[lisarundell]

Sorry this will be a long one. There are times in our lives that we question the existance of God, there are other times when we just know that there is some watching out for us. Yesterday my sister called from Iraq to ask how Toby and Lani were doing and to see if we had sold her car yet. I suddenely remembered I had to make her payment since it was due the 27th. After I got off the phone I realized IT WAS THE 27th!!!!!! :shock: We made the payment, no problem. Later in the afternoon I was outside with the dogs, on the phone with my best friend in Michigan, when I tooked up to see what the dogs were doing. I was Lani but no Toby, that is when I cought sight of him on the ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE!! :shock: Just as he turned to cut and run my son came up the drive and caught him!! Today I've spent the day doing paperwork and setting up bill payments. I logged on the the bank site to transfer money to cover the future payments when I noticed a VERY, VERY LOW BALANCE in our checking account. :shock: I immediately transfered money into the account. Three times in 24 hours plus the good news about Dustymack"s daughter Sara and good news about a friend's 16 year old who had a stroke in May due to a blood infection reminded me that someone is watching over us all! Sometimes it is just so apparent that I have to share.

 

[Jac]

Thanks, Lisa...I think you are absolutely right...and sometimes we are not aware of the "nudges" from the forces/souls in charge of keeping us in line! :wink:
Oprah says that we get a little whisper, then a nudge then a thump on the head and then sometimes a brick and finally a brick wall...so it seems that you are in tune with the whispers and nudges... personally, I sometimes have to crawl out from under that brick wall!

 

[lisarundell]

Jac, My neighbor (like a 2nd mom/friend) says I live on the edge when it comes to daily life , with so much going on with the kids (16 & 15) and now the puppies. I think the whisper was keeping me from falling off the edge and landing on my face!! Lickily I was hearing voices the last w days!

 

[Jorja'smom]

Lisa, you have a sister in Iraq? Please thank her for her service and sacrifice. We survived two deployments with my Marine son. Whew!
I seem to be even more attuned to those whispers, etc. since going thru those deployments. What I use to think were coincidences, I now realize are much more than that. Nothing is by chance.

 

[lisarundell]

Pam is a paramedic and is there as civilan. She is helping to run medical clinics for the contract workers. Pan has been there since March and willbe there until next February. Your son and family and all those serving in the military and their families have our admiration and support. We continue to pray that all will return safely.

Pam in Iraq

 

[Chesterpal]

My turn...I'm really working on stopping to appreciate the little things in life. Sometimes things get so busy and crazy I forget. Then I read about all Dustymack is going through and think about those of you with heros (and they all are), overseas and I want to smack myself with that same brick wall. I read Bianca's post--such maturity and caring in a teenager, everyone willing to jump in and help a stranger...its like a tonic to me.

 

[Jorja'smom]

Lisa, your sister is providing an incredible service. God Bless Her. Looks like she has the finer things in life, or at least the most necessary in Iraq, AIR CONDITIONING!! LOL I'll never complain about the heat again when I think about what the conditions are like in Iraq, especially for our soldiers and Marines. Running around with all that gear on with the temps being around 120+ degrees, isn't pleasant.

I hope everyone thinks about those men and women this July 4th. The temperatures are again intolerable. My son actually disliked the winters more for some reason.

Has Pam adopted a dog over there yet? They are running wild everywhere. It's really sad. The Iraqi people don't have pets so the dogs just are pests. Many of the troops adopt puppies and they become mascots. Some have been bringing them home with them.

 

[lisarundell]

Marty, I will have to ask Pam if she has adopted any dogs, she has not mentioned it. She is a dog nut though. As a matter of fact I was on the phone with her, when I made the decision to get Toby. I had her log onto the breeder's web site (it amazes me that she is half way around the world and we can look at the same thing at the same time!)and she picked out the same puppy I did, the rest is history. I was sad she did not get to meet Lani before she left. Pam gave us our first dog, K.C., who died in January. She was just as devistated as we were, she thought of K.C. as "our" dog since she originally owned K.C.

She has sent pictures of a litter of kittens they found.

She did say the heat is ungodly and was waiting for clothes she ordered from REI, unfortunately they think the shipment was blown up in enroute. Everyday things we take for granted. I admire her courage and sense of adventure, she just wanted to make a difference. .

 

[Jorja'smom]

We use to have a Cocker Spaniel named K.C. It's so very sad when our furry friends leave us. I'm already so attached to Jorja that I can't imagine ever being away from her.

Your sister is making a difference. My, what a wonderful thing she is doing!

Maybe the dogs aren't around the area where Pam is like where my son was. The bad thing is that if they were trying to be quiet while on patrol the dogs would bark and give them away. Unfortunately, I think a lot of those wild dogs were shot because they posed a danger risk to our troops. My son loves dogs as much as I do so I hope he was never put in that situation.

 

[lisarundell]

So sad to have to make that decision I hope your son or anyone he knows is ever put in that position! What did your K.C. stand for? Our's (my sister named her) was Kaluah Cream Ale.

 

[Jorja'smom]

I think the initials K.C. just stood for Kansas City since we lived in Kansas at the time. How original, huh? K.C. was really our baby then we started having kids. She didn't take it very well. Unfortunately, we had to find her a new home because she was biting the kids. It really was a hard decision, dog or kids......

 

[KMO20057]

OK so this one isnt so much of a nudge as a WEIRD coincidence.... my sister says there are none... I am beginning to think she's right!

Last Thursday I was telling my fiance that in highschool I was the president of a bone marrow drive and raised all kinds of money and got 50+ people to donate an extra vile of blood at a blood drive to be put on the registry.... I forget how it came up but I had never told him that before and how someday I might be called as a match.

Well the NEXT day they called and I am a potential match for a woman with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. I went in for more tests on Monday and it could take up to two months for them to knwo whether or not I am a true match.

Isn't that WEIRD!!!??!?! It was like something in the cosmos gave me the chance to tell him about the bone marrow drive before it was personal to him... to let him know that this might be a possibility and how neat that was, to get his support... and then the next day.... the call comes that makes it real.

 

[Chesterpal]

That is amazing really. Imagine how many lives you've touched. Even if you aren't a match think about all the potential matches you registered.
Good for you!

 

[KMO20057]

Thanks! I never even thought about that... How even if I am not a match the chances are that someone that I registered will be are pretty good. Thank You. That will make me feel much better if news comes back that I cannot help this woman.

 

[lisarundell]

I keep telling my kids that when things happen in life you may never know why they happened or years down the road you might get find out why. KMO your story is exactly what I mean. 11 years ago we moved into our house, it was the first house we looked at and 2 months later it was still available when we were ready and much cheaper. We became good friends with our one neighbor. 2 years ago she was diagnosed with Myashenia Gravis, a neuromuscular disease. She was devistated and did not kknow where to turn for information. My husband does work for a Musculardystrophe foundation who also provided resource information for ALS and MG patients as well as MD. Dotty was so greatful! It took 9 years but we know why we were meant to be in this house. There are other things that have happened in our lives, including how 6 months before HS graduation we both made drastic changes in college plans, he was going for engineering, I was going for Veterinary school, and both ended up at an art college. You never know!

PS college is where we met! :lol:

 

[Chesterpal]

I'm a big time firm believer in things happening for a reason...sometimes those reasons are hidden for a long time but eventually we learn.
Okay, I admit sometimes I forget that but I come around and remember it.

 

[lisarundell]

Marty, I just talked to my sister, Pam. I asked if she had adopted any dogs, she told me that she almost got sent home for a kitten, so she is not looking at anything! She did say that they have nick named her the "Tree Hugger" She said one of the perks of being in Iraq is free microderm abrasion! Pam thinks Toby is cuter than Lani, how could an Aunt choose who is cuter?!! :lol: