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It’s been a great weekend for this McClendon Clan. We’ve enjoyed watching Grace play ball, had the awesome hockey game last night, and Cole had some quality time with my dad at our family farm. Life is busier than it has even been but we are so thankful for the busyness of mostly normal.

While there is some comfort in being busy, it just feels so normal – I find myself fighting to keep my eyes on Jesus and what matters most. Thankfully, I am learning from past lessons. Lessons where I allowed myself to be consumed with the day to day stuff. Nothing bad, just busy. But, if I allow that busy to fill all of my time and fail to make time for my Savior, I become an easy target. I like being Mommy Duck but I have no desire to be a sitting duck!

One of my favorite passages is Psalm 91. I love the entire Psalm, but verse 4 hits home tonight…

4 He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

His faithful promises are your armor and protection… I cannot begin to tell you just how true that is. I have seen it proven in my life over and over. When I take the time to fill myself with God’s word it literally forms a wall of protection around my heart and mind. When the evil one tries to sneak in, he is not successful because I am spiritually in shape. I am prepared for the attacks.

Often times, when the storm is brewing all around me I find myself at my strongest. When things are bad all of my attention is on Jesus because I know He is where my strength comes from. When things are good, normal, busy, it is easy to become distracted. If I don’t feel as though I am under attack then it’s easy to get sloppy with my quiet time. And that carelessness drops the walls of protection from around my heart and mind.

So, tonight, as I rejoice in the return of normal, I also must take a moment to remind myself to stay close to my Lord. To continue to spend time with Him daily. To make a point to read His word and allow it to protect my heart.

Until tomorrow,
‘Carrow💜

Pictures of all three ducks, doing what they love…

Brother Duck riding the tractor

And finding animal tracks!

Sissy Duck about to clobber the ball

She means businesss!

Baby Duck in action

Wow! What a wonderful night!

The Huntsville Havoc hockey team hosted the first annual St. Jude night. They had special purple jerseys honoring 3 St. Jude kids. One sweet boy that is still fighting hard, our Baby Duck, and another sweet girl. It was so awesome to see KB 14 on the arm of all those jerseys!

After the game was over the jerseys were auctioned off. One Kayleigh jersey was auctioned to benefit PFK and nearly all the rest were auctioned off to benefit St. Jude. The Havoc organization raised almost $40,000 for St. Jude tonight!!!

Of course our kids wanted jerseys. We were looking for 14 but didn’t see it. Right at the end 41 was up for grabs so we bid on that one and won. As we were at the table bidding the last jersey was brought out. That guy wasn’t there tonight, he had moved up. Guess what number it was? If you are saying 14, you are 100% correct! Needless to say, we bid on that one as well.

As we ride home tonight from the arena, all I can do is be thankful for this community that continues to rally around us. God is good to bless me with words every night, but there simply aren’t enough words to describe this gratitude. We are humbled by each person that reaches out to us. By each hug, by each smile, and by every “I’m praying for you.” While we never would have chosen this path for ourselves, we are thankful for this platform.

Mark 10:
13 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. 14 When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 16 Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.

Children are a treasure, and anything we can do to help these precious children fight and beat cancer is worth the effort.

Until tomorrow,
‘Carrow 💜

We made it to Friday again. Yay!!!

It’s been an insanely busy week around here but very productive. It is amazing how the Lord continues to bring every piece we need to us at the perfect moment. Before Kayleigh’s journey I would have worried myself sick over everything that is going on around me. We have this huge event planned for May and so many strings still waiting to be tied. Another huge event in November and the possibility of another blooming on the horizon. But since Kayleigh’s diagnosis, God has shown us over and over that he is faithful.

I have watched our needs be met in every aspect of our lives. From Kayleigh’s medical care, to our financial needs, to the kids school needs, to every detail to make Kayleigh’s foundation take off. God has answered needs we didn’t know we had and sent special people into our lives to make the impossible happen in so many ways. It has been amazing and completely humbling. Who am I that the God of the universe would care about every tiny detail?

As I sit and take a moment to reflect I find myself excited about what is coming, yet completely at peace. Yes, there are plenary of things still hanging, but I know God is going to have each piece move into place at just the right moment. And that confidence is a new and beautiful gift from my Savior.

Luke 12:24-26
24 Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! 25 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? 26 And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?

How thankful I am for the trust that is continually proven true in my Lord!

Until tomorrow,
‘Carrow 💜

I love this picture. This is TOTALLY my kid, wearing my face, sporting a shirt that says it all. I love you Baby Duck. I’m so thankful you will never be grumpy again!

It’s been a great day. Busy, tiring, but still great. I started the morning talking with Ardmore Middle School kids about St. Jude. I was so honored to be invited! I thought I was going to chat with a class or two. Imagine my surprise when they filled up half the gym! Thank goodness the Lord shows up when you need Him most. The kids were awesome and interacted with me, which made it so much fun and so easy to talk. They asked good questions and paid attention.

They gave me 45 minutes to talk which made me a bit nervous. I wasn’t sure I had 45 minutes worth of things to say. But it worked out well. I told Paige I couldn’t believe I made it 45 minutes, to which she replied – it was actually an hour. Oops! That may be a warning to you folks that have asked me to come talk. I might be a wee bit long winded. I guess I’ll have to star working on time management.

On the way home I stopped at a local Xerox dealer. As the foundation gets going we have been needing to print all types of material. We have had awesome people donate printing to us in amazing ways, but we felt the need to get a more substantial printer to handle the load. We asked a friend about the one we were looking at, just to see what their thoughts were. No one wants to spend a large amount of money on something that is the wrong fit! So Tim gave our friend all of the information to check the printer out. When he called back it wasn’t to give us feed back, it was to tell us that a Huntsville business wanted to donate the very printer we were looking at to PFK! Today, I had the pleasure of meeting this awesome sales team, and picking up the printer. I know our God is big, but he never ceases to amaze me. The way he cares for us through the people we come in contact with… it is humbling.

In the coming days, we will be listing the logos and pictures on our PFK website from these special people. We know they have donated out of the goodness in their hearts, but we want to publicly say thank you as well. Stay tuned to the new website for that, the link is below.

So tonight, I’m exhausted. But it’s a good tired. A thankful tired. A humbled tired. Who am I? That the God of the universe would care about the smallest detail? I certainly don’t deserves it, but I treasure it more than I can say. Thank you father for your blessings.

Until tomorrow,
‘Carrow💜

Tonight you don’t get aloctire, you get a link to the new site. We are so excited to get Kayleigh’s legacy moving forward!

www.thePFKfoundation.org

Well hello March, when did you get here? Actually I wasn’t quite ready for you to get here. I volunteered to write a devotion for a women’s ministry and today was the due date. Even thought March 1st comes after February 28th 75% of the time, for some reason I felt like I had plenty of time as long as it was February. Um, hello… after almost 4 decades on earth you would think I’d know better. Ha!

So, it’s March 1st and my devotion is due. At least I HAVE been thinking and praying on the scripture all month. It a part of one of my favorite passages. After feeling so lonesome for Kayleigh last night it was the perfect words for me today.

Lamentation 3:22-23
22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. 23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

Indeed. His mercies ARE new every morning. Of course, it’s up to me what I will do with them. Will I look to God from the start of my day? Fixing my eyes on Him and asking Him to guide my steps? Or will I roll out of bed, be in a hurry and try to master the day under my own power? That’s another one of those things you would think I’d have learned by now. Attempting to do anything under my own power always ends in a mess. Usually, it’s a big, fat, nasty mess. I don’t tend to do things half way.

Thankfully, today was a “draw near to Jesus” day. I had the opportunity to record a radio show in Birmingham this afternoon. Sharing Kayleigh Bug’s story. I love to talk about my baby and how she is changing the world, but it’s still hard. Mostly because it draws all the emotions to the surface. And once they are at the surface, it doesn’t take much to push me over the edge. But as always, God is good. I honestly couldn’t tell you what I said, but that’s ok. I’m counting on the Lord to have given me the words.

So, tonight I go to bed with a tender heart – but it’s a heart filled with joy. I would appreciate you prayers for me tomorrow morning. I am traveling to talk with some local middle schoolers about St. Jude. It’s another wonderful opportunity to share our story and what God has done for us. I am praying for the right words again.

Until tomorrow,
‘Carrow💜

This is such a Kayleigh face 💜

It’s exciting to see all the pieces of her foundation coming together!