Thank You

When I started Amanda and Me, I sub-titled it Amanda "Braveheart" Warnock Cross - from her dad's point of view. She was still alive and we still had hope that she would recover. People were engaged with the blog from the very beginning. We all know she didn't make it, but she fought until the end. People continued to be engaged with the blog. We've shared stories of Amanda from other contributors and hope to share more. We want to say a sincere THANK YOU to all who've read, commented, shared and contributed. Your care for Amanda while alive and your memories now have been extremely comforting to her sisters, her mother and me.

It has almost been a month since she went to be with Jesus, and her loved ones are still grieving. Her mother, her sister's and I know without a doubt where she is and that she is happy. While she was far from perfect while in this life (as none of us are) she is closer now to perfection than ever and we know she will be made perfect in the Resurrection. Having said these things, I would still ask that you would continue to pray for those who still grieve her absence...

• Please continue to lift Cody in your prayers. He is still having a very hard time and needs your prayers for him in the present. Please pray that his decisions will honor Amanda's memory. Please pray for his future. Pray that it will be good. Pray that he will find love again. He's far too young to live life alone. He turned 22 just two days before the funeral. In Genesis 2:18 we read...The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." NIV. We know that Amanda, in her current state, would not want Cody to live his entire life without someone to love and marry and give Gina those grandbabies that would have literally killed Amanda to have. Please pray for a bright future for Cody.
• Please pray for Amanda's sisters Rachel and Jessica. They are VERY strong women, just like Amanda and their mother. Still, they loved her, they miss her and they need the comfort that only God can give them. Jessica was Amanda's closest confidant and friend. She and Amanda would talk for hours on the phone and tell each other things that they could only share with each other. Jessica knows more about who Amanda really was than anybody. Jessica's feelings at this time seem to be the most neglected or shall we say, taken for granted. As her twin, her bond is different than any of ours and she needs to be lifted up by our prayers. She is an excellent wife, an amazing mother, a loving daughter and a big part of her has gone ahead to Heaven. She really misses Amanda and while the rest of us were consoled and comforted by many people, she and her relationship have been the least understood. We need your prayers for her. Drop her a message on Facebook too, to let her know you care.
• Please continue to pray for Veronica. She worked so hard to care for Amanda for the best part of 22 years and worried while she was so far away, alone, in the cold ugly Seattle winter. Veronica really misses Amanda
• Pray for Cody's mom and dad. Guide them to guide him and his future, They are very close to Cody and love him very much.
• I want to thank you for your prayers, kind words and consideration. Thank you for loving my little girl and the rest of the Warnocks. While no man is an island, and I still need your prayers, I know that my Redeemer Lives and that Amanda is in His loving arms and that all things work together for good for those who love God. Amanda's death has brought out strength and courage that I did not know was there. I fear no evil, and will confront it when I see it. I think Amanda believed that strength was always there, though. It seemed like she read most people fairly well. When you pray for us, you are honoring Amanda, so again, thank you.

I will continue this blog until no one reads it any more. That is currently not a problem. We have had well over 8000 page views so far. I hope to feature stories about other CFers, and hope to use this blog to garner more donations for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundtion as they fight for a cure. Thank you to all who have donated as an outcome of Amanda going home. For those of you who mentioned Amanda while making your donation, we receive a letter from CFF and it warms our hearts to see your support for our cause. While we all grieve differently, this blog has been part of my therapy and recovery and I thank you for that. So it's good bye... until the next post. Again, thank you and may God bless each of you

Amanda loved Kandy

Cody said at one point that I should make a post about Amanda and her dog Kandy. This is that post, and it comes at a time when loss is being piled on top of loss for us, as Kandy was a huge part of our family for 10 years.

Amanda had been asking her mom for quite some time for an inside dog. Amanda wanted, needed a puppy she could love and raise and call her own. We could think of a multitude of reason for not wanting a dog in the house. Living in the country made us fearful of fleas. Puppies are messy and destructive. On and on. As usual though, Amanda prevailed. On November 1, 2001 we all piled in the old pickup truck (me on crutches from knee surgery) and headed to San Antonio to "look at" a couple of pups a lady had. That is when Kandy came into our lives. She was this dirty, scruffy, flea infested half rat terrier half Bichon puppy, would spent most of her days in the ladies back yard. She'd been born in July, so she was a few months old. We feel in love with her. All five of us. Amanda named her Kandy because she was this little puff ball that looked like cotton candy.

We brought her home that night. Veronica cleaned her up, and she was beautiful. Her potty training went very smooth. She tore up a few flip flops along the way, but proved to be an amazingly intelligent, fast learning part of the family. So much so that she traveled with us to see dear friends in Roswell, NM later that month, without incident. She became a major member of our family. Her legal name is Kandy Warnock (as the vet knows her).

Kandy was quite playful and loved to fetch tennis balls. I could throw her ball from one end of the house to the other and she would fetch it and bring it back to me and have me play for long measures of time. It never got old for her.

Amanda taught Kandy to do amazing tricks, and Kandy would get tired of those and "talk" back to Amanda, or whoever was making her perform for them.

Kandy loved her people and hated being separated from any of us. If there was a closed door with one of her people on the other side, she would whine until we gave in to her. She was also a very vocal dog, and would let out a scream almost, when ever any of us would return home from being away for even a short time.

When Amanda was away from home during one of her many hospitalizations, Kandy would sleep on the floor, halfway between the front door and Amanda's bedroom. That was the only time she would not sleep with Amanda or under Veronica and my bed. If she started a night under our bed, she would end up in Amanda's bed before the morning. She instinctively knew when Amanda was in the hospital. She was such a smart, amazing dog.

Amanda told Veronica that she wanted her to have Kandy. It seems that won't happen. Cody's parents promised to bring her back from Washington to be with her real family, but now they have decided to keep Kandy. We ask that you pray that we will get Kandy back, as Amanda wanted.

Cody returns to Washington...

Cody is returning to Silverdale, WA this weekend. He and his parents will be driving there from Texas. It's a long drive. We know, we drove it when Amanda was first hospitalized. Please pray for the Cross' as they drive such a great distance. Also, pray for his brother Kent, his lovely wife and beautiful baby boy as they fly back to Turkey over the next two days.

Veronica and I visited Amanda's grave yesterday afternoon. Veronica has gone each day since Amanda was buried. We were there for a little while, when Cody, his mom and dad and his brother Kent, his wife and cute, sweet baby boy showed up. We think Amanda may have orchestrated it all. We were able to spend some great time together there and then went to one of Amanda's favorite restaurants (TexMex of course) in the area and have dinner with each other. It was perfect.

Cody had spent the night before at our house. I had an obligation on Friday morning, so I went to bed around midnight, but Cody and Veronica stayed up for about 3 more hours and cried together and talked and lived, loved and learned. I know Amanda set that up, too.

We love Cody and hurt for him. His loss, at such a young age, must be devastating. We ask everyone who knows Cody to express your love for him too, whether as a comment to this post or on Facebook. We also ask that all of you pray for him. It will be hard for him to return home alone, without Amanda by his side. We know she is watching over all her loved ones, especially Cody. Please pray that through this dark time he will feel God's love and comfort and continue the good work he started when he joined the Navy to support his wife. Please pray for Cody. Amanda loved him SO MUCH. We do too.