An Emotional Week...

My heart has been so heavy lately and my mind has been so pre-occupied that I've not even considered sitting down and blogging. I was telling hubby that sometimes I feel like I need to "de-frag" my hard drive to make room for more info. because my processor is running slow! (A little techie humor at no extra charge!)

Let me back up since my last post and update you on what I've been up to. I've found it very unnerving that as I sat typing my last post at almost 4:30 in the morning, worrying over such trivial things, a mere 24 hours later, the world was going to change for one of our dear students.

Last Thursday, a little after 3:00 a.m., one of our sophomores awoke to what he thought was his alarm clock. It turned out to be the smoke alarm. His room was filled with black smoke as he quickly made his way down the hall to his mother's room where a locked door awaited him. He pounded on the door, screaming, trying to get to his mom. Finally he broke through the door, only to be pushed back by the heat and smoke. He made his way back down the hall and out the door where he banged on neighbors doors and screamed for help. No one would answer, so he stood in his front yard, throwing things through his mother's window and screaming. Finally, a neighbor came out to help him, but it was too late. His mother was found, along with their dog, in her bathroom.

Preliminary reports show it was an electrical fire that started between the wall of her bedroom and the living room. This child lost everything. His mom, his clothes, their house. His father is not in the picture and from what I understand, never has been. He has a sister who is a freshman at Univ. of Alabama and an older brother.

The first person he called, even before his grandparents, was our football coach. What struck me is that we haven't won alot of games this year, but this coach has won the hearts of our football players. He is a great example to them, and a father figure to some of them too. Isn't that the type of winning that matters most in life?

Our coach was going to forfeit this past Friday's game, but Jordan wanted to play. One day after his mom lost her life, he was on the football field, running over 230 yards with 29 carries, scoring several touchdowns, one being the winning touchdown of the game. Jordan dedicated the game to his mom. Coach said, "we had 12 players on the field that night. She was definitely looking after him."

Read more of the story (and see photos) by clicking here

You can also click this web site and watch a video with Jordan and our coach. It's about halfway down the page in the video box and you have to watch a few minutes of the sports report before they get to Jordan's interview.

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I've also been thinking so much about my Dad. We're approaching the one year anniversary of his death (October 31st). In some ways, I can't believe a year has passed and in other ways, it seems like it's been a lifetime since I saw him last. Those sad feelings keep trying to creep their way to the surface, but I'm staying busy and forcing those thoughts and emotions into the corners of my mind for another time. I can't allow myself to go there. Not right now.

Mom is having flowers in memory of Dad this Sunday at her church. I know it's awful to say this, but I'm glad we're going to be out of town on college visits with Zack. I haven't been back to Mom's church since the funeral, and just don't think I could handle it right now. If you think about it, please say an extra prayer for my mom and all of our family during this difficult time.

I wanted to post this picture my mom found. I was being a little "ham" and I love the look on my Dad's face!

Also, please continue to remember Jordan and his siblings in your prayers. And if the Lord lays it on your heart to donate to the trust fund, you can email me and I can give you instructions on how to do that.

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Thank you, sweet Kat, for my BFF award. The feelings are mutual and you picked the same chickies I would have picked! Thank you again, for the awards I've received in the last few weeks.

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My mom drove to Birmingham for the Hoover Marching Invitational that our band attended this past Saturday. You can go here to read all about it! Here's a picture of me, mom and Zack after they performed and were back at the bus ready to change!

Well, I think that about catches up on what I've been doing the past week. Hopefully, I will post a report and pictures when we return from Zack's college visits.