Kearyn 5: My Best Memorial Day Memory

First and foremost, the Gressman family wants to say thank you to all who have served our country so bravely and honorably. We know that we would not know the freedoms that we have today if it weren't for your sacrifices. For those of you who are currently serving  - we pray for you often as well as for the loved ones who support you.

As I was thinking about Memorial Day I started to think about my favorite Memorial Day memory. Well hand down it was Memorial Day of 2010 and it was the birth of my baby girl. Yes, it was quite the Memorial Day for our family - a memory that we can never forget. A perfect day - Kearyn's Day.

Mommy and Kearyn ~ only minutes old

What is your favorite Memorial Day memory? Comment here, email me, or Facebook me and I will post it here - anonymously if preferred.

Kearyn 4: How much does this daddy love his little girl?

Jason is a wonderful father (husband too but that isn't the focus of this post). He is an incredible father to our three boys - and there is no doubt that he is teaching them daily on how to become the men that God is calling them to be.

But then God threw us this curve ball.......her name is Kearyn Jaedance and she has these big greenish-brown eyes and these eyelashes - most importantly.....she isn't afraid to use them - boy does she use them. She uses them on her brothers - then she turns this secret power onto her daddy and he caves like a big pile of mush. She tries to use them on me but my super-mom powers (that and the fact that I am a girl too) totally deflect the puppy dog-eye/fluttering eyelash lethal combo.

There is no doubt that this daddy loves his girl. But the true question is how much does he love his girl? There are no words...... but maybe a picture or two will give you an idea.

This daddy loves his girl so much that he will eat cake with no hands.
What is a little frosting on the face after all. 

This daddy loves his girl so much that he will even wear a bow in honor of his baby girl at her 1st birthday party. Now that is true love.

God bless all of the daddy's in the world who sit cross legged and

 have afternoon tea parties with their little girls. 

God bless the daddy's who patiently brush the tangles from their little girl's hair

 and try their best to put pigtails in - even if they aren't quite even. 

God bless the daddy's who painfully enter their little girl's closets

even though all the ruffles and bows can be quite intimidating. 

God bless all of the daddy's who try their best to pick out "matching outfits" - 

after all, all shades of pink go together, right? 

God bless the daddy's who teach their little girls to dance by allowing them to stand on their big daddy feet - 

not at all minding the scuff marks left by her favorite pair of princess shoes 

because he knows that someday he will be dreaming of the day 

that she was small enough to leave those scuff marks.

God bless the daddy's who don't mind going to jail for a very long time in order to protect his little girl. This commitment is only enhanced in the teen years and especially strong during events such as Homecoming and Prom. 

God bless the daddy who unselfishly walks his little girl down the aisle and

 "gives her away" to the man she loves.  

~God Bless the Daddy's by Andrea Gressman~ 

***Photos by Sarah B. - thank you Sarah for capturing these precious memories. *** 

Checking In.... Yes, I am Still Alive

So, I have started to get some concerned emails, etc. about how I am doing. You all know me so well - when I am not blogging that is generally because I am not feeling good. :-) And this time you would be correct.

I have been struggling with some respiratory junk and they are now putting me on antibiotics to try to have me over it before my next Chemo treatment on Wednesday. I am praying that I get over it by then as well. Even though I dread the treatments I long for the conclusion of all of this and don't want to postpone things - not even by one week. But God's timing is the perfect timing.

While I have a little energy today I am trying to get all of Kearyn's birthday stuff finalized as we are having her party tomorrow!

Thank you all for your love and support. As always, I am grateful!

Chemo #8

So, today I had treatment #8...... the funny thing is - like there is something funny about chemo - but I keep forgetting how many treatments I have had. I have to keep reminding myself. That is a clear sign that you have had too many treatments. LOL!

There are four more to go. Four seems so much more manageable than 5 doesn't it? Maybe it is just me.

I pretty much crashed when I got home today. I usually do okay on my treatment day and have a real hard time the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday after treatment but this treatment seems to be different. What am I saying? They have all been different. Not one has been the same.

Don't get me wrong, I am doing okay. Hey, I'm alive! That is good news right there - just super tired and trying to get a handle on the side effects.

I know I am dreadfully behind on my blogging but God has just been doing so many amazing things right now. First the Laundry Love Project this past week and then He has just been presenting ministry opportunity after ministry opportunity. I am doing my best to pay attention and trying to keep up!

I will keep you all updated over the next few days on how I am doing. I appreciate all of your prayers. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and I do see it. It is starting to burn brighter now and before you know it we will be there.

Love to all!
Andrea

Laundry Love Praise Report

I am sorry I am so late in providing this update. This has just been a super busy past few days but I did want to update you all as I know many of you contributed to Laundry Love monetarily and prayerfully.

First of all, we just feel so blessed to have been able to be apart of this project. We provided laundry services for around 20-25 people that were in the homeless program at the hotel. It was amazing to visit with these individuals and just learn their story. We made some great new friendships and we plan on doing this again on a monthly basis as it is an ongoing need. I will keep you posted on the next date and time. If you are interested in serving please feel free to contact me.

Thank you again for all the love, support, and prayers that you gave. We truly couldn't have done it without you. In the next couple of weeks I will be providing more detail on how we specifically helped certain people so stay tuned for that.

Blessings and love to all!

~Andrea

Update on Laundry Love...

Hello everyone! I just wanted to give you and update on the Laundry Love project that will be happening tomorrow. I just got word that 66 people (30 families) are pre-registered to come down and get their laundry done. 

First of all, thank you to all of my readers who have donated money towards this cause as well as hygiene products, laundry supplies, and for those of you who have volunteered as well! It has been truly overwhelming to see God work through all of you -especially in such a short time. We feel so encouraged. 

If there are still people out there who would like to contribute just let me know and I will give you the contact information. We will be at Southside Laundry from 10am-2pm this Saturday. Since we are serving so many people we are still in the need of more quarters. If we could raise another $100 in quarters I think we will be covered. So, it is time to clean out your couch cushions (I always seem to find a couple dollars in change in their!), check the console in your car, and anywhere else quarters seem to be hanging out. 

We hope to be able to continue the Laundry Love project for as long as their is a need in this community so all donated items will continue to be used. Jason and I have also be praying about starting this project in nearby communities - possibly partnering with another ministry to help us get things coordinated as well as keeping it running. I am thinking that will be pursued post chemo unless God calls us to do it early as He did this time. We are just open and willing to serve wherever the Lord calls us to. 

We also have had a few donations so that we will be able to provide a lunch for the families as well. I am grateful that we will be able to do this as I am excited for this time of fellowship. If you have supplies that you would be willing to donate for the lunch we would be grateful - paper plates, napkins, drinks, etc. If you would like to drop off some cookies for dessert - whatever God lays on your heart. 

Please keep us all in prayer and especially the families that are in need. 

God bless you all - thanks for reading, thanks for caring, and thanks for praying. 

Love to all,

Andrea

There is a Need! .....Please Read

Dear Friends,

I am not sure if you heard or not but last week there was a fire in my community at a local hotel that housed many of the homeless families in our community. As if being homeless wasn't hard enough this created an even greater hardship on these families. They have been left without clothing, hygiene products, and the list goes on and on.

One of their most immediate and basic needs is actually being able to get their laundry done as the laundry facilities were destroyed as well. There are around 90 people that are without these services - around 20-25 families. They need your help.

Think about how critical doing their laundry is for these families. There is the very basic need for good hygiene  of course but this helps them maintain employment, find new employment by being able to have fresh clean clothes for interviews, not to mention the benefits to the children to have clean clothes as well!

A year and a half ago Jason and I were able to participate in a project called "Laundry Love". We went to East Colfax in Denver, CO to do the laundry of some of the homeless people there. This was an amazing experience for us and we have been praying for the past year and a half that God would allow us to bring this project to our own community. When I read a Facebook post from my dear friend Autumn regarding the needs of these families I knew that it was time to bring Laundry Love to our community to help these families.

The concept is a simple one - we will meet this Saturday at a laundry mat here in town and we will do the laundry for any of these people that show up to have their laundry done.

In order to make this happen we do need your help. Here are just a few ways you can contribute:

• We need laundry detergent. 
• We need quarters. (This is one of the few ministry opportunities where quarters do count!) Go through your change jar or buy a roll a quarters. Truly - if you can give $5 you are giving a family a load of clean fresh laundry. What an incredible gift!) 
• Hygiene Kits - I would love to see separate hygiene kits for men, women, and children. Some of the items that you could donate: toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, razors, shaving cream, feminine products, combs, brushes, etc. 
• They also need clothing of any shape and size. 
• Toys may also be a need as well. I think having coloring books, crayons and some smaller toys might be nice for the little ones as we help mom and/or dad do their laundry. 

We are shooting to have this happen THIS SATURDAY! So, if you have anything that you can give in order to help these families please let me know. You can respond by leaving me a comment here, leaving a comment on my FB page if you are a friend of mine there, or you can email me directly. You can also talk with Jason at the church too. The important thing is that you let us know how you want to contribute and we will connect with you on how to make that happen. 

For all my out-of-town friends if you want to help out by sending a donation let me know. I am working on PayPal account that will be set-up just for this. If you are interested in contributing that way let me know and I will get you the info. If you want to mail a $5 Wal-mart gift card for detergent that is totally fine. If you want to send a check to the church that is very appreciated as well. 

If everyone can give just $5 we can make this happen! 

As we get things finalized you can check back here for more info. If you give me your email address I will put you on the email list for updates as well! 

Bless you all and thank you in advance for your help! 

~Andrea