Second part of Amanda's interview

I just found out that the Fox News station posted the rest of Amanda's interview, so I wanted to share it with those of you who may be interested in seeing it.

Amanda's Message

*Warning: If you are anything like me, you may want to grab a tissue (or a whole box of them) before reading this.

I was hoping to be able to post the videos of the rest of Amanda's interview, but they were never put on the news' website. In the later part of the interview, Amanda ended with a bit of a message. I know I'm not going to say it like she did, but the gist of the message was that she hopes that after others hear her story that they won't take their families for granted. In some ways it brings her comfort knowing that families are spending more time together and cherishing that time after hearing what happened to her family.

I posted this before, but I thought it fit well with this post and wanted to share it again. It's a poem that Amanda asked to be read at her family's funeral:

If Tomorrow Never Comes

If I knew it would be the last time that I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word, so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time, I could spare an extra minute or two
to stop and say "I love you," instead of assuming, you would KNOW I do.

If I knew it would be the last time I would be there to share your day,
well, I'm sure you'll have so many more, so I can let just this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance to make everything right.

There will always be another day to say our "I love you's",
And certainly there's another chance to say our "Anything I can do's?"

But just in case I might be wrong and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you and I hope we never forget,
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight.

So if you're waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes, you'll surely regret the day,
That you didn't take that extra time for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today, whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them and that you'll always hold them dear,
Take time to say "I'm sorry," "please forgive me," "thank you" or "it's okay".
And if tomorrow never comes, you'll have no regrets about today.

Author Unknown

Amanda has also mentioned a song to me that she feels is so true now, more than ever, that I would like to end this post with. Here is the YouTube video of Kenney Chesney's "Don't Blink":

Please keep praying for the Buckland family

I want to start out by thanking everyone again for their prayers and support for Amanda. I've only seen a portion of the support she has gotten and I am in awe! Our local community, as well as the blogging community, has done so much already, but Amanda still has a long road of healing emotionally ahead and can really use prayers! :-)

I've been able to be in contact with Amanda and have seen some messages she has left through facebook. She and Ayllissa are working on moving into an apartment. (They have been living with family these last couple weeks.) It sounds as though, through local donations of furniture, she is almost set with big furniture needs as well as some small appliances. They are also set with clothing needs and anything that they are getting multiples of or their needs have been fulfilled is going to be donated back to others who are in need.

As far as donations through Paypal, I feel that the amounts are personal to Amanda as any donations at the funeral would have been. Amanda shared with me a couple times the amounts, so I could pass the info on to John and Jen at Cake Wrecks, and I will tell you that it was awesome! Cake Wrecks posted her story at 9:30 am last Monday and by 4:15 when Amanda and I chatted, she had already received an amazing amount. That amount more than doubled within the next couple days! I have no idea what has been donated since, but all I hope and pray is that it is enough that she doesn't have to worry about money and can focus on herself and Ayllissa.

If you would like to hear from Amanda about all that the community has done, she will be interviewed by a Fox 2 News anchor (Detroit news) today at noon, so the interview will most likely air tonight. (I'm guessing the interview should also be online for those of you who do not live in the area. http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/)

Through a personal e-mail with Amanda, I know she and Ayllissa are going to both be seeing someone to help them deal with all the emotional pain. Amanda also mentioned that a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders during the walk through with the fire chief. She had been feeling guilty about the fire and the fire chief assured her that there was nothing that she could have done to prevent what happened. She said she felt a lot better that day. I know I haven't been able to stop thinking about her and to know that she felt at least a little better was a huge blessing. God is answering prayers for comfort for Amanda and I pray that she continues to feel that comfort and healing. :-)

One last thing. If anyone still wants to donate something to Amanda, but doesn't want to donate to the trust fund, she mentioned that gift cards are a welcome form of donation. Here is the address again:

Ullenbruch's Flower Shop

c/o Amanda Buckland

1839 Lapeer Avenue

Port Huron MI 48060

And, of course, the Paypal donation button is still in the upper left hand corner of my blog.

Again, please continue praying for Amanda. After losing her husband and babies and I cannot imagine how long it will take for her to be able to move on, but I know she can use all the prayers and support she can get throughout the healing process. :-)

Some updates and some extras

Thank you again to all of you who have been praying for Amanda and her daughter. I want you to know that Amanda shared a lot of what has been done for her already and I want you to know that your prayers are being answered! Please continue- she has a long road of healing ahead.

Thank you also to those who have offered to send donations and to those who have spread the word by tweeting and by blogging. I cannot thank you enough for your support! There is now a Paypal account set up for those of you who would like to donate online. Just click on the button below and it should take you straight to the donation page! :-)

In my last post I mentioned a safety reminder that I want to stress again. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE check your smoke detectors and if you do not have any-please get some! Our local paper printed some statistics: From 2003 to 2006 40% of fire fatalities resulted from homes without smoke detectors. On top of that 23% more of fire fatalities were in homes that had smoke detectors that were not working. Smoke detectors do not cost much (I found a 3 pack at Amazon for under $17.00) and they save lives!

I would like to end this post with the following poem that Amanda requested be read at the funeral today:

If Tomorrow Never Comes

If I knew it would be the last time that I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word, so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time, I could spare an extra minute or two
to stop and say "I love you," instead of assuming, you would KNOW I do.

If I knew it would be the last time I would be there to share your day,
well, I'm sure you'll have so many more, so I can let just this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance to make everything right.

There will always be another day to say our "I love you's",
And certainly there's another chance to say our "Anything I can do's?"

But just in case I might be wrong and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you and I hope we never forget,
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight.

So if you're waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes, you'll surely regret the day,
That you didn't take that extra time for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today, whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them and that you'll always hold them dear,
Take time to say "I'm sorry," "please forgive me," "thank you" or "it's okay".
And if tomorrow never comes, you'll have no regrets about today.

Author Unknown

Please help if you can....

At 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, an old friend of mine lost her home, her belongings, her husband, her 4 year old son and her 8 month old daughter to a fire. She was saved by a neighbor who put a ladder up to her bedroom window. Her 12 year old step daughter also made it out on her own. The neighbors tried to put a ladder up to the children's window, where their father was trying to save them, but were unable to due to the smoke and flames. The fire department was able to remove her husband and children from the home within 10 minutes of arriving, but as I already mentioned, it was too late.

I've been having a hard time keeping my eyes dry for the last couple days. I know her story and this isn't the first time I've cried for her. When we were in high school, I remember going to the funeral home for visitation for her mother who passed away. I cried again for her at her wedding where they had a rose and picture of her mother set up front with the thought that her mother was smiling down on her wedding from heaven. At those times I couldn't imagine going through life and getting married without my mom by my side. Now I couldn't imagine the rest of my life without my husband by my side and watching my children grow.

This friend, Amanda, is only 27 and has suffered unimaginable loss. She could use a lot of prayers right now and, because she has lost everything, she is in great need of financial support as well. I don't have a very large reach on my little blog, so I was hoping that some of you could help me spread the word by blogging about this as well.

Her work place has set up the 'Buckland Family Trust Fund' at the Eastern Michigan Bank, but they are also accepting donations, for those who cannot make it to the bank, at the following address:

Ullenbruch's Flower Shop
C/O Amanda Buckland
1839 Lapeer Ave
Port Huron, MI 48060

***Update: There is now a Paypal account set up to accept donations. You can reach the donation page by clicking on the button below. If this donation button doesn't work, please use the one at the top of my sidebar (upper left-hand corner of my blog).

Again, I know this time of year is super busy and times are tight, but if you can please help spread the word and/or send a donation-no matter how small, every little bit helps. Of course, if you don't have the means to help in either of those ways right now, prayers are greatly appreciated! :-)

Thank you to everyone who has expressed their condolences already and to those of you who have been praying for Amanda and her daughter. I will be sure to pass on your thoughts and prayers to Amanda when I see her at her family's funeral tomorrow. (Typing 'family funeral' is not easy! Phew!)

*I also want to send out a safety reminder to anyone who reads this. Make sure you have smoke detectors installed in your house and that you change the batteries twice a year. (The recommended times to change them is when you change yours clocks for daylight savings time.)

**If you would like to read more about this horrible trajedy, you can do so here.

Asking for Prayers

My eyes are red and my stomach is in knots as a write this tonight. I just found out that a good friend of mine from high school not only lost her home to a fire early this morning, but also lost her husband, her 4 year old son and her 8 month old daughter. (If you would like to read more about what happened, please visit this site. There is also a news video that can be found here.)

I cannot imagine the pain she must be feeling today and how hard this is going to be for her to overcome. I'm asking for prayers for her and her 12 year step daughter who survived the fire. (There will also be a fund set up soon and if there is a way to donate online, I will give an update on this post for those who may be interested.) They will have a long road of healing and I'm sure they could use any support that they can get. Thank you so much in advance! :-)

Asking for Prayers

To say that this last month has been rough would be an understatement. We lost my grandfather a month ago today and now we are about to lose Rich's grandfather as well. (Unless God has an extra miracle to send our way-we'll take it!) This is all unexpected and it has been really hard on the whole family. I just wanted to ask for prayers and let you know that I won't be around much again.