Music. And More.

Stop! Before you go one step further, read one more word, or take one more breath (well, maybe that’s a bit extreme), listen to this 30-second song.  I promise it’ll make you smile.

This is from our “Like A Blanket” CD and features Sarah when she was 7 years old and just a couple weeks away from a bone marrow transplant at Duke.  To have a small, bald child stand in a studio and sing about heaven when she’s about to undergo a medical procedure that few kids survive—well, it’ll touch your heart.

(Note: at that particular point in her treatment she had a feeding tube, so when you hear a bit of a rattle in her voice, it has to do with that tube.)

Here is a compilation of short samples from the same CD. I’ll never forget recording the last song featured here (When Heaven’s Calling) and having to stop more than once to wipe my tears away—always, always thinking of Sarah while I sang, and wondering how much longer she would be with us.

To look back at that unsettling, heartbreaking period of life eight years later with a healthy fifteen-year old living in our house—well, it makes those tears all the more precious.

Here are a few brief excerpts from the CD.   Ordering info is at the end of this post. (And yes, that is Steve in the picture!)

SARAH AND VICTORIA

When I posted yesterday about Sarah’s friend Victoria coming to visit, I forgot to post one of my very favorite pictures of the two of them.  Is this dear, or what?

And speaking of “the girls,”  “Anonymous” had this question about them:

Just wondering...How did Sarah and Victoria meet?

Whenever our family was not on the road traveling, we parked our RV at our home church in Mooresville, NC.  One night, Steve and I were going out to a minister’s Christmas Dinner and needed someone to babysit Nathan and Sarah.   We asked our pastor (and dear friend, Danny Stephenson) if he could recommend someone to us, since we weren’t usually at home long enough to get to know all the people in the church.

Well, he just happened to recommended a lady named Crystal Southerland, who showed up at the door of our RV with little Victoria in tow.  

And the rest is (very happy) history!

SNOWY

Just a little note about Snowy, since so many of you have taken to heart our little buddy and his medical condition.

I mentioned yesterday that he had thrown up and didn’t seem interested in his canned food, which (last week) he was basically inhaling within about thirty seconds of having it put out.

This morning when we put out his breakfast portion of canned food, he took one teeny bite and then completely ignored the rest—as well as his dry food, which stays out all the time.

The bad part about all this (besides the fact that he’s stopped eating almost completely) is that it’s the canned food that is supposed to be our only remaining “magic bullet” to help slough away those kidney stones.  If he won’t eat that—well, what then?

I’ve got a call into the vet to let her know what’s going on.  In the meantime, he is cozily curled up beside me in his chair, wearing his little red sweater, and very deeply asleep.

This is one of those precious moments in life, quiet time spent with a doggie friend who may not be with us a great while longer.  (And yes, I’m crying as I type that.)  He’s such a good little guy and has brought us such joy and so much comfort in tough times.

Praying for a Christmas miracle but wanting to do whatever is best for our little buddy.

And on that subject, Leece left a comment:
Prayers for Snowy. It's awful when you know 'the decision' is coming. Is it simply the cost that has made you come to the conclusion not to go ahead, or are their medical reasons too? Prayers for you all.

Leece, I think if this were a dislocated hip or a broken leg or something unusual and not likely to recur, we might consider trying to find the money for treatment.   But since this is his second “stones episode” in a year and since the older he gets, the more prone he will be to producing stones, we’re just not willing to go through all this trauma and expense on a repeated basis.

His last surgery was very difficult for him and for us—he was in ICU for a couple days and downright miserable and demoralized when we were finally able to bring him home.  I just don’t want to see him face all that again.

ORDERING INFO

I posted last week that we are making available “Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cancer Book” (which contains Sarah’s story) as well as our CD, “Like A Blanket.”

We just got another shipment of books in today, so we’ve got plenty!  Here is a brief description of the book from Amazon:

A support group you can hold in your hand, this loving and inspirational collection of intimate stories,by cancer patients and their loved ones, medical professionals, clergy and friends, is a must-read for anyone affected by cancer. Writers share all their experiences--from the diagnosis, to breaking the news to loved ones, to discussing the effect on home, school and work, from securing a medical team to living through an ever changing self-image, from the embarrassment of losing hair to discovering a new spirituality.

And here’s the picture from the cover of our CD.  I  think it’s been awhile since I told the story of this particular shot.  The photographer (obviously able to discern that Sarah had a sense of humor) said, “Sarah, your hair’s messed up!”  And then pushed the shutter immediately and captured her merry response.

The proceeds from the sale of this book and/or CD will go toward helping me purchase a DSLR camera.

The cost is just a donation for either or both items. Please also include $2 for CD and $5 for book, to cover postage.

You can pay by PayPal (use beckysmith62@aol.com) or by check.

Please make check to Heartsong and send to:

Becky Smith

127 Raleigh Wood Dr.

Manteo, NC 27950

If you’d like the book autographed to someone in particular, please let us know and Sarah and I will both sign it for you.

It’s not too late to order for Christmas!!