Bowling,
sushi, grilled pork chops, chili, jalapeno poppers, whiskey, rum, beer,
margaritas, girl’s night out, snow day drinks, that giant hummer of
hers (!), Kandy and Frida, drunken late night
political/religious/societal/music/dogs conversations, carharts, slip
ons, TEXAS, cosmos, mangos and more Texas. I met Amanda in 2010, but
didn’t really begin to know her until 2012 and if there’s anything that
I’d take back about the two of us it would be that I didn’t try to know
her sooner.
I
still have a bottle of Gentleman’s Jack that I bought for when she got
back home and I haven’t been able to drink it, but I think I’ll have a
drink tonight with her. There better be whiskey in Heaven!!
Amanda,
I hope you know how much you impacted me this year. I love you, girl!
You’re such an amazing person and I can’t wait to see you again someday.
Love, Alexis
Much love to you and your family, it has to take some amazing people to make such an amazing girl.
Although I didn't know Amanda for very long, she made a huge impact on
my life. She and I met in August of last year right after the deployment
started. After she went back to Texas for a while, she and I fell out
of touch but as soon as she got back we started spending almost every
day together. I never got to tell her, but she made the end of the
deployment so much easier for me to go through and I honestly feel as
though we pulled each other through the very end. I'm so grateful that I
got to meet her and that I was able to get as close to her as I did in
that short time. My favorite memory of Amanda was probably the day she
and I went fishing out at Kitsap Lake. I'd been wanting to go for a
while and as soon as I mentioned it she was ridiculously excited to go.
She and I just sat on the pier, told jokes, laughed, and just enjoyed
the other's company. We spent the entire day out there and made plans to
go back but with this rainy Washington weather, we never got the
chance. It didn't matter whether we were watching movies together,
having coffee, riding around in the Hummer, or just sharing a meal
together, she always had a great outlook and a smile on her face that
made it impossible to be upset around her. I'm so blessed to have had
Amanda as a friend because she was an absolutely amazing person.
Amanda Elizabeth (Warnock) Cross (1990-2012)
Age 22 of Buda, TX, went home to be with her beloved Saviour on Thursday March 29, 2012 after an extended hospitalization at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, WA. Amanda succumbed to a lung infection after a noble lifelong battle with Cystic Fibrosis.
Amanda was born at Brackenridge Hospital in Austin, TX on February 18, 1990 and grew up in Kyle and Buda, TX. She is the daughter of James and Veronica Warnock of Buda, TX. She leaves behind her husband Cody Cross of Kyle, TX, whom she married at Ruby Ranch Lodge in Buda on July 26, 2009. Cody is in the U.S.Navy and stationed in Bremerton, WA. Please hold him up in your thoughts and prayers.
Amanda attended Tom Green Elementary, Wallace Middle School, Barton Middle School and graduated from Jack C. Hays High School with the class of 2008. She was a four year cadet in the JROTC program there. She was a wedding photographer and videographer and produced her first music video in 2011.
Amanda was a vivacious young woman with an adventurous spirit and a caring heart. Although she was very ill at times, she always put others first. She possesed a beautiful smile and touched everyone she met. Amanda loved animals and water activities and sunshine. Most people that knew Amanda found it hard to believe that she suffered an illness and Amanda never used her illness as a crutch, and refused to let it stop her from doing anything she wanted to do.
Amanda is survived by her sisters Rachel Nelson of Elgin, TX and Jessica Ebell of Kyle, TX as well as her parents and husband.
Memorial service will be held on Thursday April 5, 2012 at First Baptist Church of Buda, TX, 104 S. San Marcos St., Buda, TX 78610 (512) 295-2161 at 2:00 PM, with burial at Live Oak Cemetary on Twin Creeks Rd in Manchaca, TX. following the service.
Today we go home. It is such a bittersweet return. As we were seated on the plane, Nightengale by Norah Jones played over the PA system. We all cried as we thought of our Amanda. She loves Norah Jones. She asked us to play Norah's music the last few days she was on earth. We played it for her over and over. It was hard to listen to today.
We will go home now and busy ourselves in preparation for the funeral. Relatives and friends from all over will be flying to our little town to attend. Sort of a Big Chill Texas style. We wish Amanda could be there in person. We know she'll be watching from a far. And she'll be smiling in approval.
The service will be held at the little country church where she was baptised so many years ago. So many people loved Amanda. I just hope the church can hold them all.
Amanda, I know you know this, but we really miss you.
Today has been really hard. It's just about the end for Amanda. If God doesn't bring forth a miracle, Amanda will probably die tonight.
Where does one begin to express feelings so deep and so raw. Cystic Fibrosis is an evil disease from the very pit of hell and it is robbing me of one of my greatest treasures. I am sick to my stomach right now.
Amanda is not processing CO2 properly and will soon stop breathing. Putting her on a respirator will not save her once her lungs fail. Her health fell so fast. In one short month she went from around 60% lung capacity, which is good for a young woman with CF at her age, to almost nothing. What a waste of such a wonderful person.
I gave Amanda to God when she was a baby. Soon He'll come calling for her. I'd like to take her back, but that's not possible. It also looks like there's no miracle that will save her. It's amazing that we are in one of the alleged best places in the country for CF'ers and they are powerless to heal her. Ladies and gentlemen, doctors are men, not gods like many of them think they are. One day, they'll be in the same predicament as my sweet Amanda. Maybe then they will bow to the true God and give up their empty headed ideas of who they are. Until then, we are stuck with powerless technicians known as doctors. God holds all the real power.
My beautiful wife has been here for almost two weeks, fighting this battle to the point of shear exhaustion. The same for Amanda's husband Cody. He has been such a loving son in law and husband to my sweet girl. Oh my dear Lord, I feel so bad for him. I will always love him for who he is and how he loved our little girl. I will pray for him the rest of my life that he will find clarity through this and find love. Amanda would want that.
I know when Amanda dies that she will be with Jesus. The Bible promises that for believers. It gives me comfort to know that I will see her again. She'll be happy and free of any illness. What a promise we all have in Him. It still doesn't soften the blow right now.
I have had so many memories made by Amanda. I love all my girls so much, but this poor baby got short changed. I had hoped for a cure, hoped for many more years with her, playing cards and drinking beer while she drank the occasional shot of whiskey. She could always drink me under the table. She had an amazingly strong liver. Her heart was stronger than strong too. I really think her other organs were SUPER organs and made up for her weekend lungs. She was a pistol, right to the end. I don't think you can drink in heaven, but if you could, she would and be one of the best at.
This past summer, while Cody was deployed in the Persian Gulf, she came to stay with us. I wouldn't trade those days for all the gold in the world. Besides, gold is just pavement where she's going. The things that really matter whether here or there are relationships, and we had a great one. Amanda always told Veronica and me that next to her twin and her husband, we were her best friends. That's one hell of a complement. We shot weddings together, went camping the week school started and had two whole state parks completely to ourselves. Amanda reconnected with old friends from high school days and even shot her first solely self produced music video. She wanted to be a videographer and was planning on leaving after a few weeks to go to a video school in Seattle. I even co-signed the loan. I could never tell Amanda no. She found out the real cost of the school and decided it wasn't worth the cost and ended up staying with us until the first of December. I and everyone that knows her was happy that she stayed. Time with Amanda was always precious and that time, more than almost any. I'll miss one my best friends dearly.
When Amanda got back to Washington to set up their new townhouse for her and Cody, she did it in style. Texas style. That girl LOVED Texas and would defend her state against any foe. In Texas we have a saying, "Don't mess with Texas". I think it should have been, "Don't mess with Texas or Amanda will mess you up". Amanda created a beautiful home for Cody and her. She never really got to enjoy it.
In high school, Amanda was a marksman on the rifle team. Veronica would always travel with her on the ROTC trips to make sure Amanda was OK. Amanda would always out shoot everyone. Even while sick at times. Had she not had CF, she might have become a Marine. Oorah! We would also go to the Marine Corp Ball every year. It was a big night out for us.
Amanda was instrumental in providing me the encouragement I needed to start my own appliance repair service. She and Veronica talked me into it while playing Rummy and I'm glad she lived to see it come to fruition. Amanda loved rummy. She was great at it and usually won. Amanda loved to win. Why shouldn't she, she was a winner. She beat us all again. First one to heaven. That may have been her plan all along.
Amanda was great with animals. She used to ride her cows and pigs and tie dolls on a boar's back with a rope. The rest of us could hardly touch them. Amada could lay down and take a nap with them. When she was eleven, Veronica let her get a inside dog. Her name was Kandy, because she looked like cotton candy. She loves that dog and that dog loves her. I wonder how it will effect Kandy when Amanda leaves us.
There is so much more I'd love to share about Amanda. I am just hurting too bad right now to say anymore. I am going to include her music video here at the end, so you can see how talented she was. Amanda was an artist, photographer, videographer, daughter, wife, twin, best friend, and so much more. I wish those of you who never met her could have. You'd have been honored.
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