HOW FAR BEHIND ARE WE?? >>> ABOUT 2-3 YEARS! (at least)

 
As we are sadly closing the chapter of my parents' AMAZING involvement in GTD I'm so blessed to know their legacy will live on as long as GTD lives on. As I pick up the pieces and begin to sit back up from the knockout blow of losing Dad a few months ago I'm also surveying "the damage" of the things I fell waaaaay behind on. Being available for my parents didn't come easy or without great sacrifices. GTD wouldn't exist without my parents. It wouldn't have grown without my parents. It wouldn't have survived the harsh years without my parents. It wouldn't have thrived without my parents. They were as much a part of this ministry as my Sister and I are. So when I say "survey the damage" from years of Caregiving I don't mean it as a complaint... I'm just trying to articulate that I didn't fall behind because I'm lazy or I was playing video games or I was shirking my responsibilities... I'm simply saying that, along with my Sister and several incredible people, I poured the last 5 years of my life into taking care of my parents and in doing so I fell waaaaay behind on EVERYTHING in my life... everything got less than it needed... it almost killed me and required waaaaay more than I had to give (but it was totally worth it).... so as I look around at my house, my ministry, my life it's all waaaaay behind on everything. It's just a fact... a status report. There isn't a single thing that doesn't need some type of attention STAT. Soooooo we are playing catch-up on everything. One of those things is our corporate finances. Jan has kindly stepped up to replace me as GTD's bookkeeper. The best I could stay on top of the past 5 years was paying the bills, paying the paychecks, & entering in all the donations & income. So we are 2 years behind on entering our expenses & monthly statements. We have until May 3rd to complete the 2023 bookkeeping and have it audited by Fredrick James Accounting (they're AMAZING!!) and then submitted to the IRS. Then we are on to 2024... and then on to 2025. It's an arduous task, but Jan is a quick & brilliant learner and she is doing a JANtastic job!!! A lot of my posts in 2025 will be very similar to this post... things we are waaaaay behind on and catching up on with the goal of RELAUNCHING GTD for our 30th Anniversary!!! TEASER ALERT: I'm EXCITED to share that our spectacular friend Jason Lazzaro ( jasonlaz.com ) is currently working on rebranding GTD with an entirely new logo, new colors, new website, new graphics, new everything!!! He specializes in building "HECK-YA!" brands and I'm thrilled he is a part of the GTD family!! The new logo & rebranding will be unveiled at this year's banquet in November!! Thank you for your continued prayers & encouragements... I'm forever indebted with the debt of love.

 

 

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HAPPY ST. ANNIE'S DAY 2025!!

 
Today, St Patrick's Day, was Mom's birthday ("Bird Day")... we loved getting dressed up in green every year to celebrate this phenomenal woman!! My Mom taught me so much and inspired me so much through her daily acts of selfLESSness... she sacrificed so many of her wants in order to care for all of our needs. As I was thanking God in prayer today for blessing me with an extraordinary Mom I started thinking about how many times when we chase our wants (I'm talking about selfish wants, not healthy wants) it results in hurting ourselves or others, but when we refuse the selfish wants in order to make ourselves take care of the selfLESS needs of others & ourselves it leads to enriched lives. My Mom is my 2nd biggest hero in my life (2nd only to Jesus), and I followed her example of picking needs over wants by staying here in Florida for the past 30 years to be here for my parents' needs as they aged when in my heart of hearts, in my deepest desires, & perhaps in my most selfish wants I wanted to live in the mountains of TN, north GA, or NC... today I watched a highlight video from my Mom's Celebration of Life Service 2 years ago and saw picture after picture of cherished moments & sacred memories I would have missed if I moved away. I didn't stay because I wanted to. I stayed because I needed to (and they needed me to). Like George Bailey in "A Wonderful Life" I just wanted so deeply to go chase this inner want to leave where I grew up and go explore other places, but the need to stay and help my parents, and be here for them like they were always there for me, and to not leave my Sister here alone to be the sole Caregiver all kept me from going and doing what I really deeply wanted to do. As I watched that video today and saw cherished moment after cherished moment with my parents, with my family, with my friends I experienced that George Bailey "Wonderful Life" moment, and tears of joy rolled down my cheeks. I didn't want to stay, but I'm so glad I did! Thank you Mom for living out that example in front of me... you are one of my greatest heroes!! I miss you and I love you!! Happy BIRD DAY in Heaven BIRDDOG!! Give Dad a big DUG HUG from me! I know he picked flowers for you today ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 

 

 

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A CRAPPY UPDATE!

   

I took an ambulance ride, and was in the hospital for 24 hours (Sun afternoon thru Mon afternoon) with some complications related to my post hernia surgery (TMI >>> unable to have a bowel movement for nearly a week). I'll spare you all the details lol. While in the ER I received a CT Scan, and the Dr walked over to me with his diagnosis: "Well, you're F.O.S." It took me a minute to figure out what that meant haha. The whole process to resolve the problem was one of the most painful experiences of my life. Around 9pm on Sunday night I gave birth to a 3 lbs "baby". All I can say is that the entire event was a huge pain in the butt hahaha >>> oh, too soon, too soon lol 😆. I'm back home recovering from the original hernia surgery and now the "post surgery complication"... pretty worn out, but a little better & better day by day PTL =). Many thanks to Laurie, Traci, & all the medical workers that do what they do to respond to every type of emergency... even the crappy emergencies.

 

 

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FORGOT TO POST SURGERY UPDATE FROM LAST WEEK:

FORGOT TO POST SURGERY UPDATE FROM LAST WEEK:

Robotic assisted bilateral inguinal hernia surgery (say that 10x real fast) was a success PTL. I took 3 to the gut (3 incisions). I feel like I tried to catch a cannon with my stomach, but they fired it before I was ready hahaha. Special thanks to Laurie for helping me from start to finish. Thank you friends & family for the prayers. Thank you to the wonderful medical staff at HCA Northside Hospital. I'm going to cancel my belly dancing lessons scheduled for tomorrow just to be on the safe side.

 

 

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Hernia Surgery Tomorrow

 

Double hernia surgery tmw (Tue) morning... thanks for the prayers =) 

 

 

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