Happy Mother's Day

One of my happiest and most fulfilling roles in my life is being a mother. It's not always an easy job. Sometimes there's heartaches and tears, but most of the time there's lots of laughter and love.

My Rewards

In my life I chose to be a mother,

Not always a glamorous career.

A job you do unselfishly

With no applauds or cheer.

You don’t have to be an expert

Or study for a college degree.

But it does require a heart full of love

And lots of prayers on bended knees.

And oh the blessings that I receive

The hugs, the love, the happiness.

You can’t add them up in dollars and cents,

But to me the rewards are priceless.

-Patricia Rice


Scott




Aaron




Mark




Neal



We are so thankful for the love of our sons and their support during this time in our lives.

They have been so great.

We love you Scott, Neal, Aaron, and Mark!!

Hard Saying Good-Bye

One of the saddest words to me is GOOD-BYE!

Jerry's sister, Jennifer, her husband, Steve, and their two daughters, Olivia and Aleise came for a visit.

They spoiled us rotten with love and kindness. They were such an encouragement to us. We sat around and talked and reminisced about old times, watched old family videos, and ate more than we should, but it was such a great time. Olivia and Aleise are two of the sweetest girls you would ever want to meet.

The hard part was telling them Good-Bye.

The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed

at home in the bosom of my family.  ~Thomas JeffersonThe happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home

 in the bosom of my family.  ~Thomas Jefferson

Aleise, Brylee, Steve, Jennifer, Olivia, Jerry, Patricia, Kyla, Hayden, Neal, and Amy

A Good Week

The Lord has given us such a good week. There are a few times I can almost imagine that Jerry isn't sick.

The blood transfusion Monday gave him some energy. We have gotten out a little and were even able to go to church Wednesday night.

One of the highlights of our week was getting to see some good friends from Florida, Pastor Steve and Brenda Ware. We worked for them in Orlando at Heritage Preparatory School. We  had become good friends while we were there. They are wonderful people with kind hearts.

Steve Ware, Pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Orlando, Florida,
his wife, Brenda, and their traveling companion, Jack

Please pray that Jerry's energy will stay up. We have family coming in from out of town the next two weeks.

We love you.

Thankful for a Christian Doctor

We still believe that God is in control of our lives and makes no mistakes. Even with the one He chose to be our family doctor.

When we first moved to Greenville, we had the job of finding a doctor. I have to admit I like a woman doctor. My husband didn't care and so he said that would be fine with him. Our doctor was still taking new patients at the time and they were able to work us in. She has been great and such a blessing to us. She not only cares about our physical, but also our spiritual.

Yesterday she asked that we stop by to see her just so she could give Jerry a hug. While in the room, she prayed with us and asked us if we were at peace with our situation. To us it was amazing. It gave us encouragement knowing a doctor is praying for you and loving you as they care for you.

Jerry's red cells were low again yesterday. They had to give him a transfusion of 2 units of red blood cells. It always gives him a boost of energy for a few days and so he is  feeling pretty good today. We take advantage of the good days and enjoy them to the fullest.

Please continue praying.
We love you.

Psalm 56:3-4

What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust;

I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.

Asking for some extra prayers.

Tuesday morning when Jerry woke up, he didn't have enough energy to hardly get out of bed. I had to help him. He was so shaky and weak. I called the doctor and they checked his blood counts. They had dropped really low. They admitted him to the hospital overnight (not our favorite place to be).

After platelets and blood transfusions, he is feeling some better. He still has no energy. He also sleeps a lot. He got to come home this morning.

It was scary yesterday, because we know that this is just the beginning and it's hard watching him go through what he calls "his process."

We're just trying to enjoy all the time that we do have.

We want to thank everyone so much for prayers, love, and support. We know that the prayers of God's people have got us this far and they'll carry us through the rest of the battle.

We love you!

Also, Jerry was so blessed and honored. Greenville Christian Academy dedicated the 2011-2012 Yearbook to him. It was such a wonderful surprise for him.

His Grace Is Sufficient

2 Corinthians 12:9

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee:

for my strength  is made perfect in weakness.

 Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities,

that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Our Pastor, Tim Butler, had asked Jerry to preach Sunday night. Jerry was so excited and a little afraid because he wasn't for sure how strong he would be. But we prayed all week that the Lord would give him the strength to be able to preach and share God's word even if it was just one more time.

I know I'm his wife, but I was so proud of him.

The title of his message was "What If God Says No."  Sometimes God doesn't give us what we want, but He does promise that His grace is sufficient to handle His will for our life. We rejoice in all His love, watch care, and tender mercies to us.

Family Time

To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there. 

 ~Barbara Bush

So thankful for our family. I liked this quote by Barbara Bush, because when I read it I thought about our family. That's just what they have done. They have put their arms around us and have been there for us.

This weekend we had a wonderful visit from our son, Aaron, his wife, Jackie, and their four kids - Ethan, Emmas, Elena, and Evan.

It was such a great visit. Jerry just sit there smiling and watching the whirlwind of activity and enjoying all the loving from the grandkids. Monday, we both agreed it was too quiet.