Andrea's Blog

The picture is of Trey and his first deer he got on Jan. 1 of this year. Eddie changed some things up on my computer and I'm having some issues downloading and putting up new pics. I wanted to post a picture of my friend Sarah and her 5th grade classmates at Wellington school here in Columbus. They recently had a bake sale at school and raised over $200 for the Mason Woods Foundation! How wonderful is that?! All of this was Sarah's idea and she took it and ran with it. Thanks, Sarah!

Some of the funds will be used to pay for "wall stickers" that are being placed in the Oncology clinic at Children's hospital. The walls in the exam rooms have been plain, dull and white for years. The staff came up with the idea to decorate them with wall stickers with a different theme for each room. I am pleased to say that Mason's Foundation is funding this great idea! We will also be having a Valentine's dinner and party on the oncology floor at Children's tonight. I'm excited to see the kids and their families!

It was if a cloud lifted on Feb. 4. All three of us perked up a bit. I think the month of January may always be very difficult for us. I am, however, having alot of jaw pain....to the point I am having problems eating. I saw the dentist again and she believes it is stress and that I am grinding my teeth at night. She made a mouthpiece for me to wear at night (oh goody). In the meantime, I figured I would lose a few pounds since all I can really eat is soup and mashed potatoes. HOWEVER, I discovered last night that I'm capable of eating Reese cups, which means that my diet is shot now. Ha.

I'll end today's post with the words of one of my favorite old hymns. "Because HE lives, I can face tomorrow. Because HE lives, all fear is gone. Because I know, HE holds the future...then life is worth the living just because HE lives." Andrea

It has been two years since I was able to hold and kiss my baby, Mason. My arms still ache to hold him and my lap still feels empty. This morning is just like it was 2 years ago: cold, lots of snow, but sunny. Eddie is spending the day with me but Trey chose to go to school. We will go to Matthew Barr's visitation later this afternoon.

We decided to go out to eat last night at a Japanese Steak House type restaurant, which was one of Mason's favorites. Trey ordered a sushi roll as an appetizer on his own. I swear I could hear Mason laughing in my head at his brother, who would never touch sushi when Mason was on this earth.

I'll end with a handwritten quote that hangs above my computer. I'm not sure where I got it. "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." The vision of Mason with Jesus is what keeps me going....Andrea