Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Parker's House, Prayer, The Cupcake Shoppe Bakery, The Parker Reese Foundation
So, we made it through Saturday. It was a blast and we had a good turnout. It was so awesome to finally meet Brad, Kellie and Lucy. They are amazing people and we had so much fun with them. It was also great to see Russell, April, Debbie and Roy again! We have sure missed them! The weather was beautiful. It was such a peaceful day and I think everyone had a great time.
We had the most amazing cupcakes! Most of you remember that I ordered Parker’s birthday cupcakes from The Cupcake Shoppe Bakery in Raleigh and they were delicious so I decided why mess with a good thing. These cupcakes were just as amazing and I think the hit of the party. I haven’t downloaded my pictures yet so I’m stealing one from Kellie’s blog. They were yummy!
I am so glad that the weekend is over and that I can finally relax some. We have a lot going on right now and being able to focus solely on our family is really good and needed. My brother-in-law, Roger, left yesterday morning for a year deployment and it was rough. Seeing my sister, niece and nephew upset was extremely hard on me. My sister is 15 months older and has always been the strong one. She has always protected me and taken care of me. She spent every day with us in the hospital and cared for me like I was her child. Anyway, seeing her cry was painful. And to see the fear in my niece and nephew’s face is truly unbearable. Please pray for them as they manage their lives for the next year without him.
We are planning our next event which will be in December and our next in February. We are so excited about all that The Parker Reese Foundation is doing for CDH families.
I better get back to work and will update with some pictures from this weekend later.
And oh yeah. Texas beat Arkansas 52-10. Ouch!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: CDH, Parker's House, Prayer, The Parker Reese Foundation
And I’m freaking out. I feel like I have a million things to do and only about 24 hours to do them in. I need it to stop raining and I need it to be really nice tomorrow. Not too hot and not too cold. Tomorrow is an important day for Parker’s House and The Parker Reese Foundation. It is a chance for those to see what it is we do for CDH families. A day for all to feel the amazing peace, hope and excitment that exudes from Parker’s House.
We have had more stuff donated for Parker’s House in the last week than I could have ever imagined. My car is full from front to back. Enough space for me to put me. Our living room is packed full of stuff. We had to get a trailer from a friend to haul more stuff. We are taking two vehicles tonight because we needed that much space. Is that not amazing? A true testament to God’s amazing work.
I know that tomorrow will be a crazy day and I probably won’t have time to post until late Sunday. I am super excited about Parker’s House and the people involved. With each day that passes I become more driven and inspired to truly make a difference for CDH and the families it affects. There will be several CDH families there tomorrow, along with their family members and ours, and some medical professionals. We are counting down the hours and checking our list one last time.
Please say a prayer for us tomorrow. For Parker’s House. For The Parker Reese Foundation. For Brad, Kellie and Carter Meyers. For April, Russell and Nash Van Dyke. For the people who will be traveling hours to attend. Pray for good weather.
And please pray for my brother-in-law, Roger Solano, who leaves at 7 a.m. on Monday for a year deployment to Columbia, South America. He has served 15 years in the United States Army and needs our prayers as he leaves behind my sister, Jennifer, my niece Karsen and my nephew, Caden. He will be missed more than words could ever say but I know that this time he has a very special angel going with him.
Filed under: Uncategorized
I am so glad that fall as arrived! The last three days the weather has been absolutely amazing here. The highs were 72. We turned our air off and opened all the windows. There’s nothing like fresh air coming through your house. And I have the sweet cinnamon pumpkin wallflowers from Bath and Body Works so my house smells fall like.
We are having the dedication of Parker’s House this weekend. I am beyond swamped with things to do and starting to pull my hair out. I have some amazing friends though who have stepped up to the plate and offered to take some of the responsibility off my hands. Ashley and I have been blessed with some of the most amazing friends! The Myers – Brad, Kellie, Carter and Lucy- have moved in! We have so much to do before Saturday so say some prayers for us.
We purchased some amazing pieces from Craigslist for Parker’s House. My new addiction! And our Sunday School surprised us on Sunday by mentioning Parker’s House and offering to help in whatever way they could. They are putting together some stuff for P’s House and we’ll pick up Wednesday night at church. They are also going to come with us one weekend and do some odds and ends at the house. A work weekend if you will. We were super excited and touched!
There is so much going on right now but I don’t have time to blog about it. I’m at work and it’s a typical Monday so I better get back to it!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: CDH, CDH Awareness, Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, Volunteer
CDH babies are dying too often and to be honest I’m so sick of it. I am so tired of hearing that another baby has died. That another family will know the pain that Ashley and I know. That another family will have a void because their child is gone. That another family will NEVER be the same.
This shouldn’t be happening in 2008! I am pissed off that parents are having to bury their children because of damn CDH! It’s a freaking hole so why can’t we fix it? I know it’s not that simple people but it seems like it should be.
In the last two weeks we’ve lost William Ethan, Elliott Arcile and Kaden Morrow. Those are just the ones we know about. There are countless others.
I am asking you today to step up and do something. Donate, volunteer, educate others! DO SOMETHING! If you don’t know what to do email me at jes_singletary@yahoo.comand I’ll give you some suggestions. If you live in the Texas area we are having a golf tournament in October in the San Antonio area. You can play or you can sponsor a hole. In order for us to find a cause and one day a cure we have to advocate for awareness and research. It starts with us. CDH families and friends. It’s time we make a difference. It’s time we save these babies.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Books, Donations, Parker's House, Reading, The Parker Reese Foundation
So, I was reading Kristyn’s blog today and I noticed her GoodReads section so I decided to check it out myself. I had never heard of GoodReads before and am now completely addicted. I have always been a reader. I started reading at a very young age and could always be found with a book instead of toys. Reading has been a way for me to escape reality on many occasions. I can literally get lost in a book and lose all sense of time and my surroundings.
I read a lot when I pregnant. I didn’t work the last part of my pregnancy and I was home by myself a lot. I’m one of those readers who says “just one more page” and end up reading at least two more chapters. I normally always have a book in my car and purse. Just in case. When Parker died I stopped reading. Then I started reading books on grief and I lost my passion for reading. It wasn’t healing anymore for me to read. It was more like homework from your therapist. So I just stopped altogether. I’d still buy books weekly but never read them. Just kept collecting them and watching them collect dust on the shelf.
I started reading again several months ago. And I’m in a different place now. Reading is fun again. Not a chore. I have always been a careful reader. You know the kind that has their favorite authors and doesn’t venture out to explore new authors. I read James Patterson, John Grisham, Mary Higgins Clark and Nicholas Sparks. Well, this time I’m going all out. I am going to venture out and read authors I’ve never read before and that I’ve never even heard of and more importantly I’m going to trust my friends and read their suggestions.
I’m still trying to get sold on the Twilight Series by Stephanie Myers. Jenn gave it some great reviews but I am just not sold yet. I really want to be because it’s the “in” thing to be reading right now but a teenage vampire? I mean really. I might try it out but I also might need some more convincing.
Anyway, right now I’m reading two books. The Last Lecture, which I’m almost done with, and Bridge of 
Sighs which is a great book so far! I’ve never read anything by Richard Russo before but so far I’m loving this book. I couldn’t put it down last night and read until 1 a.m. and today I’m completely exhausted. I did bring the book with me so I could read at lunch though. I encourage each of you to start reading and maybe we should start a Blog Book Club. Well, I’m at work and I’m sure they’d appreciate if I did something productive today instead of blogging. Please feel free to give your reading suggestions! I am hoping to be able to read at least one book a week. We’ll see how it all goes!
On a side note if y’all are looking for a place to donate your books please donate them to Parker’s House! I have purchased two book shelves for living room area and am taking some of my books there as I am running out of space to keep them. If you are interested in donating your books please email me at jes_singletary@yahoo.com and we’ll work something out. We can even pay for shipping if you don’t want to or can’t. THANKS!
Simply A Farmer's Wife 