Week 14 Trust......trust me.....walk thru that door

This weeks blog is about trust. Trusting the path God sets for us. He opens doors of opportunity for us, it's our choice whether or not to listen and walk thru that door. I truly believe all that I have endured in the past six years since Cheryl has died has gotten me to this point in my life. I feel Cheryl is alive again, guiding me through this next huge step in our families lives. I feel it's my faith and trust in God that will make all this happen.

My husband and friends ran this past week in a 4K TapnRun. I had originally scheduled to run also but my surgery date ended up being to close to the race and I couldn't attend. My very good friends Stephanie Moran and Kim Gough came over and decorated shirts and painted Bras to make a "Cheryl's Bras" team uniform. Kim's husband Matt, who we call our own superhero because he is both a Fireman and a Police Officer agreed to run in my place. During the race a complete stranger came up from behind my husband and asked if the Cheryl's painted on his shirt was "Adrienne's Cheryl's Bras?" he replied "why yes it is and I'm her husband!". Cheryl's Bras are not even available yet, and even still, we are providing hope,support, and encouragement. I am getting so excited about our August roll out! We have made a couple changes to a particular style based on some recommendations we got from a few test subjects, so when they do come out the issues will already be taken care of.

My nephew Nick played baseball all his life, starting at Nebraska, then playing for the T-Bones for a short time. There was an article written about my nephew a couple of years ago, it talked about him making the game winning hit for his first professional game while wearing a symbol of Breast Cancer Awareness and research on his jersey. Nick quoted to the editor, "I've had some tough times the past few years, but that was a special moment." "I could feel my mom. She is definitely looking over my shoulder.". This same nephew thanked me this week for carrying on his Mother's legacy.

I miss my sister so much and I would do anything to have her back, but it's through her promise and my trust in God, that Cheryl's bras is my open door. It's through her amazing love and spirit I hope to help women all over the world.

If it isn't through a bra, then maybe I can just bring hope to someone battling this awful disease.

Making the most of her dash....

Love you all,
Adrienne

Week 13....My Surgery...My Family......My Life

This week brings all kinds of emotion to the forefront. A week ago Tuesday, I had my fifth and hopefully final breast surgery. Each time I go into surgery I can’t help but think of what all my sister Cheryl endured and how strong she always remained. It was her faith in God, her family and life that always brought her out on top.

The weekend before my surgery we went to visit my nephews, their wives, my sister Tracy and her husband. What an amazing weekend we all had together! It was probably one of the most fun filled weekends I have had in a long time. We watched my great nephew Landon play basketball, baseball, and any other kind of ball he could find. We shopped, ate, and just enjoyed each others company.

My sister Tracy and our families went out to visit Greg (our brother-n-law) and his new wife, Cindy. We had a great time. Their home is beautiful; it sits in the country with pastures all around. We laughed all night, my stomach hurt the next day I laughed so hard.

I brought my nephew Todd, his mother’s toy box she had since she was a child. Now, it sits in his home where he can fill it with all his sons’ toys and have a piece of his mother that he can share with his own children for many years to come.

 

I gave Nick’s wife, Kristi a bracelet that my sister wore nearly everyday. Kristi is truly a gift from my sister, that I feel my sister hand picked for her son. I know that Cheryl would want her to have it as she will be able to also carry a piece of Cheryl with her forever.

I know this blog was started for the purpose of our company’s journey and it will still tell our story but this is also about my personal struggles and successes, and that life will throw curve balls even in the best of people’s lives but its how we get through and become stronger individuals that matter. Cheryl’s bras was started after a  tragic, heart wrenching death and taking that death and making a difference for woman, helping them  kick cancers butt and feeling beautiful through it!

This week has been a very emotional week for me. Family is forever, regardless of your difference. Life can be difficult at times and sometimes that family forever doesn’t always work out. I wanted so bad to be able to pick up the phone and just ask Cheryl what do I do? What do I do with all of these feelings? She was always so good at giving advice and looking at the glass half full instead of half empty.

I am so blessed to have an amazing husband, children, mother and father-n-law, nephews, nieces, friends and a sister that listens for hours if she has too.

Even though we don’t always have the answers, even though we are not exactly sure how the future is going to unfold, we are taught at an early age to trust.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Cheryl’s Bras has given me that hope again, to be able to make a difference in people’s lives and even though we are still working on all the many details for the roll out in August of 2013, I hope my blog can touch someone that might be having that “bad day or week”. There is always HOPE! You can’t change people, you can’t change the cruelty that life can bring, but you can hold on to HOPE and believe that God has your plan, and you will be okay. Until next week, have a great week, I plan on it!

Love Adrienne

 

Week 12......Wife's Surgery and what makes family.....

Hello Again....

Its Mike "The Husband"  lol.  Adrienne had her 5th and God willing final surgery this past Tuesday.  She is doing really well and is extremely happy with the results.  Adrienne is in our bed room resting so I decided to handle this weeks blog.

When they came and got me to sit with her in the pre-op room, I walked in on Adrienne giving one of her "Stay in School" talks to her nurse.  It turns out her Nurse had decided to go back to school to further her education and somehow in the brief time they were together it came out and Adrienne was expressing her personal views on education and how very important it is.  She is laying there, IV in her arm, a silly surgical cap on her head and is doing her best to help some complete stranger.......That's my wife everyday...

The dictionary list family as:

1. a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head.

2. a group of persons of common ancestry.

3. a people or group of peoples regarded as deriving from a common stock.

4. a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation.

 

For us family has never been about blood relations.  Yes certainly we have blood relatives but our family is so much more than that.  Let me introduce you to some of our family and the people that love my wife and touch her heart every day....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the last three days I have been putting these pics together with help from a few little elves.  These are our parents and our kids, sisters and nephews, friends, neighbors, students at her school, teachers she works with,  people I do business with in China, the Pastor and his wife from our Church, a fellow blogger, friends in a Social Security Office in Michigan, friends in a Salon in Michigan, a boutique in Nixa that my wife likes to shop at and one bearded guy from Azerbaijani that just wanted to bless my wife.

All these people took time out of there lives to take these pictures.  They all love my wife and she loves them. My wife is that rare person, when she tells you she loves you, whether your a child she meets at school all the way to her lucky Husband.....she truly means it....

That's what makes family....

Trying to make the most of his dash....

Mike

 

 

 

 

 



Week 11-Trip to see my family

This week has been a busy week at school with IEP meetings and my kiddos trying to finish up the year. Not much new with Cheryl's bras this week as we just got back from Florida. I'm excited about visiting my sisters children this weekend along with my sister Tracy and her family. We are taking our exchange student with us,   so that's always exciting to see her facial expressions and the excitement of her seeing and learning new places and things.
When my sister Cheryl passed the school that she taught at made her a memorial out on the playground. In that memorial sits a bench and a stone that reads a very special message. I look forward to going there this weekend and sitting on that bench, thinking about all the times I drove up to Kansas City to visit her. We would have so much fun just doing not much of anything. I miss her so much at times it physically hurts.
My sister would always give my sons and I books as gifts, in those books she would write little messages and sign her name. Tonight we cleaned out the toy box that was full of all these books, my son Alex and I read some of the messages she wrote and laughed as we went through them. Who knew at the time what these messages would eventually mean.
Tonight I would like to share a few of the messages she left me, The book was called called Life's Little Instruction Book, inside the front cover she wrote, "I read parts of this book, and I loved it so much that I bought one for you and one for me. Read it and enjoy. Love Cheryl".. then down from that she said, "my finger prints! I was eating Chinese food.:)" For the longest time I could see her finger print but with time, it is now gone. She then told me certain pages I needed to pay attention too, as a big sister would do.
Funny some of the pages she picked out for me, it was almost like she could see my future. Page 93; Chose your life's mate carefully. From this one decision will come ninety percent of all your happiness or misery. Page 171; Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts.
I'm really excited about our future with Cheryl's bras, we will now focus on the funding to get our bras over here from China and start helping woman all over the world. With my school year coming to an end, I will have much more time to focus on our goal of an August 2013 roll out. Cheryl knew her purpose here on earth and I truly believe she has a similar purpose in Heaven. I will continue to help people the way she did,and live life to the fullest, as she wanted this for everyone she loved and knew.
To all the readers of this blog, thank you for all of your support. Have a great week, I plan on it!
Love Adrienne