Our story, it's long , but worth it!

Have you ever sat down and thought " what next"? What about crying over spilled milk? What good will it do to sit down and have a pity party for yourself? It may make you feel better for about  ten minutes ,but have you ever wondered what it does to the people around you? There is not one struggle I have faced in life that has not blessed me . Your struggles turn into whatever you make of them, sadly it has taken 27 years for me to figure this out! I owe thanks to all the friends and family who has inspired me along the way( way too many to name) ! 

Getting to my point.......Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle ...  Our Beautiful disaster started like this.....Sept. 13, 2012 I get a phone call at work, while with a patient, there has been an accident with my husband( my better half) and I need to go to OCH immediately....Not knowing what the verdict may be(in my mind all I could think of was electrocution) Thank you Jesus it was not! I get to OCH , pray, and anxiously wait for my husband to arrive by ambulance.....I get a phone call from the paramedic that there has been a change of plans ..."Mrs Gilliland, we are taking your husband to West Point to get on the chopper" By the grace of God, my next question to him was" Is this life or death what do I need to pray for"? He then explained he had a terrible crush to the foot( the outrigger on a pole truck was accidentally let down on his foot and completely blew out the bottom of his foot) 

I' m really sorry for all my weak stomach friends, but this is what we were up against. We were in Tupelo hospital for a week....Braylee's birthday was only two days away, so I had to cancel her party...Big thanks to my family for giving her a party in Jackson...Not only was I trying my best to care for my husband , I was also trying my best to hold it together since I was not able to love, hug, and kiss our youngest bundle of joy on her 3rd birthday....I was getting calls from school stating Madisyn was sick to her stomach and I couldn't leave to get to her...She was sick about her daddy, but also sick bc I wasn't home to do her hair and ended up saying " wouldn't your stomach hurt too if your hair looked like this....I can't help but laugh at her!! We spent a month waiting to see if Robby was going to have his foot amputated( a year later we are still waiting for God to heal his foot in whatever way that may be) he still has a bad bone infection that we just found out about ,so prayers are still greatly appreciated!! All in all, we were in the hospital 3 different times....This is just how Mighty our God is....the last two times we were admitted into the hospital  ...the dr tell us the infection is bad, and in the bone he will have to have it amputated. Each time he came out of surgery it was a miracle....to this day he still has all of his foot...it still hurts and has still never had any correction surgery just debrement to get the infection out. I have to say that my husband was(is) such a wonderful patient, honestly, I think he may have had only 2 or 3 bad days during this challenging time for us. Lord, did I ever get tired of lifting a 70 pound wheel chair, shoo....sometimes I felt like I was on hidden camera as I would try to load and unload that dang thing. 

One of the saddest things to him was missing out on deer season...We have a very special friend who did not allow it to happen....Blake reed, I can never tell you how much it meant to us that you allowed that to happen.....to me it was like make a wish foundation( not comparing a child's sickness to my husbands because there is no comparison) but to have Robby's wish come true....Blake set Robby a tent on the ground while Robby sat in his wheelchair and video the entire hunt...they were two little boys all over again..This was the verdict (I cry tears of joy as I write this)

In the midst of our hospital stays.... I was on my way to Jackson,they were admitting Robby into the hospital ( I was not able to go to that visit bc of work) I get a call from my dermatologist stating a spot came back as skin cancer (Stay away from tanning beds and use sunblock not afro sheen)and I needed to have it surgically removed, Then I was selfish and asked " Lord what next"? Since December I have had over 30 spots removed, ten surgically removed and 1 plastic surgery...(waiting to have another surgery and plastic surgery in jan...( Ihave to wait until then since I'm thankfully at a new job) !!  The doctors are confused as to why the skin cancer is all the sudden taking charge....this is one of the many spots

The only thing that keeps a smile on our face is of course faith, and knowing our girls are healthy! The thought of something being wrong with them is one of my biggest fears(as any parents) but I do miss my relaxing baths, I can't even take a simple bath at night without making sure I have no new skin cancer spots popping up( those of you who know me, know that my bath time is my time to simmer) Our faith grew stronger by the minute each day...this was one of the many verses that helped us on our journey

How true is this....We all have the same God who forgives us daily for our sins.....If God can sacrifice like he did for us, the least we can do is to thank him daily no matter what your struggles may be , because not only did he suffer a thousand times more than we do in any situation , he has assured us he will heal us, take care of us, and love us unconditionally....I love being a child of God

Remember as you are reading this and making your problems your burden....it could be so much worse....I'm thankful for our tiny problems.... After we learn to get accustomed to our new life style and  bless the problems we thought we had we lost a very humble, loving caregiver, to the Gilliland family 

What a time to cry and grieve, but also a time to rejoice for the life papaw lived...sometimes it's hard to understand why, I assure you God will give you an understanding eventually...this is papaw and Jeffrey(his son) ....Is this not the most precious picture ever....I always got the best hugs from these two..we were all concerned about Jeffrey and memaw after papaw passed, but through the support of the family and community the two stood firm in his faith and are both doing better than we could have ever imagined ! 

How great is our God right? This is one of my favorite pictures!!!!! Jeffrey is such a clown himself!

So now we lay our problems out to God each night and just Trust him.. Which gives us all the more reason to laugh, love, and inspire others along the way...I don't know your story but I can tell you God is faithful !

Once again, Im thankful about Robby's accident, without his injury he would've had less time spent with our girls....He is the best daddy daycare! He has supper cooked and the house straightened ( I know he's great) I'm blessed....I'm thankful for my mind bogging , ugly scars, skin cancer..if someone sees what I go through maybe it will catch their attention and stop tanning before it's too late...I'm thankful for papaw's death because he is happy, healthy, and resting with The Lord ...I know he is watching over his entire family! I know this blog was extremely long , but I hope it was worth it!!! We love you all!

My God, my hero, my husband, my child

As a child I never realized what it meant to have a hero...When I heard the word hero, I assumed it was someone who saved your life....men and women fighting for our country, officers, firemen, etc...Yes this is true, and I'm so thankful for these heroes, but now, I have my own personal heroes!

And also a special thanks to our lineman who risk their life as well...I know as the wife of a lineman I spend several nights praying instead of sleeping , the linemen would be safe as they worked in the storms

My very first hero was the most gorgeous 6 pound 7 ounce, brown eyed  little girl....At such a young age who knew even the smallest hands could direct my life in the right direction....I can't even remember praying before she came into my world...yes I prayed, but it was for answered prayers and not with deep meaning coming from my heart. I always thought I was suppose to be her hero , but she  turned into mine real fast!  Madisyn has no idea how she helped me graduate college, get involved in church, and pray always, no matter if it were answered or unanswered. I'm not real sure how this child ended up with the most sweetest caring heart....I want to be more and more like her everyday...There is not a piece of food that goes into her mouth before blessing it...Sometimes while driving she tells me she is about to bless the food, and I have to explain to her I can't bow my head while driving. For her seventh birthday I asked her what she wanted...expecting a bike, money, or Polly pockets... Her response I will never forget " momma I want to be baptized" after pulling myself together with my thoughts ,emotions, joy, fear, we had sessions with the pastor to make sure she had a complete understanding....since she was so young I had to be 100 percent sure she was ready...on her 8th birthday she was completely washed from sin and accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior

This chid has touched so many hearts and she has no clue!!!! 

You all know the love I have for my husband, he has completely rescued us and gave us the life I have always dreamed of! Madisyn and Braylee have such a wonderful, heroic father figure....he is all I have ever dreamed of .... This amazing husband of mine took a 4 year old little girl of mine and made it ours! Thanking God for the broken road and unanswered prayers! God placed us right where we are suppose to be.....And a special thanks to his parents for  directing him in life, They are just as beautiful on the inside as they are the out!

The same day we surprised Madisyn, we also gave daddy a little happy too! This is his handkerchief to keep forever and keep close to his heart especially on her wedding day!

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

We love our family more than they will ever know 

Robby is going to kill me for putting this up, but seriously he is still just as cute when he is acting silly and trying to pose like his daughter

Can you see the resemblance of their pose???"like father, like daughter"!

Robby gives me so much to be thankful for, Lord knows the trying time we had while praying for this little blue eyed baby

This child has made me mentally challenged.... It's so hard to get on to her because she always has a random remark to make you turn your head and laugh... She really has the best of intentions, like when she prays for her pageant dress and chicken nuggets....I mean why wouldn't you be thankful and thank God for that right? She fits in perfect with us, she knows that being silly and laughing is just how we roll

" Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it" Proverbs 22:6

A new cousin to be born

This weekend we had a scare that sweet baby Haisten was about to arrive. I went into panic mode because he is not suppose to make he debut appearance until November and Katie has not had her shower yet so his aunt t did not have his gift yet. I never knew how fast I could fall in love , but I, we, were ready to love on this sweet boy as soon as he got here! Thankfully, Katie and Haisten do not get to celebrate their birthdays together. Next to being a daughter of Christ, wife and mom, being an aunt is my next biggest blessing! I wish so much to have all my nieces and nephews closer so I could spend more time with them..after all, I have the best aunts ever who inspire me to be just like them!! It's a blessing to know just because you're not someone's parent you can still have a huge impact on ones life.. I hope I'm the best Aunt T get it like auntie just aunt t ever! One thing I want our girls to experience is the strong bond cousins have together...I have to say all my nieces and nephews have wonderful parents, and I know without a doubt, that Katie and Daniel will be wonderful parents... Sorry Katie but I can't wait to torture Daniel like he has me with our girls!  The one verse I would tell the new parents to be is 1 Samuel 1:27-28 " I prayed for this child, and The Lord has granted me what I asked of him. so now I give him to The Lord . For his whole life he will be given to The Lord."

Since this little angel gave us a early case of the butterflies here is a sneak peak of  the love we have for this baby already

"Children are a gift from The Lord; They are a reward from him" Psalm127:3

Happy Birthday Katie don't kill me for putting this on here

 

Haisten's cousins are so ready for him to get here

Especially this sweet daughter of mine... She decided he would have a lot of girls to love throughout his life so she wanted to be the first one to write him a note...and it goes like this

We love you so much Haisten! 

As we do our other cousins too!!

Macie and Ayden  playing their role in Braylee's world

This sweet baby gets to share her birthday with aunt t!!!!!

I started praying for Landon when I was 17 he is so special to our family

Love life & laughter

Robby and I are a perfect match!!!! This picture sums up the medicine of our life....Laughter is the best medicine ever ..I'm actually getting really bad wrinkles around my mouth because I laugh so much..We have both been through so much together,  the best part about it is the faith that we have developed along the way

I absolutely love this man with all my heart!!! He makes marriage so much fun!  I love being married to him just as much as I love being our girls mom(that's a lot) ! He is such a wonderful daddy sometimes I think he is better at parenting than I am( moms, you know he is good because we always know what's best)
The verse that we center our marriage around is " For I know the plans I have for you," declares The Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future "Jeremiah 29:11
Those of you who know us will realize how true this is. We have never had the perfect marriage , but I wouldn't change our struggles for the world! Our struggles allow us to be able to witness to those along the way! After I catch on to this blogging I will give you all our testimony... I can hardly wait!!

Here is my other bundle of joy ( in the pink) Can you see the resemblance in the picture above of me laughing? Full of life, love, and, laughter! I hope I'm teaching her right!! 

Here's to blogging

Welcome to our blog.... it is intended for nothing else other than the precious life of our little family..I'm still trying to figure this blogging thing out