God has always taken care of our family…He has always supplied our needs and our desires. We live busy lives…so some days I don’t…but today I am counting my blessings and I want to share God’s most recent gift! So many people blessed our family with prayer, encouragement and support during the time that Lauren and Baby Catherine were in Atlanta and we appreciated it more than we could say. And it continued after they came home…we were approached by a sweet family (Eddie’s cousin and her husband – Penny and Victor Betts) about doing a fundraiser for Catherine through his company, Woodmen of the World, and their fundraiser site, Red Basket. Initially, Eddie and I were not interested in the idea…we had been so blessed by our friends, family and strangers…it just didn’t seem right to us. However, after talking it over with Victor (a Christian insurance representative if you need insurance :D) and our parents, we decided to go ahead with the fundraiser for the purpose of future travel expenses and possibly to help with the cost of a much needed larger vehicle. (We had discovered that is was necessary to take two vehicles in order to transport Catherine and all of her necessities!) So, we started the process of applying for the fundraiser. The person who interviewed and wrote Catherine’s story was so very sweet and did a great job. Then the day came about two weeks ago for the story to be published on the website. Until today, Eddie and I have not shared it with anyone except for our parents. We have seen it pop up on our Facebook a few times and seen where friends and family have “liked” it, but we haven’t promoted it. We aren’t even sure how it got on our Facebook, unless it is because we both became friends with the Red Basket Intern page and the story linked??? I said all of that about the Red Basket fundraiser to share the next part of the story…Guess what God has done!!! He has given our family a larger vehicle…a van! God used my dad and his dealership (Bay Automotive in Panama City) to provide a van so that we can transport Catherine, our family, and all of the necessities to take care of Catherine in one vehicle! The only thing we had to do was trade in Lauren’s car. The van is ours…no payments! God is awesome! After a much needed; however, not very relaxing (lol), trip to Panama City last weekend to visit my parents…we came home with a van. An older couple who had owned the van and kept it in excellent condition had traded it in…my dad thought it would be a good fit for our family…and “TaDa”…God gave us a van! I know God used my dad and his dealership and there was more to it, but for our family it was a “TaDa”! (If you need a vehicle and want to work with a sincere man of God…go see my dad, Dennis Smith, at Bay Automotive in Panama City…they sell Lincoln, Dodge, Jeep, Susuki, Chrysler, Hyundai, and more. :D) We are so very thankful!! As always, thank you all again for your continued prayers! Baby Catherine is doing really well! I think the last real update I wrote was after our last trip to Atlanta. All checkups were great. Since then, she had stopped gaining weight, so for the last week or so we have increased her formula and she is now gaining again!! We have a baby scale at home so we can weigh her every day. She is getting close to 15 pounds! We are still waiting on the doctors to let us know when they are going to schedule her next surgery. Even though I am excited for her to get that behind her…the thought of taking her back to Atlanta for surgery/hospital is almost unthinkable!!! Catherine also had her first trip to Florida and first boat ride last weekend! I think she liked it! This grandma, however, was a nervous wreck watching Lauren and Eddie get her on the boat and then off!!! I had to look away…haha. She also made her first church service…at my mom’s church. So many sweet prayer warriors who have been praying for her from Panama City got to meet her! Awesome words were spoken over her and she was “formally” dedicated (even though for me…I have a vivid memory of when I totally surrendered her to God (putting her of His alter) while talking to Bro. John Todd on the phone in Wal-Mart a couple of weeks after she was born). We are looking forward to taking her to church here, in Thomasville, soon and dedicating her again at Victory where so many have prayed for her! The Red Basket fundraiser will be online for another couple of months (it was initially for 90 days). Any money that has been donated will still go to Catherine to be used for future trips to Atlanta...especially during her surgery and stay in the hospital. Everyone has already been so supportive of our family...it is uncomfortable to promote our own fundraiser. So, I will just say that even though our goal is no where near what we initially set because we have been blessed with a van, if you want to donate to Catherines Red Basket fund (you do get a tax receipt), our family would certainly be grateful...it will help with travel, hotels and meals during Catherines next surgery. Thank you again for loving our sweet baby doll! w/ Eddie Waldrep & Lauren Waldrep
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 16:35:11 +0000
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