WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2012 12:32 PM, CST
(This was posted to Caringbridge on February 29th, 2012)

Meet the new member of our family, “Bama Belle”. We call her Bama for short (or “the darn puppy” when she potties somewhere she isn’t supposed to). She has been a wonderful addition to our family, even though the humans in the house now find ourselves outnumbered by animals.

Bama is a “Coton” breed. She came from a wonderful friend of mine in Florida who is a breeder. She is just like a little toddler! I am too lenient, so potty training is not going well. She also likes to pee on Trey’s bed, which is not making him too happy. Ha! But Lucky absolutely LOVES Bama and is so good with her! It is so funny to watch him try to herd her in the front yard.

Between Bama, Mason’s Foundation, and Trey’s sports (hockey at the moment) I stay incredibly busy. This is certainly a GOOD thing, since having too much time on my hands is not good for me. I miss Mason more than words can express. I have started to dream of him more frequently, which is good most of the time...but sometimes I wake up with those awful feelings I felt each time he relapsed. It is the most awful feeling in the world.

Thanks to all of you in the area who were able to come out and give blood at the blood drive in Mason’s memory on Monday. We exceeded our goal....we got 60 units of blood and our goal was 50. Of the donors, 21 were first time donors, which was HUGE. I was able to visit with some friends that I hadn’t seen in awhile, which was really nice. All in all, it was a wonderful day and a great event!

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I wrote this down on a notebook I use....not sure where I got it. If anyone knows, please let me know. “On the other side of your greatest pain is your greatest ministry.” It works for everyone, doesn’t it? Andrea

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

I hope this picture means the same to you as it does to me. I am the photographer and is has not been touched up in any way. I took it 2 nights ago as I was waiting for our new puppy to do her business in the front yard. I immediately thought, "God is all around us if we will just open our eyes to see him." It was an amazing sight to see a cross in the sky!

Today marks the third anniversary of Mason's entry into heaven. I miss him no less today than I did the moment he left. What has changed is my level of acceptance in whatever God's plan for Mason's life was and whatever plan for my life he has. The peace that God gives the whole family is what allows us to get up in the morning and continue living. The deep understanding that ultimately, we as humans ARE NOT in control and that trust and faith in God is the only way to live with peace.

If you do not have peace in an area of your life, I believe it is because you have not truly handed the issue or area over to God. Complete submission is where peace comes from. I've been there. Trying to figure out the "why's" of what happened with Mason and our lives gets me nowhere. Complete submission means I accept and have faith in God and his reasons for not making things right for Mason here on earth. Faith in God gives me hope for a tomorrow on earth and ultimately a tomorrow in heaven!

Had I been able to see the future when Mason was born, I would not have given him away because of the pain that the leukemia would have caused me in the years to come. I am thankful for the time I had with him, and I still love him with all of my heart. See ya soon, Buddy!!

Trey has had a good semester, but it has been hard and he has had to study alot. Between studying and hockey, he stays very busy with little downtime. And yes, he is still "dating" his girlfriend Taylor....but their busy schedules mean that dates are primarily watching TV at each others' homes, which is fine with me. He is a sophomore this year, and I'll admit that I can get down when I start thinking about what life will be like when he goes off to college. But I try to focus on the here and now and not the years to come, since we all know that none of us are promised a tomorrow anyway.

I still have people asking how Lucky the dog is doing. He is a definite "yard dog" and spends his day guarding the front yard from what he thinks are the awful cars that drive by. Our front yard now has a perfectly lined-up trench along the front where he runs. It reminds me of the path Mason and Trey made when they were younger with their 4-wheelers, so I don't mind.

God continues to bless the Mason Woods Charitable Foundation in many, many ways. We have no long-term goals but instead we have decided to just let "Jesus take the wheel". Through many, many material donations of everything imaginable, we have been able to bring smiles to pediatric cancer patients throughout Columbus and even other areas in the state. We are partnering with other organizations with similar desires to reach more and more children across the nation. In fact, we were even able to help some missions out overseas. It is amazing for us to watch problems be solved by people who just sort of "show up" (we know who sent them!). If you are on Facebook and want to follow the foundation more closely, just "Like" the Mason Woods Charitable Foundation.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas! I know that Mason and all his friends in heaven will certainly have a glorious celebration!

"We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Mason's school class invited us to their end-of-year recital this past week and surprised us with a book that the kids put together of their thoughts and memories of Mason. Eddie and I cried our eyes out. I'm looking at the book little by little...it is too much for me to handle at one sitting. They also will have a flag flying for him in a memorial field of flags this memorial day AND they sang "You Lift Me Up" for him. What a night. Then to top it off, they gave a donation to Mason's Foundation. We were so touched....I can't even express how touched we were. I'm not a person that cries alot, but that night had me in tears from start to finish.

I've also continued to get to spend time with Mason's good friend McKenna (picture with Mason above). She was very special to Mason and she is very special to me....

I have some large projects going on with the Mason Woods Charitable Foundation. At some point, I hope to be able to update frequently on the foundation website, but for the time being, I'm trying to teach myself to use Facebook more often. So if you are on facebook, I am on there as well as the Mason Woods Charitable Foundation.

On a personal note, Eddie, Trey and I are doing ok. Trey is trying to finish up his school year on a positive note, so he is studying alot right now and still lifts for football. I stay very busy with the foundation and now with the yard. Eddie juggles his responsibilities like a pro...I'm not sure how he does it. We think about and talk about Mason every single day. He is still very much a part of our lives. When I was with McKenna this past week, I found myself trying to explain "faith" to her. And I realized that my answers to some of the questions about Mason's life come a little easier to me now. I don't understand why any of this happened and I have accepted that I won't on earth. Faith means that I can continue to live while not having those answers. Faith means that I can trust God in his decision not to step in and heal Mason on this earth. Faith means that I KNOW that he is in heaven and has no needs from me at this moment. Mason now understands what I cannot until I join him. My life on this earth will be a short one compared to the time I will have with Mason and with Jesus in heaven.

Thank you all for continuing to support us all. Andrea

But when I went to read the guestbook entries, I fell apart. Once again, such nice, uplifting messages. I've been blessed to never have an entry that I felt I needed to delete. But the entry made on April 7 (or 9th) blew me away. You see, all of those who work and support the Mason Woods Charitable Foundation truly do it for one reason, to help pediatric cancer patients and their families. None of us get nor look for alot of feedback. I know personally what it feels like to be the parent of a patient and I know how the things we do help. But evidently somehow "Cayden's" dad "found" me and left a message of thanks. It was a very kind thing for him to do during what is a very difficult time.

We seem to be at a decent place right now. It is hard to explain the fact that none of us ever forget....Mason never leaves our mind. He is there 24 hours a day...it is like I just carry him around with me.

I'm enjoying being able to walk outside again. I took my little ipod for music yesterday and instead of choosing to listen to an album out of the 100's I have loaded, I did something I haven't done in years....I hit "shuffle". Well, the first song up was "Sweet Home Alabama"...what are the chances of that? And then, the fifth song up was "Sweet Home Alabama" again. Ha! Also, the American Idol contestants sang it on TV this week. Am I supposed to get some message from all this???!!! God bless and have a great day. Andrea

We have been busy with work, school, and Mason's Foundation. Boy, is it ever expanding!! A couple of weeks ago, Eddie gave me the best gift that he has given me in a long time. He looked at my tiny kitchen desk and said, "you need a new desk and a new computer!!!". So we have turned the sunroom that rarely was used into my "office"....lots of sunlight and a wonderful view of the lake. I haven't sat behind a "real" desk in over 10 years, but it feels just perfect! I feel so organized and feel ready to move forward wherever God leads us.

I have school groups, dance groups, groups of Mason's friends, etc. putting together gift bags for me to take to the hospital. I supply the stuff to make the bags and they put them together! If you know of a group in the area that would like to help, please email me at amwoods@insight.rr.com.

Update on the pets: Lucky jumped on a skunk again last night, so he is back at PetsMart this morning being "deskunked". He's a smart dog, but I don't think he will ever get that he can't fight a skunk. Rusty, Mason's cat, has taken up with me at night. He lays across me like he used to do Mason. However, during the day he still mostly lays right on the spot on Mason's bed where he used to sleep. He still misses him just like we do.

Trey wrote a wonderful essay for his Language Arts project on "Perserverance". It was about our family and Mason and was the first time he has "talked" about his feelings in that much depth. His teacher thought it was so great that he entered it in a contest. I hope I can get "permission" from Trey soon to put it on Caringbridge.

I also want to publicly thank my little friend Anthony who, instead of getting gifts for himself for his 4th birthday party, gave all the gifts to the Mason Woods Charitable Foundation to give to the kids at the hospital. I've never seen a kid that young give up so much!!! Thanks, Anthony!

Also, I want to thank Briley (Mason's cousin) for the girl scout cookies. Her troop in Helena, Alabama (Troop 991) sent a huge box of cookies to be taken to the families on J5. I'll be taking them up to serve for dessert next month!!! Andrea

Thought for the day: "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" Collossians 3:2

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