Update on Daddy 4:16 PM

Ok, it's a go.  He will have the surgery in the morning.  I don't know what time yet.  Mom and I are going to head to Parkland as soon as Jim gets home from work.  Thank you everyone for all the prayers.  Please continue to pray for Dad and over the doctors as we go in the morning.

More later.

Kristina

Update on Daddy 3:27 PM

Just as Mom and I were getting ready to walk out the door for Dad he called just now and said to hold off.  All he would say is that things are changing as we speak and to wait for him to call back.  He wouldn't say any more when I tried to find out.  Please pray that this is it and we are getting the kidney.

More when I find out.

Kristina

Update on Dad 11:21 AM

At the moment the kidney is still in Corpus.  Apparently there are some "political" issues going on and they haven't released it yet.  Mom and I are headed to the hospital to pick Dad up.  We are taking everything with just in case they call him back and say that it's ready.  Once the kidney gets here it's his. 

More later,

Kristina 

Update on Dad 7:57 AM

As of about 30 minutes ago, they had not yet harvested the kidney from the donor yet.  Once they harvest the kidney, it will be a 2-4 hour trip to Dallas followed by more testing to make sure that it's a match and that everything is ok.  Right now it's looking like the surgery will happen this afternoon.  Dad has asked me to bring him some clothes and socks.  Apparently hospital gowns don't offer much warmth.  He's in good spirits though.  Now if I can calm my nerves.  Please continue to pray for the donor family.  While this is a time of praise and rejoicing for us, they have suffered a terrible loss and just before the holidays too.  

Pray for Daddy!!!!

If I haven't called you or you haven't checked my Facebook or MySpace pages, here's the scoop.

Daddy is at Parkland right now undergoing tests.  If all goes well, he will be getting a new kidney w/in 24 hours.  Please pray that he comes out okay and everything goes well.  We will all go see him prior to the surgery and stick around until it's over.  If you haven't been around for the last 7 years, Daddy has had a few near death close calls with his health.  Please pray that this is not one of them and that everything goes textbook perfect.  I will try to update as much as possible for the next few days.  If all goes well, this is an early Christmas present for my parents.  

Also, please pray for the family of the donor.  As we all know, when someone passes is when the donations happen.  Please pray for that family and that loss.  

Thanks,

The Halley-Warner Family

Holiday Season Is Here......UGH!!!!

What's the point of the holidays?  Christmas is a given.  But Thanksgiving all the others.  It just serves to put people together that don't get along and to make us miserable.  We rush from one house to the other and eat so much that we are sick for days.  We pretend to like people that truly make us miserable for the sake of "Family Time".  We put up with all the rude comments for the sake of "Family Time".  We spend tons of money we don't have so that "Santa Claus" can live on in our kids lives for another year.  I'm not allowed to tell my 7 year old yet that "Santa" is just an excuse for us to spoil our kids and get away with it.  His dad would rip me a new one if I did.  Granted, his dad has plenty of help in that department.  This year for thanksgiving, I'm going to grill some burgers and watch the Cowboys sink further into oblivion.  Ryan will go to his dad's family this year.  It's just going to be Jim and I.  No more making my sister rush from in-laws to us.  No more trying to plan around everyone else's plans this year.  I'm done with it.  I'm not going to listen to people gripe about the money I've spent on the food as they eat it all and leave nothing for leftovers.  No more listening to people gripe about the money I've spent on presents for Ryan even though I bought the ones they gave him.  Santa is only bringing one thing to our house this year because not every kid goes to multiple houses for Christmas........yet.  We will tell the Christmas story and why we celebrate it.  But we aren't going all out anymore.  I'm giving up.  It's all about my husband and my son this year.  Where Ryan wants to go for the holidays is up to him this year.  He's old enough to choose.  I'm done trying to figure out how to fairly split the holidays with his dad because I want to be selfish with my time with him.  His dad isn't home like I am.  Technically I get way more time anyways because I stay home.  That's being selfish.  That's not fair to Ryan or his dad.  I'm not going to spend another holiday season stressing myself out until I'm sick.  I'm not going to spend crazy amounts of money that I don't have to feed people who are sooo ungrateful for it.  Burgers and Chips with parades and football.  If you want to come over great.  Bring something you want to eat.  It's potluck.  I have a 27" TV with no cable.  We can watch whatever is on broadcast TV.  I will be thankful this year for a gracious God who has blessed me with a beautiful son and a wonderful husband.  I will be thankful for a gracious God that has forgiven my sins and will allow me to enter heaven when my time comes.  I'm not going to try to please everyone all the time because nobody cares.  I try to go all out to show my family how much I appreciate ALL the things they have done for my husband, son and I and all I hear is $$$$$$$.  I quit.  I will just start handing over the cash and be done with it.  I'm not buying gas anymore.  I'm not buying lunches anymore.  I'm not paying for nails anymore.  I'm not doing anything anymore but handing over cash because that's all people care about.  People want to see us, they can call and plan a time for them to come see us.  I'm not driving all over God's beautiful green earth to them anymore.  Just because gas is under $2 doesn't mean I can afford it anymore.  It just means I can save it to fix the next thing that may go wrong with the car.  People want to see us.  You know our phone number.  

PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL ONCE IN A WHILE!!!!!  

IT'S NOT THAT HARD!!!!

WE CALL YOU ALL THE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

I can predict this.  The phone will NOT ring.  NOBODY will call us.  Not even our "Friends" will call us.  Not even our family will call us.  That says a lot right there. 

The only person I know that will call is my Mom.  She calls me everyday.  She calls to see how we are doing.  She calls just to say hi.  She calls because she cares.  I do the same thing to her.  I call her everyday.  I pray she is around for a long time.  I will miss those calls when they stop.  I joke and I roll my eyes at times, but she knows it.  We laugh about it.  We know that when those calls stop, they will be missed.  

I had a friend years ago like that.  We talked multiple times a day.  I got married and consumed with my new life and stopped calling daily.  I wouldn't answer the calls.  I just didn't have time.  He died a few years ago.  I still have his number in my phone.  It belongs to someone else now I'm sure.  I just can't bring myself to delete the phone number.  Everytime I get a new phone.  I make sure that the number gets into the new phone.

That's a true friend there. 

I have another friend like that.  She will call me.  I will call her.  We hang out weekly.  That's a true friend right there.  What about everyone else?  Will you call us.  I doubt it.  That's ok though.  We'll get by.  We have God and each other.  That's all we need.

Maybe I will actually have minutes leftover at the end of the month.  Wow, I wonder what that is like!!!!!!!!!  

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE!!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!!!

HAPPY CHANUKAH!!!!!!!! (you know who you are  :D)

Why all the Drama

Man, there has been a lot going on.  We have a few prayer requests.  My niece has recently lost her baby and is experiencing the pain both emotionally and physically.  She was only 6 weeks pregnant.  She was however looking forward to the baby's arrival eagerly.  Ryan's cousin lost her father late sunday night in a horrific car accident.  He was only 39.  She's 13 and having a hard time dealing with her loss.  Her current living situation hasn't been good from what I understand from others in the family, but I'm not at liberty to say.  My sister-in-law got married this past Saturday.  We found out from my mother-in-law.  Pray that she is happy in her new life.  Pray for Jim and I as we work on our relationship with his family.  That has become strained again.  It feels like a see saw ride lately.  Jim and I have chosen to protect Ryan from this emotional ride by not allowing visits with them until this is sorted out.  He's talked to his dad again.  His dad's response was time will tell.  I'm not sure how that will pan out, but until then, we will only send pictures of Ryan and update them by email, letter and phone.  They have reminded him that Ryan is not their grandchild by blood.  Jim made a comment to Dad that Ryan may be the only grandchild they have through him.  That alone has brought to the front of my mind again that despite being 21 days late recently, I was in fact not pregnant.  This has been a long taxing month for us with all that going on.  Please pray for our family as we work through all this.