all people see God like I do


4) I wish me and my family will be in heaven together


5) I wish Paul would leave me alone which means stops PESTERING!



We all laughed about Paul not pestering and even Riley agrees Paul just wouldn’t be Paul if he completely stopped pestering. We also talked about the other wishes and the only one she clarified was about seeing God. She said she wanted others to know and love God like she does. Wow what a wish!
We have come to realize that more people may die not knowing God then there will be children diagnosed with cancer. Even before this thought we had been reflecting on how important it was for us to help guide others to Him. We know we can guide others to Him through our actions, by what we say, and how we love, but we forget that we can help guide others to Him through our prayers. With this thought we are now called to pray for those hearts who do not yet believe in Him, His perfect love, nor the peace that only He can provide. We yearn for the soil to be prepared in these souls so they may begin to see God’s miracles and love and come to accept God in their lives. Please join us in prayer that everyone who knows Riley will be brought to know and love God as she does. Please also pray that those who do not know Riley will be touched by a ripple effect and thus come to “see” God as well.
We continue to implore you prayers for all the children and families battling this disease. We continue to ask you to pray for Riley’s cousin Mark who is still having difficulty with his leg. He underwent another surgery last Friday and is now receiving specialized wound care in hopes of improved healing and preservation of his leg. Please pray for a young lady we met while we were in Chicago who has been battling Wilm’s for almost 5 years. She was just told her disease has progressed with metastasis to the liver and leg. Please pray that God‘s peace and love will surround Meghan and her family during this most difficult time. Please also pray for my sister Cecilia who was diagnosed with malignant melanoma today. We pray for a complete resection and negative lymph nodes with her further evaluation and treatment. We remember to thank God for the miracles preformed especially in Riley and also in Dustan who you helped pray for more than 2 years ago. We give praise and thanks to God for Dustan’s miraculous report of clear scans again today.
We thank you for your continued prayers for us and many others - they have helped keep us close to the Lord. I will leave you with a poem I woke up to write several weeks ago. I feel it reminds me how our prayers can grow and change if we allow the Trinity to live in our hearts and minds.
How My Prayers Grow and Change?
As my prayers grow and change I see selfish requests as the startto help the Lord capture my heart.
As my prayers grow and change I learn the needs of several othersand selfish requests are gradually smothered.
As my prayers grow and change I am awakened to the greater planwho now sits at God’s right hand.
As my prayers grow and change I reflect upon Mary’s pain as she watched her son without control - dying to achieve God’s greatest goal.
As my prayers grow and change I know God is capable of any request,but not all of these can work for His best.
As my prayers grow and change I know it is not by chance, nor by plans of mine,but only through the Holy Spirit’s work divine.
So I will yield and let it be - by mysterious acts of the trinity.



Wanting wishes to come true, Kirk and Kelly



Thursday, July 8, 2010

Thank you to a very Special Lady!

Thank you!
Penny Pinching Pixie for helping me out by numbering my comments and telling me how to write my name!


Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Oh my goodness!

Hurry over to The Blogger's Club to win a $250. Target Gift Card!
Giveaway ends 7/7 so hurry up!

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Another CSN Giveaway!

Hey I wanted to let you all know of another CSN Giveaway over at Our Crazy House!
She has the same giveaway going on! Check her out at Our Crazy House. Her giveaway ends July 9th!

Friday, July 2, 2010

$40.00 CSN Giveaway



I am so impressed!

For the past several days I have spent my lunch hour looking at all the stuff
that CSN Stores has! Man, they have anything you could want.
Does your child have a small room and no space? Check out this bed from Platform Beds.

It is a bed and a dresser all in one!



Only $169.00 +


If you are not looking for a bed, which I wasn't but I kept looking and looking...



Hey, a girl can dream, right?

CSN has whatever you are looking for!

Check out some of the items I was looking at!

They have Alarm Clocks...
Sale Price:$23.80


To Razor's...

Razor A Kick Scooter in Blue - 13003A-BL
SKU #: RZR1000

Sale Price: $39.99

Sale Price:$21.99


And all kinds of Kitchen stuff...

Kinetic Black Wrought Iron Hanging Oval Pot Rack - 12021
SKU #: KTC1042

Sale Price:$39.99



I am telling you the list goes on and on!



They have over 200 different websites, that you can shop at! Plus if you find it cheaper somewhere else, the can match that price~


There is a "seen it for less" line right beside the price...If you have seen it for a better price they will match it!




Ashley over at CSN Stores has offered to give one CJCMOMMY's Stuff reader a
$40.00 promo code. That means that you can get something you want! You have
the option of getting something for under $40.00 (remember, if you don't want to have
to put any money to it, get one that says free shipping) or if you find something

you really want and it is over $40.00 add the money to it!



They have all sorts of payment options...

American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa
Google Checkout
PayPal
eBillme – Shop and pay cash with online banking.
Personal Checks, Cashier's Checks, and Money Orders




They are backed by the Better Business Bureau!




Ok... On with the giveaway!

Mandatory entry:



Visit CSN Stores come back and tell me in a comment what you would buy.



Extra entries:



Remember to leave a comment for each entry.

(each entry gets a separate comment)

Follow me in Google friends…2 entries



Subscribe to my email…2 entries



Tell me how you found me? 1 entry



Grab my button and tell me where to find it. 5 entries



Follow me on Twitter.. Leave me your Twitter ID. 2 entries





REMEMBER to leave your EMAIL address with each entry.



~I must know how to contact you if you win~



This giveaway will end July 10th at Midnight EST.

I was not compensated in any way from CSN Stores. All opinions are my own. I have never ordered anything from CSN Stores.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

~I am so EXCITED~

You may not know but my son is turning 12 this month. Not even 20 minutes ago I was thinking, how in the world am I going to throw him a birthday party?
Then I logged into my email and I won the $100.00 Cellfire giveaway at
I am so excited!
Thank you Eleanor and Cellfire!
I'm so excited!!!


Rules ARE Rules!

The Good news:

It was a normal day in Sharon Springs Kansas , when a Union Pacific crew boarded a loaded coal train for the long trek to Salina.


The Bad news:

Just a few miles into the trip a wheel bearing became overheated and melted, letting a metal support drop down and grind on the rail, creating white hot molten metal droppings spewing down to the rail.


The Good news:

A very alert crew noticed smoke about halfway back in the train and immediately stopped the train in compliance with the rules.


The Bad news:

The train stopped with the hot wheel over a wooden bridge with creosote ties and trusses.The crew tried to explain to higher-ups but were instructed not to move the train!

They were instructed….Rules prohibit moving the train when a part is defective!







REMEMBER...
RULES ARE RULES!
(Don't ever let common sense get in the way of a good disaster!)