This and that...

I wanted to give an update on Stephanie. This was posted yesterday around 6:30:  "How could you not believe in God and miracles after seeing this. Double lung transplant not even 24 hours and off ventilator. We have an awesome God"

Then I wake up at 7:00 this morning and find this post: "They got her out of bed this morning and sitting in a chair. Next step will be walking." This is amazing. They told her mom that it is almost unheard of to be off a ventilator within 24 hours of surgery and yet she was off hers about 12 hours after the surgery was finished. She has so much faith and when you add that to her will to do this, it's an amazing combination.

On to other news.....I got to meet Dolly Parton and get my picture made with her yesterday. We did them in groups of four. I can't wait to get them. It will be about a week or so before we get the pictures back but the photo shoot was fun.

Well, I have to head out to work and I'm so tired I can't even think ahead to what I'm supposed to work on today. This is going to be how to make it through the day today.

What a difference a day makes....

Thursday at shortly after noon, we go the church call. My friend, Stephanie Goodall, who suffers from Cystic Fibrosis received the call she has been waiting on. Vanderbilt University Medical Center contacted Stephanie. They had her a set of lungs. She headed right out for Nashville for her double lung transplant.

First was the wait in admissions while she got checked in to get her room. She arrived before the lungs. Hubby and his Dad sitting patiently. 

She finally got in her room and the lungs had arrived. Now began the wait for the doctors to check them out to give the final okay. There was still that chance that for one reason or not they would not be accepted by the doctors. But she is a lady of remarkable faith and felt 100% sure they would be just right. 

A little later, they got the word that they were perfect and it was time to prep for the surgery.

Once she got hooked up, they came to get her. Surgery was started around 10:30 CST last night. She has shown no fear through the entire process. You can see the thumbs up and wide, infectious smile in every picture.

Time for a Mommy-Daughter kiss before heading out for the big moment.

Stephanie's Mom, my dear friend Charlene, kept us posted throughout the night.

The biggest fear from the doctors were the removal of the old lungs. Cystic Fibrosis can damage them to the point that they are hard to remove and many things are happening during the process that can cause complications. Here were the updates throughout the night....  

 A little after 1:00 a.m. - Just got a call from Operating Room. Surgery hasn't started yet still checking out lungs to make sure they are good and will work.

A little after 2:00 a.m. - Just got the call from surgery. Lungs good; it's a go.

A little after 3:00 a.m. - Old right lung out, just starting to put new one in.

Around 5:30 a.m. - New right lung is in, inflated, pink and functioning. Praise God

Around 7:30 a.m. - They are done. Both lungs are in and looking good. She is on a ventilator hopefully for only a short time. Should be a couple of hours then back to her room. They are going to do a bronch before bringing her back. Less than 24 hours since getting the call and she has her new lungs!!

Stephanie was put on the transplant list on the 14th of July. She was warned it could take months or even a year or more. But she and her unshakable faith kept telling us God wouldn't make her wait that long because He knew how bad she needed them. Here we are 5 weeks later to the day and she has her new lungs. Her fundraisers have all been under the name of New Breath for Steph. Her friends and family are now declaring August 18th as Happy Breath Day for Stephanie.

She will have a long way to go yet and there will be some bumps and curves for sure. But for today, it is total celebration because now she has something that we take for granted. The ability to just breathe. No struggle, no focusing on making her lungs work, no oxygen tanks everywhere she goes. Just breathing in and out like we all do. And she also has HOPE. She will continue to cling to one of her favorite bible versus.

She still has to live in Nashville for a few months to make sure there is no rejecting or complications. Continue to keep her in your prayers. If you would like to donate to her medical expenses, please visit her Go Fund Me page at https://www.gofundme.com/q4-stephanie-goodall-lung-transplant

Some things I'm thinking about today...

It's going to be a crazy day. I do like the quilt I am trying out so I stopped at Walmart last night and bought a set of the pillow shams. They only had one set and I didn't even think to look at the size. Ended up with King size when I actually needed Standard. So a trip to Walmart is in my future sometime today to look for the Standard size.

How many of you have memories of the old Hoosier cabinets? I have long wanted one of these but can't find one in good enough shape at a price I can afford. But I continue to look. If I ever get one, I want to fill it up with Pyrex, FireKing, Glasbake and Federal bowls and bakeware.

I am on the hunt for a set of vintage Raggedy Ann and Andy. I like the soft cream fabric instead of the bright white. I should look for the really primitive ones, but some of them are scary looking. This is the style I like .... although this particular set is on sale for $1500 on the internet. Yep, not gonna get this pair.

Heading to McKay's today to change out some books. There are two books I need to complete a series. Surely in a store this size, I can find those two books. 

Tonight I get to go to Smoky Mountain Adventures. This is Dolly Parton's new dinner show in Pigeon Forge. As an employee of Dixie Stampede, we market this show as well so they are giving us all a free ticket so we are able to tell our guests about it. I am going with Sue & Mary from work and expect it will be a very fun time.

Time to get ready to head to McKay's. Have a great day.

A funny story.....

I was at Walmart Saturday with my daughter and granddaughter when I decided to pop into the bedding section to see if they had any primitive style quilts. The only I saw wasn't exactly what I wanted but I did like it real well. Shelby said "That's just like Mamaw Sherrie's new quilt". Well, her Mamaw Sherrie is my best friend that I go shopping with a lot and I remembered that yes, her new quilt was like that.

When I got home, I was telling her about picking out the same quilt but couldn't decide if it was what I wanted. It turns out that when she bought hers in a queen size, it didn't come down as far as she wanted due to her thick mattress and mattress topper. But she couldn't take it back because she had thrown away all the packaging. She went back and bought the king and just stuck the queen in her closet. So she said if I wanted to try the queen and see if I liked it, I could take it for a "test drive" and if I wanted it I could keep it or if I just wanted to use it till I found exactly what I wanted. So needless to say, it is now on my bed until I decide what to do.

I think it does look primitive. My cousin and sister who have excellent decorating taste both say it is primitive looking. So I am going to start incorporating primitive decor to see if I want to keep this or look for something different. I had a few pieces in other areas of the house, So I brought them in to start putting a look together. This is also temporary till I know what I'm doing. I love my weeping willow tree and it is what started my whole love of primitive and wanting to do a room in that decor.

I had a blanket Mom made me in primitive stitchery with homespun fabric so I laid it across the foot of the bed. I like  how well it blends with the quilt.

I will keep you posted on my updates. Time to shop my house and check my storage closet to see what else I can find. 

Weekend Wrap Up

I had a great weekend. My sister came to town and dropped off some goodies from when Mom closed down her home for her move. Some stuff was from Mom and some from my sister. I haven't had time to go through it all yet, but wanted to share a few of the things I have found homes for so far. One is this gorgeous cast iron rooster napkin holder. Though as I look at the photo, I need to swap places between it and the flowers. Notice the chickens are looking away from each other. That messes with the mild OCD moments I get. Going to have to change that.

And I love the big red crock. I am using that for the utensils I seem to be collecting with red on them.

I need to fix a display with these and my bowl, but for now I just wanted you to see my Pyrex cups and S & P shakers in the butterfly gold pattern that I have started collecting.

When Mom had surgery a few years back, I gave her this Thirty-One bag to take to the hospital. It has circled its way back to me. I always loved this pattern.

I love my baskets. I'm not sure if they came from Mom or Sis but I absolutely love them.

Mom had made this one year at a craft day with my cousins. Love the little Christmas mouse. 

I didn't get to see my sister much, but we did get to go to the Corning Ware outlet together where I found this small plate and bowl. This will be perfect for me to have a snack of chips and dip or my melted cheese with little sausages for dipping. It was just $4.98 for both pieces since they were on clearance. This is the new Pyrex Vintage Charm pattern that is the take off from the popular vintage butterprint pattern. I love it.

And they had the vintage charm butterfly gold (my new fave) pattern. I love these storage bowls and especially for just $4.99.

My sister treated me to one of the daily bonus specials. It is a casserole dish with lid and she got it for just $3.99. That was amazing. Going to make something in it for supper on my day off this week.

That's all for now. I'll share some of the other goodies she brought me later this week when I've had time to look through everything. Have a great Monday.

Sunday songs

Top 10 for Thursday

Here are my 10 favorite things I found on Pinterest that I am liking this week. If I get my bedroom switched to primitive before Halloween, I love some of these ideas.

Does anyone know where you can by these small craft ladders? I just love this.

What a cute idea for a shadow box for a sewing room. However, I would just find vintage thread that is old looking to put in there, not a regular spool with ribbon on it.

Another cute idea for a ladder if I can just find a ladder somewhere.

I love what they call subway art. This one is perfect.

I am always looking for things to make with fabric. This is too cute and you could use any quilt pattern design.

Oh my goodness I love this. I am a fan of red and aqua together. This is adorable. Of course the fact that it has Pyrex bowls makes it even better. 

What a cute idea for a pin cushion. A vintage jello mold. I really like this.

While the focus of this picture may be aprons, I am posting it because I love the ironing board cover. I need to Google and see if you can buy plaid ones. Somebody probably made this.

And last is something I shared last years and never got around to doing it. I really need to find where to get craft ladders.