Cunningham Falls

This past sunday, we went with our bible study group to Cunningham Falls State Park, in Maryland. We had a great time grilling, hiking, and just relaxing and enjoying the beautiful scenery.

After lunch the group of us, hiked up the trail to the falls. Some of the more brave members of our group actually climbed to the top of the falls.

As I stood and just listened to the water fall down the rocks, and looked around at what God has created, I quickly realized that He was there.

Psalm 46:10-11

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth."

The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Time flies...

...when you're having fun. So they say. Unfortunately, time flies by us, whether we are having fun or not. It is so hard to believe that we are quickly passing and approaching the 'one year' mark of so many significant events in our lives.

When I sat down at the computer this evening, I had no intentions of blogging. Actually, I am currently working on putting together a scrapbook of my pregnancy & our time with Baby Todd. For the past half hour I have been printing our blog entries and comments to put in the scrapbook. I figured I may as well take a break and update you on where we've been and what we have been doing over the last few weeks & months. Plus, my printer would probably appreciate a rest as well...

It is still a little hard for me to believe that it was a year ago this past weekend, that we made our very first trip to DuPont Children's Hospital in Wilmington. Dustin & I had the opportunity to sit and talk with Dr. Pizarro for the very first time. Not knowing exactly where our journey was taking us, we left that meeting with an amazing peace and sense of comfort, knowing that we were at the right medical facility with the right medical team. There was no doubt in our mind that God was taking us to Wilmington...for whatever reason!

We are currently making preparations to visit the Wilmington Ronald McDonald House this Christmas. We have collected stacks of toys and are prepared to 'celebrate the Holiday with strangers' once again!

Dustin and I made our trip to the Granite Shop about a month ago. I would like to say it was to pick out countertops for our kitchen remodel, but it wasn't. We placed our custom order for Baby Todd's headstone. Because we went custom, it will take 2-3 months for the granite to be "mined" and shipped to us.

In other aspects of our life, we are managing to stay pretty busy. I baby-sit my Great-niece, Peyton, usually just one day a week. But I absolutely cherish my time with her. She would be 2 months older than Baby Todd, and I can only imagine them being best friends.

Dustin is staying busy running our business, and preparing for the inevitable slowness of the winter season. On a good note, the girls have returned to school! Kylei started third grade, and Kadenn is in first. They both have great teachers and are anticipating a great school year!

Check back, I am intending to start updating more frequently.

Blessings!
Jerri

Rain or Shine

I would like to thank everyone who supported us, and the March of Dimes this weekend. To date we have raised $345 for the March of Dimes, in memory of Baby Todd. THANK YOU!!

The girls, Dustin & I walked the 5 miles in the rain on Sunday. Despite the rain, we had a great time together. I was very impressed with the girls and their determination to "Finish the Race".

Part way into the walk, we decided to give up on the idea of keeping the girls dry. They walked most of the way in their barefeet!

Kadenn & Kylei at the Finish Line

Another Step

We took another step in our journey today. Jerri was asked to share our experience at a "ladies tea" of twenty five ladies at The Vine church in Smithsburg Md. She doesn't consider herself a public speaker but, knows her story of Baby Brother and the many blessings from God needs to be heard. This was, as you can imagine, a very stretching step. She said "I was nervous at first but then, a peace came over me and God gave me the words to say". Once again, God was faithful and gave her the strength to do what she didn't think she could.

Tomorrow is the March of Dimes walk in Chambersburg. We will be walking 5k starting at 1:00 and raised $150 for the cause. A BIG THANKS to everyone who supported us.

Also, we are still planning to help at the Ronald McDonald House sometime in December. We are collecting toys to take with us and already have over 100 toys donated. May God be blessed through our continued journey!

Azaleas

Kylei & I picked this flower to give to Baby Todd for an easter gift. When we bought it, the Azalea had a few branches that stood taller than the others. We clipped those and tied them in a bouquet and put them on Baby Todd's grave Easter Sunday.

Today, as a family, we planted Baby Todd's azalea bush.

Easter

Signs of spring are finally visible around us. One look outside and you see new life blooming everywhere. For those of us far enough north, Easter means winter is finally over, the ground begins to thaw and settle to prepare for new growth. And don't forget the most important one, the resurrection. Where God gave of His ONLY son...for us. I was reminded of all these things even more vividly today, as we went to see Baby Brother's grave. His grave is not finished, the ground has settled and the stone hasn't been placed yet. The flowers from his service were still where we left them, untouched. But all around that, we saw brand new grass starting to grow.

My heart ached, no wait...it hurt...bad, to read 'Todd H. Martin' on the grave marker today. The selfishness in me almost began to ask God "Why?, Why me?, Why did you have to take my son?"

Then it hit me, God knew exactly how I felt, because He gave His ONLY son too...for me!

A Dream?

The trees are budding, the grass is greening, and the robins are singing. There is a refreshing, earthy smell in the air that only comes around one time of year. Its hard to believe spring is already here and upon us. It seems like just yesterday we were living in the hospital, while Baby Brother was fighting the odds.

Or was it a dream? Sometimes it feels like life has moved on so fast the last couple of months that the whole experience was a dream. Then we are reminded of the reality and the many blessings when we look at the pictures and read the many comments on the blog. It is a time I will never regret or forget. With that said the legacy of Baby Todd continues.

Jerri and I will like to update everyone with what we feel we want/need to do in memory of Baby Brother. We are going to need your continued support and prayers through the many challenges ahead.

The first thing, Jerri and I will be walking in the March of Dimes on May 3rd. We know there are many babies that can benefit from raising awareness and money for this organization (for more info click on the link on the right).

The second thing, we are planing to help at the Ronald McDonald House in Wilmington, De. this coming year (maybe December). We would like to take presents for the families staying there and cook some meals for them. Its the least we can do for all the help we were given and may become a yearly tradition.

The third thing is still in the dream stage. We would like to start a foundation to support the doctors and hospitals that work with heart conditions like Baby Todd's. The doctors have learned so much from the information they got from Todd, maybe we can help with the research to save the next life. How? When? Where? These are the questions we have. The only answer we have is, we want to do everything in Jesus' name. We know without him we have no life!

The girls are doing great and we want to thank everyone for supporting and praying for us the last couple of months. Your prayers are felt more than you could ever know and I give God the credit for the everlasting joy and peace. I ask everyone to continue praying for us and writing words of encouragement. Now more than ever we need your support.