Your Hidden Power

Yes, I am a spiritual person; given everything my husband and I have been through. However, people tend to forget what they are truly capable of - even when things seem impossible. It may hurt, it may seems like it never ends, and it may seem as though you just don't have any more strength to continue. That is when I hope you will remember this video that I came across this morning. I am not a big football person but I can tell you that it just goes to show that you have the power within you - you only need to not give up!

Happiness is...

A week or so ago, I launched Angel Cove (organ donation & transplant awareness store) through MySpace. Why? Well, I figured that it would be a great place to post some information about organ donation and maybe gain some further awareness for the cause. I never thought about the response I would get from launching the site nor the people that I would meet. I had figured that people would look at my page and just pass on through.

But that wasn't the case. You see, friends started to pour in. Other people that were raising awareness for the same cause and those that relied on awareness being spread to help them find their own miracle. Blessings poured in from complete strangers saying how great it is that I continue to raise awareness, even though my husband had already received his miracle. Others sent me love and praise on my awareness artwork, designs and products. I have to admit that it brought me to tears.

No, my heart didn't break... rather I began to remember what it was like back then; before Greg received his double lung transplant. The strength in the patients, donors, and families is unlike anything else in existence. And then I realized how easy it is to forget what true happiness is and how each and every moment on this Earth is a true miracle within itself.

That is why I continue to raise awareness... to never forget and let others know that they are never alone. Although I cannot be there holding the hand of each and every person going through this battle, I can comfort them in knowing I still care and that I am willing to be there the only way I can... through my art, designs, products, and in my heart.

The Black Sheep

Many of us have had an experience in which we felt like the lone black sheep in a vast sea of white sheep. For some of us, however, this sense of not belonging runs more deeply and spans a period of many years. It is possible to feel like the black sheep in families and peer groups that are supportive, as well as in those that are not. Even if we receive no overt criticism regarding our values, there will likely be times when it seems that relatives and friends are humoring us or waiting for us to grow out of a phase. Sometimes we may even think we have been adopted because we are so different from our family members. These feelings are not a sign that we have failed in some way to connect with others. Rather, they should be perceived as the natural result of our willingness to articulate our individuality.

Many black sheep respond to the separateness they feel by pulling back from the very people to whom they might otherwise feel closest and embracing a different group with whom they enjoy a greater degree of commonality. But if you feel that your very nature has set you apart from your peers and relatives, consider that you chose long ago to be raised by a specific family and to come together with specific people so that you could have certain experiences that would contribute to your ongoing evolution. You may be much more sensitive than the people around you or more artistic, aware, spiritual, or imaginative. The disparate temperament of your values and those of your family or peers need not be a catalyst for interpersonal conflict. If you can move beyond comparisons and accept these differences, you will come to appreciate the significant role your upbringing and socialization have played in your life's unique journey.

In time, most black sheep learn to embrace their differences and be thankful for those aspects of their individuality that set them apart from others. We cannot expect that our peers and relatives will suddenly choose to embrace our values and offer us the precise form of support we need. But we can acknowledge the importance of these individuals by devoting a portion of our energy to keeping these relationships healthy while continuing to define our own identities apart from them.

Feature: Bold Organ Donor

Our organ and tissue donation awareness product of the week: Bold Organ Donor License Plate Frame

Be bold and bring awareness to organ donation and transplantation. This design features the words: "Be A Hero. Be An Organ Donor." with a green awareness ribbon in the background.

A real roadside attraction, get your driver's attitude or cause across on this cool License Plate Frame. Constructed of sturdy, durable, shiny chrome that makes your message POP. Images are applied with a permanent adhesive weatherproof decal. UV and water-resistant. Fits most cars. 12" x 6" Enhance the message of your vanity plate.

• Measures 12" x 6"
• Constructed of chromed steel
• Graphics are applied with permanent adhesive vinyl decals
• UV and water-resistant decal

Click here for more products with this design!

The Wait and Wonder

Her profile says it all: "Moreena is mom to 6-year-old Annika, who is currently waiting for her third liver transplant, and 3-year old Frankie. She lives in Normal, Illinois, where she gardens avidly (but badly)." This wonderful mom is actively living the transplant life and in her blog "The Wait and Wonder" she has highlighted Angel Cove as one of the places to go for organ donation awareness t-shirts and awareness gift items in her Teddy Bear post.

More specifically, she highlights a specific design that I wear on a t-shirt proudly myself. It is called "Give of Yourself" and is portrays stick figure people hand-in-hand with each other and an green awareness ribbon between each. The comments on this design are never short and it easily gets the attention of people all around you!






Thanks Moreena and for the snippet about Angel Cove on your blog! We will keep your baby in our thoughts and prayers!

Not a Cold!

My heart skipped a beat again this morning. It had been some time since it last took a moment to restart. "My juice has vitamin C in it, right?" echoed my husband. I knew in that moment what he was going to say after my brief response of "yes". He took a Cold-Eeze when he woke up and the package states not to have vitamin C for 30 minutes before or after taking one. The words "Vitamin C" in our house automatically raise a red flag and rightfully so; Greg had a sore throat.

Normally, sore throats are a dime a dozen. However, when you are a double-lung transplant recipient and have an immune system that is suppressed, a simple sore throat can turn into much worse. My mind automatically went into a calming state after my heart began to rejoin the living. My wonderful husband has been able to bounce back from every cold without even a sneeze after his transplant because he takes care of himself so well. Why should this time be any different? Heck, I get tons of colds around him and he sweetly takes care of me; the one that has a perfectly good working immune system and no prior transplant. Ironic how the cards unfold.

As for this little sore throat; I will allow myself to remain calm until he turns to me and tells me otherwise. He was born with this body and knows it better than anyone. Who am I to doubt?