Story of Da Coat by Judy Hensley--SHARE!!!

Chris Woods of Chris' Twirlettes wanted to wear this coat and hear it's story after hearing of it from  a mutual friend, Tina Lyle.

My name is Judy Hensley and I bought this coat at a local Big Lot around ten years ago to see how many other people thought it would be fun to put it on and have their picture made in it for me.  I found out quite quickly that my own daughter despised the coat.  She actually took it  to youth camp the first year of it's existance.  But she was determined to leave it there.  I actually gave her permission to do so, but what she did not know was that I had found another one and already bought it home to have when she returned from camp.

She was quite appalled that I had done this to her.  And I told her I was coming up with a way to use the coat for good.  And I asked her to please let  me take her picture  wearing the pretty colored coat, and she resisted for several years, but I finally had lots of other people who were wearing the coat.

After several years people started wanting to know about this coat, and why people were letting me take their picture in it.  And it wasn't just local people: there were people in Washington, California, Florida, and even England who were eager to have their picture in the coat.  So the journey of the coat to several states and overseas a time or two began.

 At that time, I had made several friends along the way who had something in common with me.  They had Parkinson's Disease.  So many of my friends with PD helped me boost my volume of pictures with anyone wearing this coat.  

There have only been a handful of people who would not wear the coat.  And I began to add into the story of the coat , the story of what it feels like to have Parkinson's Disease.  I was even so bold to ask a friend who is a great advocate for PD and ALZ (Alzheimer's Disease) if she would take the coat with her to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, and she said she would!  

Some have said I should charge people to wear it, but there are so many who have not paid to wear it, but they graciously gave me a minute of their time to list to the story of the Coat!  Some even started callin it 'Da Coat!   Now, I currently have a bunch of pictures with people in 'Da Coatt that are hardc opiesw, and some electronic copies.  Best I can estimate, I have close to 500 people who have worn  'Da Coat.

The Stamper Clan is at it again....

The Stamper clan is at it again. To make this short enough to read in a couple of minutes, if you are interested in background of how we know Aimee and Brandon Stamper you should read a book I wrote about our daughter, Carol, called "Carol's Smile, the Life and legacy of Carol Hensley Singletary".

I'll start this story from  2/24/19 when I got a message from Aimee saying they were in Johnson City without their 3 boys and wanted to know if they could stop by and see us a few minutes. I said "of course",  I thought they were being kind to see us near the date of  the anniversary of Carol's death (6 yrs).  This is true, but they also had another motive and that was to tell us their tribe would  be increasing by one in July of 2019!   Then Aimee said "It's a girl!".  She went on to tell us she knew it was a girl before she had the first ultrasound.  And Brandon then  revealed  the ultimate reason for their visit.  

They asked for our blessing to name their baby girl "Carol."  I don't know exactly how Bill reacted because I could not see him through my tears.   We of course said, "yes" and felt so honored to know that this little one was named in honor our girl.  One thing I can say will be a sure thing is  this:  Carol Stamper will no doubt blaze a path that will point others to Jesus as the lover of their souls.  And I figure Carol up in heaven is probably thinking "Thank goodness she is being born into a big gang of Tennessee  Volunteer fans! Can I get an AMEN and a GBO?! " GBO - GO BIG ORANGE

I asked Brandon and Aimee if I could write about this special time and they have been so kind to say "yes." This couple is nothing short of remarkable in my mind. The Stampers had formed an amazing bond with our daughter during the time that Brandon coached her in basketball and Carol had the utmost regard for them and their first son whom she met before she died.  You can really tell how much they adored her in their hand-written notes to her in the graduation card they gave to her.  I copied their comments to include them in the book that I wrote about Carol  and her influence  on people.

And I know baby Carol is gonna have the most awesome family to lead her, love her, and show her how to live life to the fullest. I think lil Carol Stamper will be taught well and will light up many places with her smile!

Now a note to baby Carol's brothers:

You big brothers better say a prayer that your sister will by more mild mannered than my Carol was  or you will have your hands full!  Here is what I think your roles will be in her life.....

Big Brother Bready:  since you are oldest you will always be your brothers and sister(s) protector.  I can see you standing with a big shield (you better start looking for an XL one soon) in this role.  And later on when your sister  is growing up and catching the eye of some boy, you better find out their intentions and let them know how heavy your shield is and that you are not afraid to throw it in their direction if need be.   

Big Brother Anderssen:  I think Carol will think of you as her partner in crime.  If she is going to do something that could lead to trouble she will ask you for your opinion and then say "let's do it anyway!"

Big Brother Boone:  Since you two will be close in age, I think you will be her confidant and the one she will take-up with the fastest.  And if you don't keep an eye on her, she will soon take your title of "The BOSS!"

And brothers, all three of you,,,you better get ready.  Baby Carol, your little sister, is gonna be a game changer in big ways!  Hang on for the ride and have lots of love, fun, and laughter  with her!

And to the Stamper's family and friends, please join me in praying that this family will continue looking to God and His faithfulness for their lives.  Pray that baby Carol will be healthy and the best Stamper baby ever, and that Aimee will be healthy the rest of the pregnancy and she will adjust to not being the only princess in the house!

I can't wait to meet this gal!
written by Judy Hensley

3/14/19

Drinkin straight out of the sweet tea jug!

2019 startin off great

I must tell you about how my 2019 started.  And if you can't tell from the title it is good. I only drink straight from the sweet tea jug on special occasions (and I don't tell Bill--it grosses him out).   But here is the drift of my story:  I went  to the Karing Hearts Foundation New Years Eve Gala, after much cajoling of a friend.  This friend who was so determined that I should come is Jennifer.  She is the person with whom I volunteer  at Kari's Heart Foundation.  I must tell you I have had some awesome volunteer jobs in the past few years.  And especially with folks who understand my limitations with Parkinson's Disease and they can relate to my 'generally beneficial attitude'" of "I am gonna make this work come heaven or high water."

For the last year it has been a blessing to volunteer at Kari's Heart Foundation with Jennifer Schoondyke, a woman that I greatly admire.  She is funny,.  Actually a better description of her is hilarious; a woman who heart is more compassionate than any other I have known!  And she also gets this 'thing' about  me...she knows what it is like to live through the tragedy of a child that has died. Jennifer and her husband and two grown kids are  the driving force of Kari's Heart Foundation since it's inception in 2009 .   See more about Kari's Heart Foundation.  Read Kari's Story, and tell me what an amazing group they are!! Their foundation helps families of hospitalized children.  What Jennifer does as director of KHF is no walk in the park.  Yet there are days you'll find her  skipping all over the place when she hears of a good report about a kiddo and their family that KHF has helped. 

Why do their do what they do?  I think Dr. Schoondyke said it best when he said these people are my neighbors, and they are your neighbors. The tag line of KHF is "Inspired by one to benefit many" and you can ask any family that has received assistance from KHF what it means to them, and they are almost at a loss for words.  Yet they find a way to convey how truly grateful they are to KHF.

So since I was going alone to this Gala on New Year's Eve 2018 I finally told myself, that I came last year in 2017 and had a good time with several friends from a Bible study for Mom's who had lost a child.  We all sat together at a table and laughed and had a wonderful time.This year I was fortunate to sit some friends that I get to rarely see, the Gilcrest's  and Deanna Gragg and her husband, Rob.  So when I had a chance I went out to my car to get some money to buy a 50:50 raffle tickets (50% of total ticket sales goes to KHF ad the other 50% to the ticket holder--but you had to be present to win.)  One ticket was $10.  When I went out to the car I had some cash from Christmas gifts  in the amounts of $9 and  $100 .  So I thought... my odds of winning this raffle only get better with more tickets, and after all, it was for a great cause! So I took my $100 that was gifted to me, and gifted it fKHF for 12 tickets for a $100 donation.

So midnight came and went and as I stood there waiting for them to  possibly draw a ticket with my name on it first and collect half of around $3800, I prayed and asked God to show me that 2019 was going to be a good year for me--cause I felt I could use a year better than 2018 for many reasons.

There's one tradition I learned about last year... it is that the recipient of the 50/50 raffle  typically gifts thier winnings  back to Kari's Heart Foundation.  So I thought "That is cool, I want to continue that!" I don't need extra money to get a blessing from winning, but I really could get a fantastic blessing from giving back something that got multiplied 17  times.

Now I must admit I have never won too many things, especially not cash, but I felt like surely one of my 12 tickets would be pulled.  Well the first ticket was pulled, and they called a lady's name but she was not there.....so they called another name, this time a man's, but he wasn't present either.  And then MY name was called, and they made me come all the way up front where I celebrated with Jennifer and was able to continue the tradition of giving all of the winner's 50% back to KHF!

It kind of feels great to keep the tradition alive.  The theme  of his year's gala was "A Midnight in Paris"...so who knows???  Maybe a trip to Paris is in the 2019 picture.  IF it happens I will be sure to let you know!!

Jennifer, how does that sound for an adventure?

Now I've got to finish that sweet tea and hit the sack!  Happy New Year Everyone!!!!
Judy 1/1/2019