Our looonnngggg week…

We had a really long, hard week.  After our sweet Maizey died on Friday, one of our oldest members at church passed away on Saturday.  Brad was one of the first people we met in Goldsboro and was on the search committee that called us here.  He and his wife, Mary Ann, are dear to us.  Brad was fighting brain cancer…he had surgery in the late fall and was undergoing chemo and radiation.  On Saturday, he was having trouble breathing and they took him to the hospital.  He had a heart attack and passed away at the hospital.  Thayer was there in the room with Mary Ann.  Although we knew he was sick, we weren’t expecting to loose him that day.  He was so full of life, even as he got sick.  His attitude was incredible and our girls just loved him.  He worked in the Guest Services ministry and he gave himself the nickname “the go-to guy” because any time I needed something, he would be there without fail. 

There was over 300 people at the funeral and our auditorium only seats about 200.  (There would have been more, I’m sure, but the horrible weather Friday night kept some away.) Since we couldn’t have two services like we do on Sunday, we had to figure out how to accomodate more people.  We had to clean our the balcony which had been a storage area since we moved in.  We also had the service videoed and had that live feed pumped into our children’s area where there was overflow seating.  The service was amazing.  Mary Ann requested that it be a worship service, not a funeral.  The casket was not there.  Our whole praise team played and we did four songs:  the version of Without Him we did several weeks back, a contemporary arrangement of Fairest Lord Jesus, The Revelation Song, and Amazing Grace, My Chains are Gone.  There were six speakers that had about 3-5 minutes to speak and they did a great job telling about Brad from various viewpoints and about different times in his life.  Thayer wrapped up the service with a few thoughts and with a gospel presentation.  It was very uplifting and an amazing service that honored an amazing man.  It was our first funeral at Gateway and I know that is the model for every memorial service Thayer is in charge of from now on!

After Friday night, I was zonked but since we had started the clean-up process in the balcony, we continued cleaning on Saturday.  Thayer joked that Brad had prodded him to do things many times and even in death, he was pushing us along to do things we needed to have done months ago!  We had to re-set the auditorium and the Big Top children’s area for Sunday and then we tackled the attic.  With the help of some amazing volunteers (thanks Sue, Jennifer, James, Carl and Joey), we got that done before lunch.  Then, I was off to finish getting stuff ready for the elementary and preschool volunteer training we had on Saturday night.  On Sunday, I was extremely busy in the elementary area and also had to attend the Guest Services volunteer training for a few minutes before handing that ministry over to the capable hands of Jennifer Hatfield.  It was a bitter sweet thing because I have loved watching that ministry grow and thrive in the last 3 years, but my main focus now needed to be the Children’s Ministry.  So, as of today, I am no longer the Guest Services Director at Gateway, but the Children’s Director.  Then, tonight after our First Sunday night service, I went to the Super Bowl party for the students (since I am a small group leader in that ministry).  Now, I am about to go to bed and try to rest up before starting it all over again tomorrow morning.  I don’t think this week will be so long or full, but…you never know!

A Snow Day

We don’t get these very often in Goldsboro, NC at all!  So, we’ll enjoy them when we can!  It started snowing last night before we went to bed.  When we got up this morning, it had started sleeting on top.  Avery looked out our back window and saw it…she hasn’t gotten to play in snow but once before (last year on the Inauguration).  She was so excited and said, “dad, did it snow in our front yard too?” It sleeted until about 2 this afternoon.

They had a blast playing.  My kitchen still has all the wet, drying clothes to show that they went out two times. The snow was hard because of the ice, so they used our boogie boards as sleds…and it actually worked!  Yes, we are much more of a beach family than a winter weather family! Avery played long enough both times they were out to have her fingers and toes “burn.”  That was our cue to go in both times!

Our black lab enjoyed playing with them.  It was bitter sweet for me to watch him because Maizey always had a great time playing in the snow.  Getting to just stay at home today was good to be able to reflect on her life and we remembered a lot of really great stuff!  When the pain goes away, we’ll still have a lifetime of memories of our almost 11 years with her.

The high today was 29 so there was no melting…and since the ice covered over the snow, the roads are bad.  We won’t be having church tomorrow and there will probably be no school on Monday (the low on Sunday night is to be 14).  Then, Thayer said there may be another storm on Tuesday.  Oh…no school for a week!  I’ll go nuts!

Stamper’s Amazing Grace

OK…you may think this is corny…but Thayer wrote this last October (and updated it this morning) when Maizey got so sick.  Amazingly, she got better and God gave us three months more.  We appreciated her more in these last 3 months than we had and we’re so thankful.  She got sick again last week and this time, she didn’t make it…she slipped away sometime after midnight…and we miss her already.

“Stamper’s Amazing Grace” (Maizey) breathed her last on Friday, January 29 in Goldsboro, NC in the presence of her Creator and her human family.

A native of Louisburg, NC, Maizey was born on March 27, 1999, and came to live with the Stamper family in Rocky Mount, NC on Mother’s Day weekend the same year. She lived with the Stampers at three different addresses in Rocky Mount before moving with the family to their current address in Goldsboro, NC in June 2005.

She is survived by the Stamper family (Thayer, Amy, Julia, Bailey, Madison, and Avery Stamper), two feline companions (Prissy and Ruby), one canine companion (Noche), and numerous friends including Paul, Maxine, & Lee Edwards, Barry & Kristin Perkins, Dan and Donna Wheeler, Judy Winstead, and Barbara Odom.

Maizey was a special companion to her family, full of love and faithful to the end. In the words of the poet, she “possessed beauty without vanity, strength without insolence, courage without ferocity, and all the virtues of man without his vices.”

The Stampers will bury her in the woods behind their house in Goldsboro. And in death, her body will rest, as it did so often in life, with her favorite ball.

We, the Stamper family, thank God for the richness she brought to our lives. She was a great dog.  We miss her terribly.

She Cracks Me Up! Part 4

Julia Carson was born in Cary, NC on Tuesday, August 19, 1997 at 4:37 pm.  She weighed 8 lbs., 2 oz. and was 21 inches long.  She was 10 days late and had to be convinced to come out with the use of a drug called Pitocin.  She is named after my mom’s mom, Julia Traynham.  She was an amazing woman that I loved very much.  Her middle name is the maiden name of Thayer’s mom’s mom.  I was so completely blown away that I could love anything so unconditionally.  I spent many  hours watching her sleep in her crib, just amazed at how good God is to have blessed me that much.  Becoming a mom made me love and appreciate my mom even more.  Now I know how smart she really was! 

Julia is a beautiful, charming young woman.  She is in seventh grade and has always been an over-achiever.  I have no idea where she got that from…ha!  Thayer says he knows exactly where she got it and it wasn’t from him!  She is willing to try new things but knows what she likes and what she doesn’t.  She is an avid reader and a pretty good actress.  She is playing the keyboard in the Student Praise Team at church and is on the Battle of the Books team at school.  She loves school and gets upset with us when we plan trips that make her miss a day or two.  I’m very thankful for that, though, because I don’t have to push her to do homework or study.  She has only had 2 B’s since fourth grade (and those were both in 5th grade.)  I can’t believe she is halfway through middle school.  Its so sad to think I only have her for about 5 or 6 more years.  She’s already talking about high school options.  They have several choices here so that you can have an associate’s degree by the time you finish high school.  Of any of my girls, she’ll be the one to do it!  And, with 4 to put through college, I’m for getting as much college for free as you can! 

She is an amazing sister…we have to remind her that she is just the older sister sometimes because she can get harsh with Avery…she knows what works with her, though, that’s for sure!  Sometimes I worry that we put too much responsibility on her, but she tells me that she doesn’t mind.  With great responsibility comes great rewards, which she is finding out more and more!  She is a volunteer in our preschool ministry at church and helps with check-in as well.  Its amazing how much she thinks like me…sometimes I feel like she is my right-hand!  When I ask her to do something for me, a lot of times, she’s already done it.

We have our moments…she has to be reminded that she is still the child.  But, overall, I have to say that we have a great, open relationship and I am so very proud of her.  I guess I should feel pretty honored that she wants to wear my clothes and shoes and borrow my jewelry.  Often, I have to go find my make-up/skin products and I never have my own brush…all of that is going to get much worse with 4 girls!  I get a little nervous thinking about the days ahead and the stresses Julia and her sisters will face.  I just pray daily that they will be true to who they are and that they have truly hidden all those things in their hearts that will help them make right choices…but I’ll be here always no matter what!

So, now you know a little more about each of my four girls.  They are all so wonderfully special, but so different.  Each of them crack me up and bring sunshine to me every day of my life!  I am so blessed!

She Cracks Me Up! Part 3

Today is Bailey Elizabeth’s day.  She was born in Cary, NC on Friday, February 26, 1999 at 4:07 pm.  She was 7 lbs., 13 oz. and was 21 inches long.  She looked exactly like Julia.  The only way we can tell their hospital pictures apart is to see which stuffed animal is in the crib.  Julia was only 18 months when Bailey was born.  She thought Bailey was ok but was more interested in the videos we brought for her to watch when she was in my room!

Bailey was the happiest baby we had.  She was constantly smiling and playing.  We got our dog, Maizey, when Bailey was a baby.  Maizey is one month younger.  She loved watching the puppy chase Julia.  Maizey’s favorite place to be was laying in the bottom of the Exersaucer when Bailey was in it. 

I have wonderful memories of those days!  We moved to Rocky Mount, NC to accept our first pastorate at Edgemont Baptist Church just 4 weeks before Bailey was born.  We thought we were so busy, but boy, I’d love to go back to the days when Thayer would walk next door to work at church and the girls and I were at home all the time, playing.  Even when we went somewhere, it was a breeze!

Through all the years, Bailey’s disposition has continued to be amazing.  She is such an easy-going kid…friend to everyone.  She does have a very competitive side that mainly shows when she wants to keep up with Julia.  Even though they are 18 months apart, she learned to ride her bike without training wheels about 6 weeks after Julia.  She did the same when learning to skate and swim. 

She is an excellent student…in the Academically and Intellectually Gifted program.  She loves ballet and tap and has been in several  plays at the local theatre.  She leads the Kids’ Praise Team at church and is the only one who will sing along to Elton John with me in the car!  She loves to read and has a huge heart for animals.  Her career ambition is to be a veterinarian after going to “NC State for 8 years.”  I told her that’s fine, but she’ll have a load of student loans!

She started attending the Goldsboro Cotillion this year and has enjoyed learning some ballroom dances and basic etiquette.  I love seeing her feel so comfortable with who she is right now…I know the icky, in-between stage is just around the corner.  Bailey will an amazing woman before long!  I am honored to be her mom!

Last, but certainly not least, I’ll fill you in on Julia later this week.

She Cracks Me Up! Part 2

Continuing from the other day, I want to introduce you to our third sweet girl, Madison Noelle.  Madi was born when Bailey was just 18 months and Julia was just 2 days into being 3.  We did not find out ahead of time if she was going to be a boy or a girl.  Of course, after 2 girls, we assumed she was going to be  boy.  But, on Monday, August 21, 2000, she was born at 4:05 pm.  She was 7 lbs., 10 oz. and was 21 inches long.  She had a ton of dark hair…very different from her first two sisters.  She was the first of the girls to ever score a 10 on her Apgar test.  We were thrilled.

Madi quickly fell into the routine of a busy, young family.  She was a joy to so many and always was the happiest baby.  She walked before her sisters had and seemed to be an active, normal child.  Around age 3, we discovered in her 3 year old evaluations at preschool that she was behind other children her age in gross motor skills.  Through our various doctor’s visits, it was finally determined several years later that she has a type of muscular dystrophy.  She is currently being seen at the Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Greenville, SC and at our next appointment in February, she will begin genetics testing to try to nail down the specific type.  While not lethal (and we are so very thankful for that!), she is constantly facing physical challenges.  The smallest things for us…getting into a car, going up and down steps, running, jumping…are difficult to near impossible for her.  However, God gave her the most beautiful  personality and she handles it all with grace and beauty.  There are days she is upset about not being able to do something, but for the most part, she has something funny to say about it.  The other day, Thayer asked her how long a mile was (thinking she’d say how many miles it was).  She thought for a second and said, “about 22 minutes for me.”  She is required to do the Presidential Physical Fitness test at school and has always finished everything required of her.  Last year at Award’s Day, the coach at her school presented her with an Extra Effort Award.  She was so proud…I was prouder!

She loves to dance…she still takes ballet and tap.  This year, she auditioned and made her first play at a community theatre…Miracle on 34th Street.  She is super creative and loves to draw and write stories.

Unbelievably, she learned to swim.  This Christmas, she got a bike that is actually a big tricycle.  Because she lacks the leg strength to ride without training wheels, this bike makes her feel a little more grown!  Unfortunately, we had an incident on it Christmas morning which caused her to have a huge boo boo on her forehead, but she is doing much better on it now and we  pray it will be a tool to help strengthen those legs!

Madi is our only daughter with blue eyes.  She is an absolute beauty, inside and out…even with a boo boo scar on her head!

Next up…Bailey!

She Cracks Me Up!

I could write this post about any one of our 4 daughters.  So, I thought I’d highlight each one of them and what makes them so special over the next few days.  Let’s start with the smallest Stamper…Avery Kathryn.  She was born on Thusday, March 3, 2005 at 2:23 PM at Western Wake Medical Center in Cary, NC.  She was the smallest of our girls at 7 lbs., 6 oz.  She was 21 inches long and had tons of dark hair.  She was a huge hit with her sisters.  We have precious pictures of the three of them holding her.  We call her Aves or Avery Kate.

Avery was born during a transitional period in our life.  We had waited about 4 years after having the first few girls in quick succession to have her and we were in the midst of interviewing with a large church in Goldsboro when she was born.  Trying to sell a house with a one month old and three other children under the age of 8 was lots of fun.  But, even better, I found out a few months later, was trying to move into a new house and unpack with the same 4 kids!

Avery has always been such a happy girl.  Its amazing to me that she could have maintained such a happy demeanor day after day of basically living in a car seat from just after lunch time until supper time.  She was always at school, piano, dance, soccer, play practice or some other activity with her sisters.  (She still is, although now she takes dance herself!)

These days, Avery is in four year old preschool (in the Frog class!) five mornings a week and is so ready to go to “big school” next year.  I almost cried the other day when I dropped off the other girls just thinking about my sweet little girl getting out of the car and walking in by herself in August.  She is very dramatic and will be great at acting.  She loves her dance class (she takes a combination ballet and tap class) and wants to play soccer.  She has learned to swim and ride her bike without training wheels.  In the rare times that we are at home, her favorite past-time is destroying her room!

She played Trivial Pursuit with us over the last two nights.  We have the Family Edition that is for kids 8 and up and also has adult questions for the parents.  She was on a team with me, but she was able to answer a few questions which really blew us away!  And when she didn’t know the answer, she came up with the craziest things!  She only knows two US Presidents, Obama and Abraham Lincoln, and amazingly, one of her questions was “Which president was ‘Log Cabin’ syrup named for.”

There are a million pictures I could post of her, but this one I took a week ago shows Avery perfectly…asleep in her car seat…but with such style!

Tune in next time to hear about Madi!

Sundays are the Best!

I know I’ve written about how much I love Sundays before, but let me reiterate:  I love Sundays!  We always have to be at church between 7:30 – 8 and we don’t finish up the day until our small group leaves our house until about 8 pm, but there is something amazing amidst the exhaustion of the day.  

It is humbling to have the privilege to see the collective body from the stage worship.  Today we started a new series called “Broadcast” so of course, we sang Steve Fee’s “Broadcast.”  It is such a powerful, crazy song!  One of the guitarists said, “I want to kick a door down” during the instrumental parts.  Then, we did something we’ve never done at Gateway…we sang “Without Him” acapella in 4 part harmony.  Incredible!  We also finished up with Casting Crowns’ “Stained Glass Masquardes.” 

After singing in the first service, I hauled it to our children’s area to be a small group leader for the 1st grade.  That age is just precious!  They were learning how we can trust God with everything because He is all powerful, all knowing, has always been and will always be, and He is big enough!  They also were encouraged to see all of these things throughout His wonderful Creation.    We’re sponsoring a photo contest for them during this series because it is called “Zoom” and is about zooming in to find out new and great things about God.  I can’t wait to see what they take pictures of! 

Every now and then (like today!!), I am able to grab a little nap on Sunday afternoons.  As long as my house is mostly clean and I’ve already got what I need for our Life Group dinner, I can sleep.  Today, Avery took a nap with me.  We both loved that!  She is my snuggle bunny and growing way too fast!

Our Life Group is amazing!  We have a great group of people…we have up to 16 adults and 14 kids if we are all here.  We do a Bible Study together while the kids are upstairs and have a wonderful time sharing and caring for each other. Its so cool to see how God has meshed us together.  Some have only been coming since Sept. and some were part of our group last year.  Then, we eat!  Everyone brings something and it is always soooo good.  But, tonight, Thayer and I were worried about what we’d eat because we are low-carbing it.  It worked out well, though.  No cheating!

The best part of Sundays are about 8:30 when everyone is gone, the kitchen is cleaned and the girls are already in bed.  It is so peaceful and relaxing…and quiet!  Thankfully, Thayer has begun taking Mondays off.  In over 10 years in ministry, he never consistently took a day off until recently.  But, I still have to teach….and get us all back into the groove for another week.

That’s my Sunday…how’s yours?

Getting Back into the Routine

Well, the girls are off to school and Avery and I have to get ready soon.  We made it through yesterday and this morning, but I’m having concerns about the rest of the week!  See, we haven’t had time to unpack from our trip…that usually takes us a week (I know that sounds ridiculous but once we get back into our routine, we never have time!) and the Christmas decorations are still up!  I thought I’d have time to do it Friday afternoon and Saturday but Thayer has scheduled a staff meeting at our house on Friday night.  So, they have to get put up before Friday.  And, all the rooms of the house must be clean except my bedroom (and maybe Julia and Avery’s) because the staff kids will be upstairs for the meeting.  I know it will get done, I’m just concerned it will take away some of the precious sleep I’ve come to enjoy since our trip.  Sleeping in is contagious!  And since I’m having to get up earlier, I have gone to bed earlier the last 2 nights to get some of that extra sleep.  But, I”ll make it!   There’s always Saturday morning…oh wait, I have to be at Praise Team practice at 9:30.  Maybe a Saturday nap since all the decorations will be put up!

Happy New Year!

We are still vacationing in SC and are relaxing and enjoying time with our family.  We started in Beech Island, SC with Thayer’s parents on Sunday, the 27th.  We arrived after a longer than usual trip thanks to holiday traffic.  The lady who kept Thayer from 6 weeks on had invited us to eat with her family.  I think there was around 30 or 40 people in a very tiny house, but we were all able to find a place to eat.  It was nice seeing some of her grandchildren we hadn’t seen in years.  After that, we went down the street to Thayer’s parents house and opened our Christmas gifts.  We had a wonderful few days (aside from a 3 hour trip to Urgent Care to get some medicine for my sinus infection!).

On Wednesday afternoon, we traveled the 2 hours to my parents’ house in Anderson, SC.  My brother, sister-in-law and nephew were already there.  It was non-stop action once we got here.  Eating, opening gifts, playing with new toys, shopping, seeing movies, and just laughing at Avery and Matthan.  They are about 20 months apart and play like siblings.  Since Avery is always bossed around by her sisters, she takes advantage of being the older one when playing with him.

We can’t remember what day it is…vacations do that to you!  We just love not having to follow any schedule…we’ve slept until almost 9:30 every day.  It has been a wonderful time to recharge and get ready to start the new year!  We will enjoy getting to attend church and not work on Sunday!  But, we will miss our precious folks at GCC!

I haven’t been the best at taking pictures, buthere is one my mom took this morning of the girls with Matthan.  This may be the last picture of the five of them before my niece is born later this spring.  Madi’s boo boo has healed well, thank goodness!