Tamara's Song of the Week

God will make this trial a blessing!

I’ve just come into a valley one like I’ve never been before.
I keep searching for a way out seems like pad locks are on the doors.
Oh there must be another sunrise another sunset that I’ll see.
God will make this trial a blessing that’s the love he has for me.

I was not the first one to come into this place.
You see every child of God this test you must face.
It is here that God will mold you and make you what you ought to be.
God will make this trial a blessing just be patient you will see.

Now I’m standing on a mountain looking back I can see.
When I was in that lowest valley his strong hand was leading me.
Oh its good to see the sunshine and to taste sweet victory.
God has made this trial a blessing oh the grace he gives to me.

God will make this trial a blessing tho it sends me to my knees.
Tho my tears flow like a river yet in him there’s sweet relief.
There’s no need to get discouraged there’s no need to talk defeat.
God will make this trial a blessing and the whole wide world will see.

as recorded by The McKamey's

See them sing it live here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSlSeYg34UE

What A Day the Lord Blessed Us With

I want to start by saying that when your preacher tells you, or you read it in the Bible that God answers prayers in His time, IT IS TRUE!!!!! Ever since Jay was laid off in December we have tried to get our house payment modified. We knew that the government was "bailing out" the companies and that they were to provide help to people who needed it. Well, we felt that we needed it. Each month of the 7, yes seven, months that Jay has been out of work we have called our mortgage company and tried to get our loan modified. Each month they have said that we do not qualify. Until now! God has answered our prayers and the company has said we finally qualify for modification. This will take 3 months to complete with all of the paperwork, but our loan payment goes down immediately! It is a 57% savings each month for us!

The Lord is so good!

Just keep believing that He will take care of you and He Will!!!

I Survived the Rotisserie

Funny, Funny, Funny Story. When the doctor told Jay last week that he was doing both a colonoscopy and endoscopy, Jay joked that they were going from both "ends" and meeting in the middle making me a rotisserie. Well, I survived the rotisserie.

When you hear people say that the prep is worse than the procedure, believe them, it is. Yesterday was the worst and at times I did not think I was going to make it. Today, I started out in a much better mood! I was fearful of being awake for the procedure, and at the end they did have to wake me up due to some spasms I was having. But it was almost over, and I did OK. It actually helped me to wake up earlier as I was able to listen to what the doctor said instead of relying on Jay to tell me what he said. (Anybody who knows Jay will know that he cannot relay information very well) (I love him anyway).

So the verdict is in, colon ulceration and diverticulitis. I had an ulceration that had been bleeding, so they "patched" me up, took some biopsies and told me to come back in a week. I am so relieved to know the cause of my pain for the past 7 weeks and that it should go away now. Thank God for no major problems noted, the doctor is assured that the biopsies should come back fine! Thanks to all who offered prayer and to the Lord for taking care of me!

Colonoscopy Preps are for the Birds

Ok, I will try not to be gross about this, but I am scheduled for my colonoscopy tomorrow morning. I had to go today to talk to the anesthesiologist and have an EKG. Everything was fine and I was sent home to start my prep. Well, prepping for a colonoscopy is for the birds! I am supposed to drink 64 ounces of Gatorade (clear or lemon-lime only) with 238 grams of Miralax, 8 ounces every 15-20 minutes. Well, I started this at 4pm, and at 10:30 I have still got 16 ounces to go. My papers say that if you feel nauseated, stop and resume in an hour. Well, every time I drink some, I feel nauseated, so this feels like it is taking forever. I only like to drink with meals, so not being able to eat is not helping me drink this stuff. My Mom and Second Dad are worried that if I do not finish this tonight, that they will not be able to do the test tomorrow. Well, I say, if they are not able to get this the first time, they may not have a second chance. This experience is almost, almost, but not quite as bad as the flu. Chills, nauseated, need I say, diarrhea? Let me finish this post by saying, PRAY FOR ME! Please!

I got to Babysit, and oh was it fun!!!

Jay and I were able to babysit this past week for our friends two young boys. Tanner is 3 and Tucker is 6 weeks. We had so much fun! Well, I know I did, I sat and held Tucker ALL DAY! It was so nice having a baby around again. I sometimes long for those days, but I am totally content with my two lovely daughters!

Tanner was a blast! He enjoyed playing with some of our puppies, including his dog, Baja, that we are doggy sitting for. You can see him here with Murphy and Lucy.

We had also purchased a new pet bed from the benefit held for Tanner's Uncle Jason! We had not decided where to place the bed, so the dogs were not allowed on it yet. After lunch, Tanner decided he wanted to take a nap, and he climbed into the pet bed and went right to sleep!

How cute is that?

So, thank you to Ashlee and Daryl for trusting us with their precious babies! We are here anytime!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the daddies out there! We spent Father's Day with my family today! I cooked roast with potatoes and carrots, green beans and rolls. Emily cooked our macaroni pie! I also got up early, before church, and made Jay a cake. Now for those of you who do not know me, I am not a baker, nor a chef. So, making this cake was a big deal for me. I had a great flower dish that I had never used. Jay wanted a lemon cake with lemon icing. So I made the cake, then my sister dyed the icing and I made it a flower. I know for you professionals my cake probably looks like a child did it. But I was so proud that I wanted to take a picture and show everyone! Isn't it cute???

Me and My Sick Self.....

Since Easter Sunday, I have been experiencing sharp abdominal pains, along with other gastrointestinal issues. On Tuesday, the doctor will perform a colonoscopy and esophagogastroduodenoscopy on me. I am a little nervous about it, mainly because I am a great big baby with no pain tolerance. Of course, I am living with quite a bit of pain with cramping and such, so I think this will be worth it. Pray for the doctors to have no problems and for me to come through this with answers!

On a positive note, I had my 1st mammogram on the 12th. I was quite a bit nervous about this also, but it was not too bad. Mostly pressure, not pain. And I am glad to say I received a "no problems detected" letter from the test so I was relieved. I urge all women to do this!!

Job Status

Please keep Jay in your prayers still, he has still not found employment. The Lord is continually here taking care of us, but it has now been OVER 6, yes 6 months. Never fear, the Lord will watch over us, but keep us in your prayers anyway!

Jason......

I am going to sit here tonight and try to catch my fellow bloggers up on the life of Team Jones. Something that we have been praying for daily since June 3rd is Jason Williams. He is the brother to our friend Ashlee and son to our friend Kathy. He found out that he has leukemia and has spent the better part of June in the hospital fighting this! He has three young boys and my heart has ached for him and his wife Lindsey. You can view his site at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jasonwilliams. He was able to go home for a week, but will have to return to the hospital on Friday. Please, if you are following my blog, pray for Jason and his entire family. The Lord has been good to him in his recovery so far, but he still has a long time to go.

Jay versus Deer and Tree...Guess Who Lost?

It has taken me over a month to be able to write about this incident. On the morning of May 15th, after taking our girls to school, a deer ran out in the road in front of Jay and he hit it, then ran into some wet grass and rammed into a tree. Needless to say, the tree won! Jay was not hurt, thank God! But my car did not make it. This car was a "Prideful" thing of mine. Jay and I purchased it brand new with only 471 miles on it. We had put every mile on it, and tried to take care of it. When the insurance company said it would have to be totaled, I was devastated. I tried to think, how is this good? But, lo and behold, the Lord was looking out for us. We totaled a car with 142,000 miles on it. In our (almost) 15 years of marriage, and 5 Oldsmobiles later, we have found out that around 150,000 to 160,000 miles Oldsmobiles need new transmissions. Although mine was not showing any problems, we felt that the time would come. The car that we were able to purchase is a newer model Oldsmobile, with only 39,000 miles on it, and we paid for it in full with the money the insurance gave us. Praise the Lord, it was a hard road to travel, but the Lord came through for us again, and now we have quite a few years before needing any transmissions here! Even when we think that things are bad, the Lord is always looking out for us!