Music Monday-You're Not Shaken by Phil Stacey

This week's song is by Phil Stacey (from American Idol): You're Not Shaken!

Have you been having a rough time lately? Are you questioning God why certain events have taken place? Remember that God is not shaken, and he will never let his people shake! You may not understand, but just TRUST HIS plan he has for you! What you are going through now, is part of that plan! God has never left you...so don't let go of HIM now!




(On a side note: I chose this song last week (I think on Tuesday), and scheduled this post. As I was posting this, I was thinking that this song really didn't apply to me personally right now. I was mainly posting it for other people. But after this past week's event, especially losing loved ones, it does apply. It's amazing how God works...he knew what was to come!) I hope you enjoy this week's song!

Week Wrap-Up

Wow...it has definitely been a crazy and hectic week....good things and bad things! I know I did a few posts earlier in the week, but am now just going to briefly wrap up the week!!!

As most of you know, Richard McCulley passed away Wednesday morning at 12:26am. He was 47 years old and had CF. However, cancer was what took him home to the Lord, and not his CF! Please continue to keep his wife Kori and their 2 boys in your prayers. Richard is no longer in any pain and is rejoicing with his Lord and Savior in Heaven. Brandi and I attended his visitation and funeral services Friday night and Saturday. It was very nice and very well attended! Kori seems to be doing pretty well. Thank you all for your support for them over these last few hard months. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to the McCulley Trust Fund, which can be found on their blog (if you have access to it-the blog is set to private). If you do not have access, please let me know and I can get you more information!

We had a family friend pass away this past week as well, and another in the hospital with a shattered shoulder, and possible bone cancer!

I have not been feeling good this week, and really, it hasn't gotten much better. Although I've been very busy these last few days. You can read how my clinic appointment went on Wednesday, here. I did attend class Wed night after clinic (5:30-10pm). It was a LONG night, but glad I was able to make it through! And for those of you that had been reading my updates on my friend Tony, who was transplanted about 5 weeks ago, he is doing exceptionally AWESOME!!! I've seen him several times over the last few weeks at clinic and other places. He also spoke at Richard's funeral on Saturday, and did a great job! He is feeling so great and is happy to get back to daily life with his wife and son!!! God is definitely amazing!

Thursday, my friend Katy from Texas, and I were able to spend some time at our lake house. Although the weather wasn't too great towards the end of the day, we still had a great time. We were able to tube for a little while (which I was glad because I haven't "tubed" all summer). She stayed with me Wed night through Friday morning!

In addition to the funeral yesterday, we also had our annual CF gala! As you all know, I'm very involved with the CF Foundation and try to be at every event possible. So as soon as the funeral was over, I high-tailed it back to Birmingham and arrived to help with our gala about 5:00. It was a great night, and I think everyone had a great time. It was a crazy night as well, as we were short MANY volunteers. Due to the other 2 Alabama-CFF employees being out of town, I was really 2nd in charge of activities throughout the night and keeping everything in line. So I was basically running around like crazy with my head-cut off! But hey...I always enjoy doing it!!! I will post pictures and more info about the actual event later in the week. I didn't get to take a lot of pictures, since I didn't have the time, but I did take a few. I think we (myself, our CF chapter director and our Chairman of the board) left the venue about midnight. After getting home, unloading, and eating, I think I went to sleep about 2:30am! I slept til 1:00 this afternoon...YIKES!! That was definitely not planned, but I know I needed the sleep!

Tomorrow I start back work at Sweet Pea (my usual Fall/temporary job until December). I love this job and are excited to be going back. If you have never checked out our stationery products, I highly recommend it. We have some awesome designs!!! I love all of them (although they aren't the cheapest, they are extremely good quality and professional looking). I've been used to not working the entire summer, and I know it will take a little while to get adjusted to working again. I haven't decided on my hours yet, as it will still be part time (probably around 30 hrs) for right now! I need to have a little time to study for my classes too!!

Well, I think that's basically the week in review! I hope everyone has had a great week and weekend! I've got another busy week ahead of me, and are praying I start feeling better SOON!! I will probably make a call into my transplant coordinator tomorrow. I was supposed to call her Thursday, but wasn't able to!

R.I.P. Richard/Clinic Update

As Kori stated: Richard graced the gates of Heaven today at 12:26 A.M. Since I was at clinic early this A.M., I found out right away...around 7:00. Please keep Kori and the family in your prayers! Since Kori and Richard lived locally to me, I will be going to the funeral this Saturday and possibly visitation on Friday.

Clinic Update: Well, I managed to escape Club Med, but only slightly! I came home with inhaled TOBI and oral Cipro to try and knock this infection out! My PFT's were down about 7-8% (41/39); my WBC count was down to 2.3 (last time it was 5.8), my creatnine was high (1.4, and I usually run 0.8 or 0.9), and I have lost about 8 pounds...not good! So the culprit...some sort of infection. Hopefully these two strong abx will knock it out! If i'm not better by the 1st of next week, well, then you can probably finish that sentence! NO TIME TO GET SICK...work, class, TOO much to do and it's only been 1.5 months since my last admission!

It's been a LONG morning! I didn't get out of clinic until about 11:30. I'm now home..planning on taking a nap before class at 5:30 until 9:50. A friend of mine from Texas is staying with me tonight and tomorrow night. We have plans to go to the lake tomorrow, although my coordinator wants me resting ONLY and not tubing or water skiing. So we'll see. She didn't want me to go to class either, but tonight is our first lab class, and I really can't afford to miss it. If it wasn't the 1st class, I probably would opt to stay home! I'm supposed to start work back on Friday (more info in a post to come), but may postpone it til Monday due to being sick and the funeral/visitation for Richard. We have our annual CFF Gala Saturday night as well (which I know I will be out from about 4:30 to midnight volunteering).

Babysitting in San Francisco

I have been given the opportunity to fly to San Francisco to babysit for a couple I know! Kind of an odd job...but hey, I'm up for whatever...and you all know how much i love babysitting and kids! From Alabama to California....here I come! This will be my 3rd (well, 4th if you count the medjet flight for transplant)to California! I've never really been anywhere else (with the exception of Florida for the beach)in the United States. I think it's kind of funny, because California is practically the farthest state from where i live! (except Hawaii). I never imagined I would travel to CA the many times I have and to Mexico! And this has all just happened in the last few years!

So...I am flying out to San Fran/San Jose on October 1st through Sunday October 4th! I am keeping a little 2 yr old Thursday night through Saturday morning! The couple I'm babysitting for doesn't really have any family out there to keep their little boy, and they have been wanting to take this particular trip for a while now. The trip (hiking trip) involves staying overnight and not exactly the right settings for a 2 year old! So she asked me :)

They are paying for my flight; I'm staying at their house!! And...they are paying me to babysit! Great deal if you ask me! On Saturday, she is taking me into the city to sight see, etc. I'm really excited! As you may recall, our trip to San Fran for the CF Conference back in July got canceled. And although I'll be working part of this trip, I feel like it is almost a little blessing from God!

To make it even better, my cousin and cousin-law, who live in the San Francisco area, are having a baby the 1st week of September (if she arrives on time). So I'm hoping that I will get to see my new little baby cousin at that time as well!

So that is my good news to share with you!

Under-the-weather

I've been feeling a little under the weather lately, and feel like I'm getting worse and not better! UGH!!! No time to be sick! So I called my transplant coordinator and are going to clinic in the morning. I have a scheduled appointment next Wednesday and REALLY REALLY wanted to hold out until then, but my coordinator really wants me to come. I'm still debating...but I guess I will go! I'm just not looking forward to getting up at 5:30 AM!

I've lost about 6-7lbs, which is a little more weight than I can afford to lose...that puts me at about 90-91 pounds. I've also had a low-grade fever a couple of days, chest pain, sob, major fatigue, and major wheezing. I'm praying I can escape clinic with some oral abx!

I have a friend coming in from Texas and she is spending the night with me tomorrow and Thursday. We are going to the lake on Thursday, providing the weather is good! So I am excited about this and really hope I feel great!

I have class tomorrow night too...and this is the 1st night for our anatomy lab class...so i'm definitely curious, but not looking forward to more studying :) My lecture and lab class last from 5:30pm-9:50pm (long night)! I've got to get organized and start studying EACH night for this class, or come test night, I'm going to be in deep trouble!

ALSO...I start back work on Friday...yippee!!

I have some exciting news to share with you, in which I will post about later this week!

Also, for those of you following my updates with Emily, she was scheduled to get a trach put in today. She has kind of taken a backward turn, so we are praying she will turn around in the POSITIVE direction quickly!

CF Shirts For Sell

I have several t-shirts left over from my 2008 CF Great Strides Team! I really have no use for them, and they have just been hanging in my closet! So I thought I would try and sell them, in which 100% of the proceeds will go towards my 2009 CF Great Strides Miracles Team!

I have 4 SMALLS available for sell. I have included pictures of the shirts below. (I apologize for the wrinkles in the shirts). They are Gildan brand t-shirts, 100% cotton, and in a BEAUTIFUL Indigo Blue Color! I do realize there is a picture on the back, so let me give a brief explanation. Obviously, the middle person is me. The picture was actually taken in December of 2006...not my favorite picture :) The other two people (Adam on the right and Amy on the left), are CFers who have also had double lung transplants. They are really good friends of mine; we are all the same age and were a big support system for each other as we went through our transplants. We all 3 had our transplants within a year of each other, with me being the last. Adam had his transplant on Christmas Day of 2003! All 3 of us love our Lord and Savior and are walking testimonies to His wonderful and powerful Grace!!

Also, the design on the front as well as part of the back graphics were designed by my friend Shaun, who passed away this year. So this is very special to me!

And of course my favorite quote is on the back of the shirts! If you are interested in purchasing one, please leave a comment or send me an email. The shirts are $10!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!

"Professional" Cruise Pics

Here a a few of the pictures the "cruise line photo people" took of us! They take TONS and TONS of pictures, then display them in one of the areas on the ship. You can buy the photos, or recycle them. I did decide to buy a couple....but most of the time, my snap shots turned out just as good! I did buy one 8x10 picture from formal night..but it is a little difficult to scan!!! I also bought a cute frame for the 8x10 picture in the photo gallery, which had the name of our ship and a few other cute phrases on it!

They took this one in the cruise terminal before boarding the ship...BON VOYAGE!

Progresso! As soon as you got off the ship, they would have the staff take pictures as you were exiting off the ramp onto the pier. You basically smiled, said "cheese" within a matter of 5 seconds, and off to the next person! So....each day I didn't have my sunglasses out yet, so that is why I'm squinting...but i don't think it's too bad.....I think we both look cute with the pirate lady :) I'm going to try and find a frame for this one! I think the other 2 (one above and one below) will be put in my scrapbook!

And Cozumel! The color of our shirts just happened to match the border design/colors they were using!

Cruise Pictures Part III-Towel Animals

Each night on the cruise, our room steward would leave us a "towel animal." It was kind of neat!!! When we would come in from dinner and/or a show...there the animal would be...waiting on our beds :)

Night 1: Bunny

Night 2: Elephant (they found my sunglasses and put them on it)

Night 3: Pig

Night 4: Dog

Night 5: Sting Ray

On Wednesday, they had a "seminar" where they taught us how to create some of the towel animals. I know it may sound a little cheesy...but my friend and I thought it was fun!!! They even have a book that shows you how to make over 20 towel animals (of course you had to buy it though)!!!

Update on Emily

Please continue to pray for my friend Emily! As her lungs have gotten MUCH better, the plans were to extubate her this past Thursday. Unfortunately, that has not happened yet, as she has hit another obstacle! Her kidneys have completely shut down, and they have started her on dialysis as of Thursday night. We are praying this is just temporary, due to some of the medicines she has been on. Yesterday was a tough day, as she was extremely agitated, and throwing up as well. Extubation is not out of the question, but has been put on hold until she is stable once again! Please pray specifically for her kidneys to start functioning (even with the dialysis), for her to remain stable so she can come off the ventilator, and for God to give her a peace about the situation so they can get her agitation under control. She is now approaching about 3 weeks on the vent. She is still at UAB on HTICU. We know God is right there with her, holding her hand! Thank you for your continued prayers!

For those of you that have not been following her blog, or my updates, Emily is a CF/transplant patient who became infected with the swine flu! You can click here to visit her blog, in which a friend of hers updates almost daily!

Aspiemom's Giveaway!

Aspiemom has decided to do a giveaway to celebrate the 10,000 visitors to her blog!!! The winner will receive this:


(A 1.70 dry qt. bag of Yankee Candle Spiced Pumpkin Fragrance Potpourri)

And she is also including 2 other surprise things in her giveaway!!! So if you are interested in winning this awesome giveaway, venture on over to her blog: Then Am I Strong to see how to enter!!!

Also give her some blog lovin and pray for her upcoming hospital CF tune-up!!!

Back to School

Today I start back to school...or college rather! I am beginning my pre-requisite classes for nursing school!! Yay....I'm very excited!!!! Not that I'm looking forward to studying again, but that I'm one step closer to my dream career!!!!

My classes will be Monday nights from 5:30-6:45pm and Wednesday Nights from 5:30 to 9:50 PM!! Since I can't officially start the nursing program til next August...I am spacing out my pre-req classes instead of taking them all at once!

It was nice to have the summer off....no studying, no classes!!! Now I'm adding 2 more years of school...UGH!!! But at least I have a degree to fall back on if I need too!!!

I have been babysitting like crazy...people calling every day...people asking for the same days....very crazy! But I've considered it a blessing...because I've needed these jobs this summer to have a little income!

Oh...and for those of you following my updates on my friend Emily (CF/transplant who has the swine flu)....she breathed on her own for 6 hours yesterday!!! The doctors weren't even sure if she would be able to handle 30 minutes!!! But she surpassed their expectations! We are praying that she can come off the ventilator fully by Thursday!!! God is definitely good and has definitely been answering our prayers!!! Thanks to all of you who have been praying! Please continue to do so! If she can continue on this track today of coming off the vent....then she can avoid getting a trach put in. She's been on the vent for about 3 weeks now. My hope is that I can actually talk to her this weekend since I will be up on our transplant floor at UAB.

Cruise Pictures: Part II

These pictures are from day 3 of my cruise, which was spent in Cozumel, Mexico! One word to describe the beaches, water, scenery, etc.: PARADISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The shore excursion we took part in was an adventure, and as you will read below, we were not able to take pictures because our cameras would have gotten soaking wet (literally fully immersed in water)! So all my pictures are from the port/pier area!

Our shore excursion was called "Isla Passion By Twister." It included a thrill ride on a speed boat; We experienced incredible acceleration and high speed maneuvers, including 360° turns at high speed (up to 70mph), as Twister (name of boat) skimmed along the Caribbean waters! Following the boat ride, Twister took us to a private island where we enjoyed about 3.5 hours of relaxation at Isla Pasion’s white sand beach. We also had an open bar and lunch buffet. And the island had an open-air mini mall with lots of clothing, pottery, jewelry, etc., to shop for. I bought my Mom some beautiful and extremely good quality pottery--salt and pepper shakers!! She loved them! Then afterwards, Twister took us back to the pier/port area! The ride to and from the island was about 30 minutes. And then we spent a few extra minutes playing around doing 360's! Oh...and once again, our two tour guides for this shore excursion were pretty cute/hot =) At the end of the excursion, one of our tour guides was giving us instructions and said, "We may me Mexican, but we are all brother's in Christ." I thought that was awesome...so I gave him an extra tip!!!!

I don't have captions on the pictures...because I'm not paying for premium features! But you can probably figure it out! Enjoy...i hope you check the pictures out....really do!!!!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Music Monday/Hope in Difficult Times

Hope: "The confident, joyful expectation that God is working, both now and in the future, for MY GOOD, and for HIS GLORY!"

Every now and then I like to incorporate God's Word with some of my Music Monday posts. I really encourage you to read ALL THE WAY through this post and not just listen to the song!! I believe these words of God are very encouraging!

I mentioned before that the theme this year for our church's Sunday sermons is Hope. This past Sunday kicked off a series for Hope in Difficult Times! And WOW...was it a powerful message!!!!! I was in tears as most of the congregation was because of how powerful the message was and other events surrounding Sunday morning.

So this week's song (I may have done it before....sorry if I did) is "In Christ Alone." The version I am posting is by the Newsboys! In Christ Alone, my Hope is Found!



"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

Whether the difficult times for you are related to an illness, divorce, financial debt, depression, special needs child, etc., we ALL are groaning inwardly as we wait for God to restore ALL of creation! God will restore all of creation and God will restore and redeem MY body!! "For in this hope, we were saved! But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." Romans 8: 23-25

Remember that God is with YOU through your suffering! God is with you during your darkest moment. "The Holy Spirit helps us in our inabilities; the spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." Romans 8:26-27

It is hard sometimes to realize that God is using our suffering for our good. I think it is especially hard for CF patients to continue through life without losing Hope. God has predestined (already decided) what struggles we will go through in life! All things work together according to His purpose! Each time I go in the hospital with pneumonia, it's part of God's plan! He is working inside of me! He is conforming me to the image of his Son, Jesus. If you truly love God, then you have Hope in Him. And you can rely on this hope during difficult times! It's all part of your journey on Earth. None of it is a surprise to God.

I think it's amazing to think of it this way. Over the last 5 years since my transplant, I always respond to getting sick or other post-transplant issues in a different way. Yes, sometimes I get frustrated. But I know that something good will come out of it, that God is working in me! And that gives me Hope; it gives me the strength I need to move and carry on. I know he is right there beside me helping me through!

In Romans 8:18, it says, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Yes, it sad that we go through these struggles, and a lot of them are very difficult to endure; but none of our difficult times/struggles (even CF, cancer, etc.) compare to the Glory that God will reveal; to the redemption of our bodies; and to the restoration of all creation!

So my prayer for you this week is: "May the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."
(Romans 15:13)

Christ Jesus is our Hope!!!!!

Cruise Pictures: Part I

I was trying to think of a good way to post my pictures from my cruise! I took LOTS LOTS and LOTS of pictures! So I am starting out by sharing the photos from day 2 of my cruise, which was spent in Progresso, Mexico, which is right on the Yucatan Peninsula! I created a "photo book" through Smilebox to help organize and journal the pictures! Click on the cover photo to view the entire album (it's not long...i promise). I hope you enjoy....and i hope this method of sharing (using Smilebox) works well! Stay tuned for more pictures!!!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Anonymous Comment...Seriously???

So when i returned home from my trip, i was checking the many emails I had, and came across this email, from which a comment was received on my blog from this post! It made me too mad, not to comment on it!
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Anonymous said...
Not to be a downer, but is it really a good idea to become a nurse? The reason I ask is that it only takes one bug to get into your new lungs and destroy the gift that God gave you. No offense, but I personally think that is irresponsible. What would the donor's family think if something like that happened? I don't think they'd be too pleased.
I have CF and waiting for my double lung transplant and I'd never put myself at risk like that. That is why when we are in the hospital they want us out ASAP so we don't pick up anymore bugs. Being a nurse would expose you daily to bacteria, viral infections and so on. Not a good idea.
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Because it was from an anonymous person, I can't respond to them specifically! However, in case this anonymous person reads my blog on a daily basis or whenever I post new material, I want to respond to you! And I want to let my readers know why I disagree and actually feel offended and upset by this post!

First off, in response to "what would the donor's family think?" Well, the other donor's family is my mother and a family best friend! And my parents have always taught me to go for my dreams and goals in life and not let anything stop them. And the family friend who donated the 2nd lung/lobe would be all for this decision as well! They are all 100% supportive in this decision! And while catching a bug or bacteria is not in my "plans," my "donors" or friends/family are not going to be offended or displeased if something like that did happen! Unfortunately, I've had my share of lung infections since transplant without even being a nurse or working in a healthcare environment! And believe it or not, my entire transplant team of doctors, nurses, etc., all support me in this decision too!

Secondly, I don't think it is irresponsible! There are several of you bloggers out there that are CFers AND nurses! I also know 2 friends locally who have CF and have had a transplant and are currently practicing nursing in a hospital. I do realize that there are some risks associated with becoming a nurse, but nothing that I do is going to endanger anyone else! This is my dream job/career that I've wanted since I was 3 years old! I will take the necessary precautions to keep me as healthy as possible! But it IS POSSIBLE to be a nurse and work in areas that put you in less risk of catching certain bugs or bacteria!

Thirdly, I believe with all my heart God BLESSED me with CF and with my transplant! It truly was a miracle performed by HIM! And there is no possible way that I would have survived being so sick and through the actual procedure and recovery if it wasn't for my Lord and Savior! He is truly the one that gets all the credit! And never in a million years would I view it as destroying the gift that God gave me! Seriously....that comment right there ticks me off so bad.....i'm screaming inside right now! You...."anonymous commenter" say: "not to be a downer, and no offense," Well, i take major offense by some of these comments, and yes, you are being a downer! (Just FYI)!

I know very well why CFers go in the hospital! Obviously, I've been there, done that! While I'm sorry you feel this way, and I'm sorry you are sick enough to be on the transplant list, I think you are looking at this from the wrong point of view! I know there are people who disagree with me wanting to become a nurse! That's fine! Express your opinions, but keep these rude and offensive comments to yourself! God gave me this beautiful gift (beautiful new lungs), so I can continue with my life and pursue my dreams!!!! And this is what I want to do! There is a small risk associated with it, but I'm willing to take it! I'm not going to sit around and not even at least try or attempt to accomplish my goals and dreams! I think nursing will be an awesome career for me and I will be awesome at it! I love the field and truly want to make a difference in other's lives! I will never put anyone else at risk! And if I do catch some sort of bacteria, etc., it can be handled/treated, and we will cross that bridge when and if it ever gets there!

So...sorry if I offended you by my reply to your comment! But it really offended me...especially bringing the donors (who are family members) and God into the "picture", it was seriously unacceptable and extremely rude! However, I've discarded and deleted your comment and email, and hope the best for you in your upcoming and hopefully soon transplant! May God Bless you through your transplant journey as well!

I'M BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm back from my cruise as of tonight!!! I had the most awesome time and I can't wait to share!!!! But that will have to wait a few days!!! The trip went pretty well! I appreciate all your prayers!!!

I also wanted to give a quick update on my friend Emily, who you have been reading about in my posts! They did identify that the flu strand she has is the swine flu!!! She is still on the ventilator! Our doctor feels she will make a full recovery, but she continues to be challenged each day, and has not yet made that progression off the ventilator! She is very agitated and restless! Please pray for God to give her peace, for her to be able to rest, for her lungs to heal, and for her oxygen to keep getting better and stay stable so they can try once again to start weaning her off the ventilator!! She really needs to come off of it SOON, to avoid getting a trach. I did not go visit her the other day before I left for my cruise, in fear I would have caught something (and this was before I knew it was the swine flu). I'm so glad I decided not to visit her! (well, i really just wanted to talk to her husband, but knew that he had been sick too and exposed to whatever Emily had at that time). So please continue to keep her in your prayers! She really needs them as she is literally still fighting for her life! And there have not been many cases reported of a CFer and transplanter with the swine flu (H1N1)!!!! I know she is in great hands of our Lord as well as our UAB Transplant Team!

LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of GREAT pictures to come!!!!! Back to reality...which includes babysitting this weekend, and preparing for classes, which start next week...UGH!!!

Lots of Love!!!!

CF Adult Transition Webcast!!!

Join the CF Community again, as Pulmozyme, sponsors a CF Web Cast!

Thursday, August 27 at 08:00 PM EST

These Web Casts are held frequently amongst many CF organizations! However, I just post about the ones that I feel can be extremely valuable to my readers!

Transitioning from being a teenager to a young adult with CF means you will need to take responsibility for your own care. Dr. Marcia Katz, along with Casey Flaherty, a 25-year-old with CF, and Casey’s mother Paula Flaherty, will provide guidance and strategies to help you and your family manage the transition into adulthood successfully. The webcast will also explore important issues for CF teens and adults, including information on balancing life, work and school and establishing the best possible CF care routine.

Dr. Marcia Katz, Director, Adult CF Center, Baylor College will provide guidance on effectively transitioning from adolescence to adulthood with CF and strategies for improving compliance to medications, exercise, nutrition and keeping a positive attitude. CF patient Casey Flaherty, and her mother Paula Flaherty will share their experiences, challenges and successes in managing CF.

During the webcasts, Dr. Katz and Dr. McColley will answer your questions live. Everyone is encouraged to submit questions live during the webcast or beforehand to get answers and advice from Dr. Katz, Casey and her mother Paula. This event provides valuable information for people with CF, their friends and family.

I know for me, the transition to the Adult CF Care Team really never happened. I was swifted away for transplant, before that became necessary! So I really never had to deal with switching doctors, hospitals, etc. to the "CF adult side." I did have to with transplant, but I think the situation is a little different.

Some CF Centers don't have a separate adult CF Care team and/or clinic/hospital! But even though I didn't experience the "clinical transition", i did experience the physical and emotional transition somewhat! I think "young adult" can refer to any age beginning at the high school level! And I know this transition can be tough! And as I watch my CF friends go through this stage, I want to be there to support them! And one of those ways is to provide them with as much knowledge as possible! In addition, i think others's experiences are key in helping that individual make that transition a successful one! So I hope you will consider checking this webcast out, if, of course, it pertains to where you are in your CF journey! (Even parents can check this out as well)!!!

Click here for more information and/or to register!

Music Monday- "Hold On"

This week's song is "Hold On" by 33 Miles (again)!

For God, who said, "Let Light Shine Out of Darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ!

Just give Jesus your hand...and HOLD ON! Jesus is always fighting for you! So when you think you can't go on any longer, or feel like you've lost your faith, or strength...just hold on a little longer! Hold on to Jesus....He will get you standing tall again!



"The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of His feet." Nahum 1:3

I hope everyone is having a great Monday/week so far!

Gone Cruisin'

I have officially left for my cruise (this post was scheduled)!!! Please keep me in your prayers for safety and feeling good!!!

And please continue to keep my friend Emily in your prayers, as she was flown to UAB Thursday night. She is still on the ventilator and still fighting for her life!! I pray that when I get back she will be off the vent and SO SO much better!!

I did get to see my friend Tony on Friday...and he is doing AWESOME!! He's just waiting on that last chest tube to be removed so he can be discharged!

THANKS!!!!!!!!

Prayers Please

I have a couple of prayer requests, since I know how awesome the blogger prayer chain can be!

First, as most of you know, I leave on a cruise Saturday morning. I will be gone on a Western Caribbean cruise for 6 days. We will make stops in Cozumel and Progresso Mexico! Our ship departs out of New Orleans, and my parents are driving my friend and I down (only about a 4.5 hr drive)! Please pray for a safe trip! But more importantly, please pray that I feel good, REALLY GOOD for this trip! I have had some health issues come up the last couple of days that have me a little worried/concerned! And I actually just finished a 2 week course of oral antibiotics last week. All i want to do is to be able to enjoy this trip without any health complications or interferences during the trip! I SO want these issues to be gone by Saturday!

Secondly, one of my dear CF/transplant friends, has been sick for a couple of weeks, and has been on the ventilator now for about 1 week! The doctors have finally identified what kind of infection she has (a type of flu), so now they can treat her accurately and more aggressively! However, this has really knocked her down and she has a long recovery in front of her! God is so good and I know he is right there with her. I have full confidence she will make a full recovery! But she needs our prayers!! She is not out of the woods yet! She was actually transplanted here at my local transplant center, but is from Texas, and right now in the hospital in Texas. The team of doctors are communicating back and forth! Please pray that she can remain in Texas so her family can be with her, but also that the doctors make the right decisions and if she needs to be airlifted to UAB, they will do that. Although I have complete peace with what God wants to do, I can't help but worry about her because of Shaun, my friend who recently passed away. She has exhibited some of the same exact symptoms and is on the ventilator! But God is giving me a peace about it as well. The difference though is that the team of doctors have identified the type of infection making her sick....which is great! You can click here to visit her blog! Her friend has been updating pretty much daily and I know she will love to read your comments (she passes them along to Emily's husband)!

UPDATE (7:40 pm): Emily was supposed to be life-flighted to UAB around 4:30 this afternoon. The flight will take about 4 hours! Please pray for a safe flight! She has not made any progress today and the situation is a little serious! I'm glad she will be at UAB with the transplant team! I'm going to check on her tomorrow! I hate that I'm leaving Saturday and will not be able to follow updates until I return...this breaks my heart...and now I'm really concerned for her! Thank you to those who visited her blog!

THANK YOU!!!!

Text Message Periodic Table

As I was browsing through Walmart the other day, I came across this pocket folder for school children! And I just had to share it with you!! If you click on the picture, you can view the details!!....which i highly encourage you to do!

Giveaway by Jane

Jane at Moonflowers Mojitos And Me, is celebrating her 150th post by giving away an AWESOME giveaway package! Did I mention awesome???

Here are just a few of the things included in this giveaway:
**A Mascara Sample Including: small tubes of Anastasia Lash Lifting Mascara, Tarte Lights Camera Lashes, Sephora Atomic Volume Mascara, Stila Multi Effect Mascara, Benefit Bad Gal Mini, Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash, Too Faced Mini Lash Injection Pin Point, Smashbox Bionic, Lancome Cils Booster, DuWop Lash Venom, and Korres Provitamin B5 and Rice Bran Mascara

Some absolutely perfect cocktail napkins

So...if you really want to enter this giveaway...venture on over to her blog to see how to enter! The deadline is this Friday---August 7th!! But of course it's fine with me if you don't enter =)

Thanks to Livia's Mom for coming across this great website! I found it very interesting myself, and wanted to share it with you!

Clicks for Cystic Fibrosis

"Established in 2007, Clicks! for Cystic Fibrosis, and our parent company Clicks! for the Cause, Inc. were created with one goal in mind – to maximize donations for key charitable organizations and help save lives. Clicks! for Cystic Fibrosis has created an easy way for individuals to ensure their favorite charity receives a portion of the profit from their online purchases. We understand that many people want to donate more, but simply cannot afford to do so. However, by having a percentage of their online day-to-day purchases go through our website – they can donate effortlessly."

The Clicks! for Cystic Fibrosis toolbar gives you instant access to all of the great features of the Clicks! for Cystic Fibrosis website from anywhere you travel on the Internet. By installing their toolbar, it can automatically detect affiliate sites so you don't have to go to their site each time to make a purchase!

Some of their newest retail partners include: Old Navy and Amazon.com!

I encourage everyone to visit Clicks! for Cystic Fibrosis and have a look around. It's a great way to donate to the CF Foundation!

Music Monday-Jesus Calling

Wow...it's been awhile since I've posted a Music Monday! I plan on keeping up with it now!

Are you having a rough Monday? Or had a rough weekend? Listen to this song: Jesus Calling, by 33 Miles!



I made a few more changes to the layout of my blog! I divided my blog roll into several different categories. There was getting to be so many blogs I followed and wanted to share, that I was getting confused of what type of blog each one was! So I hope this division into categories better helps you as well! For newcomers to my blog, I thought this might be a good idea, so they could visit the blogs that better suited their lifestyle/situation! If I have left your blog off or you would like me to add your blog, please let me know!

Also, for those you you that were seeing my 3rd column of the blog at the bottom of the page instead of the top, that was a minor glitch on my part, and has now been fixed! Thanks Brandi for letting me know!

Background Change

Ok, so I've changed the background of my blog to the striped background! The majority of the comments liked the stripes and would prefer to see the stripes! So let me know what you think and if you ONLY view the stripes! Some people (as well as me) were concerned that NOT having the solid pink background break up the stripes and the blog would leave the background too busy! But I think it's ok with me! Hope you like it! I can always change it back!

The weather isn't looking so hot here today, so we've decided not to go to the lake!