In closing

This is hereby the last post this blog will see... I can't imagine that in 11.5 years I'm actually going to pull it back up to update on the parole possibilities... If you're wondering about that, each of them have to serve at least 1/2 of their sentences. So the guy that got 25 years has to serve 12.5 (he's already served a year) and the other guy has to serve 15 (he's already served a year as well). So I at least get a reprieve for the next 11.5 years... And even then they said that these crimes were to the extent that they didn't see them getting out on parole the first time they are up...

Anyways - there are just a few closing thoughts that I want to share and then I'll be done. First of all is a huge thank you to all of you for your support throughout the past year(+). I seriously don't know where I would have been without you. There are many people that read this blog that I've never met before - you come up to me at shows, you send me messages via various means or maybe you've never said anything at all. But the revolving theme among all of you is that you are praying for me - and I can boldly tell you that IT WORKED. I'm going to share a few of the many blessings that God laid out before me below, but I do want you to know that your prayers were coveted and I sincerely appreciate you for them. To those of you that I do know and were around me for the past year - wow - I was never alone. I have never felt so blessed to have so many people in my life - and if this experience taught me one thing, it was to open my eyes to the blessings around me. I challenge you all to try to see God's hand in your life in the little things, and in the big things too. It's something I took for granted, but there were so many things that happened that it was too much to ignore. I wish I would have had my eyes open prior to this experience like I do now - and honestly, I'm glad I'm where I'm at now, experience and all, because it taught me more than anything else in life ever has.

I'm going to go ahead and list out the ways that God worked through this experience and the people he put in place long before this ever happened. Some people will call this coinscidence, I call it the hand of God. Because there's really no other explanation that I need...

1. My parents - Some of you know that my parents moved from Houston up to Dallas in 1998. In August 2004, my dad was transferred down here and my mom was finally able to follow in April 2005. My dad recently got 'early retirement' and in looking for the next step in his career, accepted a position in Arlington. Therefore, they are moving up north again. Why does this matter you ask? Because God brought them back to Houston when he knew I would need them the most. I can't imagine my parents having to drive 4-5 hours to get to me on the day of the attack. And they were here to pick up the pieces and help me get life in order again. On top of that, God made it possible for them to help me get into a home where I feel safe and at peace - yet another amazing blessing...

2. Meg and Scott - Many of you know that I lived with some friends for 9 months after the attack while my house was being built, etc. Meg and Scott got the most direct impact of the situation as their lives were altered daily by another person living in their home. They were amazing and gracious and every other fabulous word you can think of. They made me feel at home, never once made me feel like an intrusion, although I made myself feel that way plenty of times. What's amazing about this is that God brought them down here in January of 2006 - Meg liked the music, Scott liked the cost of living and housing market - so all was good... They bought a house on March 1st. On April 2nd, their one-year anniversary, I invaded. Happy Anniversary guys! LOL! Anyways - this was just another way that God provided for my needs in the interim...

3. Pancheaux - I had Pancheaux with me for the most part, but when I couldn't have him at times, I could always bring him to my aunt's place to live with her and my cousins. That was a blessing as well - just one less thing to worry about...

4. The people on my case - First of all my detectives that had these guys arrested within 3 weeks of the attack. That is amazing. Second of all, Mia Magness - the woman that should not have been the prosecutor on my case, but WANTED IT. That still blows my mind, but I am so, so grateful. I see all of the big-time cases she is on, and I'm amazed that she wanted my case as well. And last, but not least, was the judge, Mark Ellis - the fate of the offenders laid in his hands, and he saw to it that justice was served.

5. The sentence - I wasn't really sure how I wanted things to go on the morning of April 11th. I wanted both offenders to get more time than we initally offered, but couldn't see a way for that to work. We had offered the first guy 15 years - if he got more than 15 years, then the second guy would just accept the 25 years we offered and then he would have gotten the better deal. If the first guy got less than the 15 years and the second guy went to PSI and got 25 years or more, then the first guy got the better deal. NEVER in my wildest dreams did I imagine that the first guy would get the sentence that he did and thereby increase the amount of time the second guy would serve immediately. It was a win/win situation - I put it into God's hands and he worked out all of the details...

6. Anita - Anita and I met in the 2nd grade - when I moved to Jersey Village. We became friends when I asked what street she lived on and we realized we were right down the street from each other - insta-friendship! God has used her in AMAZING ways in the past (she's the one that led to be getting back in touch with my half-sister after many many years), and he used her again on the day of the attack. Anita and I typically call each other 4-5 times a year and catch up - this was one of those phone calls. But who better to be on the phone when this happened? She knew my parents names and how to reach them. She also had a husband at home that was able to get on the phone with police while she was on one phone with my cellphone listening and on another phone with my mother. Granted, any of my friends would have called the police and eventually reached my parents, but few knew all of the details that Anita did...

7. My inner peace - This one is a little hard to explain, but some of you wonder why this isn't a burden to me. It's because I gave it up to God - He is there to carry our burdens - He tells us that His yoke is light and He wants to trade us. We take His, He takes ours - I'm so undeserving of that, but so grateful...

So yes, God worked out so many details in this experience and I love talking about it for that reason alone. God is good. He is real, real good...

May you all be blessed beyond your wildest imagination - have faith that He can, and He will - I'm a living testimony to that...