Pedal!

Below is a poem my Mom sent me. Wow, it is powerful!! Sometimes the Lord takes us to rocky and unknown places but how grateful I am he does! My prayer is that we all will just pedal and let the Lord direct us where to go.
This verse struck me when I read this: "This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength."
1 Corinthians 1:24

"The Road of Life"
At first, I saw God as my observer,
my judge
keeping track of the things I did wrong,
so as to know whether I merited heaven
or hell when I die.
He was out there sort of like a president.
I recognized His picture when I saw it,
but I really didn’t know Him.

But later on
when I met Christ,
it seemed as though life were rather like a bike ride,
but it was a tandem bike,
and I noticed that Christ
was in the back helping me pedal.

I don’t know just when it was
that He suggested we change places,
but life has not been the same since.

When I had control,
I knew the way.
It was rather boring,
but predictable. . . .
It was the shortest distance between two points.

But when He took the lead,
He knew delightful long cuts,
up mountains,
and through rocky places
at breakneck speeds,
it was all I could do to hang on!
Even thought it looked like madness
He said, “Pedal!”

I worried and was anxious
and asked,
“Where are you taking me?”
He laughed and didn’t answer,
and I started to learn to trust.

I forgot my boring life
and entered into the adventure.
And when I’d say, “I’m scared,”
He’d lean back and touch my hand.

He took me to people with gifts that I needed,
gifts of healing,
acceptance and joy.
They gave me gifts to take on my journey,
my Lord’s and mine.

And we were off again.
He said, “Give the gifts away;
they’re extra baggage, too much weight.”
So I did,
to the people we met
and I found that in giving I received,
and still our burden was light.

I did not trust Him,
at first,
in control of my life.
I thought He’d wreck it;
but He knows bike secrets,
knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners,
knows how to jump to clear high rocks,
knows how to fly to shorten scary passages.

And I am learning to shut up
and pedal
in the strangest places,
and I’m beginning to enjoy the view
and the cool breeze on my face
with my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ.

And when I’m sure I just can’t do anymore,
He just smiles and says . . . “Pedal.”
-author unknown

Fantastic Family Fun Day!!

"Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ"
Philippians 1:3-5

This bible verse says it ALL! We had an amazing Family Fun Day on Saturday! We raised $2000 for Footprints! We were so excited about the turnout! The Lord blessed us with beautiful weather too! We had several of our Footprints families come to the event! It was so awesome to see how these babies have grown. Below are a few pictures of our First Footprints Family the Waters Family. Brooke is doing so well! Look how big she is! It was so good to see them again! They drove all the way from Selma to come to the Fun Day.

There are so many people we need to thank! I wish we had room to list every single person. This would not have been as successful as it was without the help of many, many volunteers and bakers. We want to thank The Waters for allowing us to have our fun day in their community! It was the perfect location! There was a special committee that did a fantastic job planning and organizing this event. A big thank you to each of these women who worked so hard to pull this event together. The following people were a part the planning committee:

Robyn Bernier, Lindsey Carroll, Pam Carroll, Gina Clifford, Sharon Cook, Christy Cronier, Kadra Parkman, Karen Redden and Taylor Thomas

This event also wouldn't have been possible without the support of these amazing sponsors!

Anchor Mortgage
Parkman Land & Cattle Company
Dr. Den Trumbull III
Glenn Wilson/Wachovia Mortgage

Dr. Ronald C. Elijah

Cosby Company
Alabama Wholesale Lumber
Gowan Iron/Pemberton Inc.

"In Kind"Sponsors

Heritage Baptist Church
Grace Pointe Church
Rave Motion Pictures
Blue Ridge Mountain Water
Blue Bell Ice Cream
Barb's on Mulberry
Landmark Sign Co.
Skinner Printing

Mr. and Mrs Don Cook

Thank you to everyone who volunteered, baked goodies, and attended the fun day! We are so grateful for your support! Below are some pictures from the FUN day.

Welcome to the Fun Day!

The Entrance

Selling Tickets

Heritage Baptist Table

Brooke Waters-our 1st Footprints baby!

Terry, Kellee and Brooke Waters

Our Clowns were Great!

Everyone loved our clowns!

Sack Races

Go Fish

Glenn in the Dunkin Booth

Hunter Getting Dunked

Ann and Alicia

Mrs. Kitti painting faces

Pin the Tail

Cake Walk

Reagan fishing! Her little brother Pierson

got out of the NICU last week!

Pam did a great job with the Go Fish game!

Jackson having fun in the moonwalk!

The Obstacle Course

Janel and Addison with Tabitha and Parks

A Day Full of Family Fun!

Peyton is Home!!

I'm so excited to tell you that after 6 long weeks our baby Peyton came home today!!! We praise the Lord for this precious miracle. We know that it is by His Grace that she was able to come home today! We decorated their yard with Footprints and stayed for Peyton's arrival home. We were so honored to be a part of her homecoming! Below are some pictures. Thank you for all of your prayers and support for this family! We also want to thank Jeff and Beth for allowing Footprints to be a part of their NICU experience. Peyton will always be a special Footprints baby!


"With God all things are possible" Matthew 19:26

Welcome Home Peyton!!!

"For this child I prayed" 1 Samuel 1:27

Congratulations Jeff and Beth!

A precious miracle!

The Power of Prayer!

Happy Mother's Day!!

I hope each of you have a wonderful Mother's Day!! Today we went to both hospitals and delivered carnations to the mothers for Mother's Day. It was such a special trip! It reminded me of the many things I have to be thankful for. We came across one mother, it appeared her baby had just been transferred to the NICU from another hospital. She was completely distraught. You could see the hurt and pain in her eyes. I was able to meet her for a moment and gave her a card for her to call us if she needed anything. It is heartbreaking to know that these mothers are spending their Mother's Day with their babies in the NICU. Mother's Day especially reminds me of our Footprints families whose babies became angels this past year. I know it is going to be an extremely difficult day for them tomorrow. My prayer is that the Lord will wrap his arms around each one of these mothers and comfort them. Please remember all of these families in your prayers on Mother's Day and everyday.

We also got to visit with Beth(mom) and baby Peyton today. It was such a joy to see Peyton doing so well! They are hoping to go home later next week! Below are a few pictures from today and also the poem that we attached to each carnation. Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

"My 1st Mother's Day" by Pam Carroll

My Mommy loves me dearly
I know that this is true,
I've known it from the moment,
God formed me in her womb.

I feel her prayers when whispered
Lifted to heaven on high -
I hear the sound of her footsteps
Whenever she draws nigh.

I will rise up and call her blessed
She is patient, kind and true,
Happy Mother's Day to Mommy
I Love You!!!

"Every time I think of you I give thanks to my God" Philippians 1:3

Our flowers with the poems

Robyn with the flowers

Peyton with her Mommy and Aunt Laura

Beth, Peyton and me

Peyton in her open crib! Praise the Lord!

Foootprints Family Fun Day

We are having our Footprints Family Fun Day on May 17th from 10am to 2pm at The Waters subdivision in Pike Road. This is going to be a good old fashioned carnival with music, food and games for all ages. We will have several moon walks, a dunking booth, sack races, face painting, bean bag toss, go fish game, cake walk, clowns, balloons and much more. There will also be an antique car show. This will be a great way to spend time with your family and support a wonderful ministry. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children with a maximum of $25 per family. Tickets will be available the day of the event. If you would like a ticket in advance please email nicufootprints@yahoo.com All proceeds will go to the Footprints Ministry. We hope to see you there!

"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work." 1 Timothy 1:12

"My Blankie" by Pam Carroll

My aunt, Pam Carroll, wrote the sweetest poem. We attach this poem to our scent blankies we put in our Footprints bags. The idea behind the scent blankies is for the mother to take the blanket home and sleep with then return it to the incubator so the baby will have their mother's scent close to them. It's so hard when you can't hold your baby or comfort it while they're in the incubator. I know so many families have been comforted by this precious poem.

My “Blankie” by Pam Carroll

I have a little “blankie”
That I hold tight each night,
But there’s one thing missing,
My Mommy by my side.

If Mommy takes this “blankie”
And holds it very close,
When she brings it to me
I’ll smell her with my nose.

It won’t replace my Mommy,
But remind me of her love,
And that God’s watching me
From Heaven above.

"Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles." Psalm 119:50