Team Martina

Guest Blog by Taira Baughman
(This is what Taira wrote on Facebook almost 2 years ago about making the “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” video)

“Yesterday was amazing. I wanted to make sure to record this in my Carepages because I don’t ever want to forget the day, like that is even possible. I am posting this on FB in a note for those that do not follow my carepages.

We showed up at Percy Priest Lake at 11:00am. I had to fill out release forms for me and the kids to participate. They immediately escorted us into one of Martina’s make-up trailers. There were two of them on the site. It was nice and cool in there which was a blessing because it was SUPER HOT outside. I sat in a makeup chair with a lighted mirror, just like you see on TV. They had a basket of snacks and Braydon was able to watch cartoons while we waited for our portion of the shoot to begin. A makeup artist did touchups on me before we went back outside for the interview.

When they called us they took us into a really pretty wooded area. Cameras were all set up, with lighting equipment. I was excited to see that the cameramen were using the EXACT same cameras that we use with our company. That was pretty awesome. They did however, have some really expensive lenses and attachments that I have not been able to purchase. I had to try and find a way to check out of video geek mode. They sat me in a chair and begin to ask me questions about my cancer journey. The kids stood off at the side at first. I told my story and many times found myself tearing up. I sat there and just reveled in the entire experience. It was amazing. I couldn’t believe I was here. They had several hundred people apply to do what I was doing at that very moment. They only chose eight to actually interview. Some of the others were chosen to come back that evening to shoot a very special scene in the video. I’ll get to that later. My friend Sonya who wrote the song was in the hospital. She had just given birth to her first born son the night before. In the midst of all of this she managed to find time to call the producers and ask them to please consider my family. I really felt that was the extra nudge needed to involve me in the project. Sonya has been such an amazing friend and support to me. I am so humbled and honored.

Ok….back to the story. After they did my interview they asked if any of the kids wanted to speak. Breanna was scared to death. She was so nervous before we went on so, I knew that she would not want to speak. Josh was nervous too and Braydon well, he was too little. My movie star Jaclyn was more than willing. She is excited because if they use any of her footage she will be able to put a Martina Mcbride video on her resume. For those that don’t know it she is pursuing an acting career. This is an awesome opportunity. She did an amazing job with the interview, no surprise there.

After the interview they then shot some B-roll footage. They got a close up of my necklace and some really sweet shots of Braydon and I kissing each other while he held his little pink cancer book. My friend Denise Trice bought him a book called “When Your Mom Has Cancer”. It has been a great took in trying to explain some of this to him. The camera men loved the book and took lots of shots of Braydon and I with it. It was so amazing to be sharing this with my kids. They also took some great shots of all of us together smiling and just enjoying the moment. I can’t wait to see the final edit.

After we finished the shoot we started back to the car. The producer stopped us and said to me, “I know you volunteered to do this interview for free, but we wanted to give you something”. She handed me a nice crispy bill and walked away. I was not expecting that at all. I decided right then that I was going to take my family to dinner after the shoot on Martina. We don’t get to go out too much anymore and we had a lot to celebrate.

We went home for a few hours and I kept texting Rob. I was praying he would get off work in time so that he could join us for the second 1/2 of the shoot. Praise God he got there just in time. I can’t document as much about this part of the shoot because we were sworn to secrecy. They did allow us to take some photos but we can’t post any photos online that give away any portion of the shoot. You will have to watch the video. I can share them after the video is released.

Here is what I can share now:
It was HOT. Crazy hot but oooooh so fun. There were people everywhere. Rob and I were able to be in a few scenes just the two of us and the kids were being used as extras while we were busy. It was so much fun. We were there several hours. As the sun went down it started to cool down some. I bumped into Lilly Isaacs (Sonya’s mom) she was so sweet. She gave me the biggest hug and we talked for a little while until the director called everyone back to work. You couldn’t get the smile off my face.

The last part of the shoot was on the edge of the Percy Priest lake. The sunset was so beautiful and then I turned around and walking on the set just like she it was nothing was Martina. She stopped right in front of us and stood with a group of people. She turned around and made eye contact with me and smiled. Her eyes sparkled and she was so genuine and sweet. She said hello to me and I said hi back. Then she turned back around and faced the cameras to listen to the director. Inside I was screaming. This is soooo cool. I looked at Breanna and I started cracking up. She was standing there with her jaw on the ground. The funniest face ever.

We had so much fun with the shoot. It was emotional and beautiful as they honored all the cancer survivors. I teared up more time than I can remember. There were funny moments, sentimental moments & a lot of grateful moments. Anyone that knows Jaclyn knows that she loves to be sarcastic. We were taking pictures of the video (the part that is a secret) and she said really loud….”You could sell those to people magazine”. She was kidding and being her sarcastic self but I could have killed her. Martina wasn’t five feet from us. She never turned around though. I told Jaclyn, “Girl your sarcasm is going to get you in trouble one of these days. That’s like saying the word bomb at the airport.”. We teased her the rest of the night about that. She won’t soon live that one down.

We ended the night with dinner at the Outback. We laughed and reflected on the entire day. I sat there looking at my beautiful family, and pondered on just how rich I am. Yes, once again I teared up. There are no words that will ever be able to express the joy I felt at that moment. God has been so good to me and the blessing just keep pouring in. I will never forget this experience.

The single to the song was released July 25th. Look for it and request it often from your local radio station. “I’m Gonna Love You Through it”.
The video is expected to be finished late August. I will let you all know when I hear more.”

Team Martina is a group of country music fans volunteering nationwide to make a difference in the world!

I see so many incredible things happening with our group. The last time I sent out a newsletter last month, one of the replies that came back was “this gives me chills”. Wow, I hope we continue to touch the world like that.  Here goes…

Our teammate Lori in PA is spear heading an effort to raise $25,000 for childhood cancer research by selling lemonade!! She’s already up to $15K. She leads one of the largest lemonade efforts in the nation for the Alex’s Lemonade Foundation. Her event ends soon on June 8. Check out her page http://www.alexslemonade.org/mypage/89350.

Some anonymous Team Martina members from around the world recently made some incredibly generous donations to a cancer patient in TN… namely an amazing motorized wheelchair/scooter was donated to someone who has lost most of her mobility. A kitten was also donated to her son to cheer him up. Her husband said she sat up for the first time in days when she saw the scooter. Thank you and God bless you to these people who perform these random acts of kindness.

I have heard of numerous meals and gifts being sent or delivered by Team Martina members to families going through tough times around the country.

Someone in WV ordered a pizza to be delivered to a struggling family in TN. A cancer patient in IN received a care package of Martina’s music sent from Alabama. A Team Martina member delivered gifts and sang in Boston at a benefit for the children’s hospital there.
A group of Martina fans organized a fundraising effort that raised over $800 to provide care for homeless animals in Georgia.

Several Team Martina members participated in Relay For Life events in 3 different states last weekend assisting communities in raising over $100K for cancer causes.

Next month, to kick off CMA Fest, I believe that Martina fans will be one of the first fan groups to celebrate this country music festival by giving back!  We’ll actually be in the kitchen at the Ronald McDonald House in Nashville cooking for families who have sick children.

Over 70 fans have walked a cumulative 400 miles in the last couple of weeks as a symbolic show of support for a young Mom in TN in the final stages of breast cancer. https://www.facebook.com/events/278095958992671/

Michelle in GA celebrated one year cancer free yesterday. And we are praying for someone else in our family right now going through a very scary and tough time http://teammartina11.tumblr.com/post/50465007973/how-going-to-the-veterinarians-office-saved-my

And last but not least, we are making plans to help support the National Women’s Survivors Convention. Check it out  http://www.survivorsconvention.com/

Stay tuned to our Facebook and Twitter… you will be continually amazed at the things happening.  I know I am…
https://www.facebook.com/TeamMartina
https://twitter.com/teammartina2011

Guest Blog By Michelle Blair

Last year, March 2012, my daughter, Kayla, and I were taking her cat to the vet for a routine office visit. While we were waiting for the doctor to come into the patient room, Kayla noticed an unusual spot on the back of my left arm. I had also noticed it too, but really thought nothing about it. She really insisted I make a dermatology appointment immediately. For the entire of month of April 2012, I still ignored her advice. I finally gave up and took her recommendation and made myself an appointment with my dermatologist, May 4, 2012. On May 8, 2012, I was diagnosed with in situ melanoma (stage 0). May 10, 2012, I made an appointment with a surgeon. May 14, 2012, I had surgery for an excision. May 18, 2012, I was told all margins were clear.

Even though I had stage 0 skin cancer, the word cancer is a scary word to hear no matter what. I cried for several hours and blamed myself for not taking better care of myself.  I was also disappointed with myself because I knew that I now carried a direct line, to my two daughters, of melanoma! They would forever have to tell their own doctors they have a family history of melanoma. How awful of me as their mother!

I know it was completely my fault for not taking better care of myself. Being a teen in the 80’s, I wanted to be tan like my girlfriends. I was always jealous of their beautiful glows. I did a lot of crazy things to acquire a “perfect” tan. First of all, I am a blue-eyed, fair-skinned girl who freckles very easily and burns quite easily too. In my teens, I would lay out on my roof with baby oil or cooking oil…literally baking my skin. As I got a little older, I was a regular at many tanning beds and for many years. I kept telling myself “the tanning bed is much safer than the real sun.” I was really addicted to the warmth and the color the sun was giving me. Well, it was with this stupidity of mine that led me to the diagnosis of melanoma.

It has been a year today since my melanoma surgery. I currently have a 2.5 inch “badge” scar on the back of my left arm. I show off my scar with pride, not for my stupidity on my part, but for awareness for others that might have done the same crazy things I did as a teen and as an adult. I have gained a lot of wisdom about sunscreens and the many tanning lotions on the market. I still “love” the warmth of the sun and the glow it gives, but I also know I must wear sunscreen to protect myself from the harmful rays of the sun. I get spray tans every now and again for special occasions and think this is so much better than the awful peeling and itching that comes with a sunburn…why didn’t I discover this years ago? Lotions and spray tans are so much better for my skin…duh! And I won’t look like really old lady when I am an old lady!

I recommend visiting a dermatologist once a year for a full body skin check! I have had to go every three months since my diagnosis and am now at the six month visitation schedule. If my next visit is positive, I go back to annual appointments. My skin checks take about twenty minutes. It is the best twenty minutes I can give to myself.

So, going to the veterinarian’s office saved my life…kinda sorta! I actually have my daughter, Kayla, to thank for being persistent in me going to the dermatologist. And her cat too, I guess…haha! God works in mysterious ways and I must say this was one mysterious way.  

Michelle Blair
May 14, 2013

I’ve spent much of the last 24 hours driving around… visiting the small towns and fundraising events where I started raising money to fight cancer years ago. Reconnecting with friends and recalling the first time we ever met and how hard we’ve all worked to end cancer and help each other.

Many times someone has come up to me in the last 24 hours to shake my hand and say, “I’ve been watching the things happening with Team Martina and I am so proud of you”.  It makes me blush. I’m so proud of this team and I am so grateful for these old friends too who made me feel like family when I first started volunteering alongside them. They showed me how to do it.

I’ve had several “It’s A Wonderful Life” moments this week… as we call them at my house. Someone told me last night that they had decided to pursue a new career because of ideas that they got from watching Team Martina. Someone else told me that they went on a trip as a volunteer to help children in another country and they wanted me to know because it was something I had discussed with them years ago.

Wow, this must be what a song writer feels like when they see the impact of an idea that they put out in the world. It’s so wonderful when people connect and really get what you’re trying to do and want to do it with you.

                              By Sheila Jones

I can’t tell you how incredibly proud and amazed I am every time I look around at what our teammates and Martina McBride fans are doing in their own home towns all over the country to help people.

Alex’s Lemonade Stand was born out of a grass roots effort by a little girl who was lost to cancer in 2004. She sold lemonade in her front yard to raise money for childhood cancer research. Her effort turned into a beautiful event that is now world famous.

Now fundraising events called “Alex’s Lemonade” take place all over the country. Our teammate, Lori, along with her family, started one of these fundraisers in the Pittsburgh area a few years ago. Incredibly, their effort has raised right at $50,000 for childhood cancer research and she’s working on raising another $25,000 this month. She has an entire festival planned around it on June 8 in Cranberry Township, PA.

The event her family has put together has been so successful it earned the “Grand Stand” designation from the national Alex’s Lemonade Foundation which means it’s one of the biggest in the entire U.S. And they will also host several children who are fighting cancer to a fun day out at the event.

Lori and her family also participated in our Sound Check For A Cure in Morgantown, WV, this year to raise money for the Martina McBride Breast Cancer Grant.

Check out this amazing and incredible effort that Lori and her family are making in PA. It will blow your mind what a few people and a lot of love can make happen. Fundraising is happening right now until June 8.

http://www.alexslemonade.org/mypage/89350

Our teammate Taira sent out a blog yesterday that told us that her doctors think she has about 2 months to live. That’s pretty devastating news.

Taira is one of our first team members and one of the first people I approached to help me do fundraising and volunteer work. Her cancer was in remission when we met. We haven’t even known each other quite 2 years yet.

But in that short time, we’ve tackled some huge projects with this team in and outside of the music world and figured how to do some amazing things. It has definitely all been uncharted territory.

We’re very different people, but I think, when we met, we both immediately recognized the one way in which we were exactly alike.

We don’t go away, quit, or back down easily.

And THAT will take you far.

1. It really bugs me when someone says, “I can’t do this thing because I have never done this thing before and I don’t know how to do this thing”.

If there is one thing I have learned in creating Team Martina… there is almost nothing you can’t figure out. With all the technology we have around us, there are almost no wheels you have to re-invent. Information is everywhere.  If you can’t find information on how to do the thing, most likely you can think up and create a way to do the thing.      If you really really want to.    

(Especially if it’s good for people and the world).

2. Don’t keep trying the same things over and over expecting different results. I can’t tell you how many times I have had something not work out and I’ve needed to “recalculate” as the GPS says. For every success, there are probably a few failures behind it. Look for another way… if at first it’s not obvious… wait… it may reveal itself or you may suddenly see it.

3. Don’t be afraid to give things away for free, no strings attached. Contrary to popular belief in the business world, we don’t all have to walk around with hidden agendas, gunning for how we can make a mutually beneficial deal or make money. It’s ok to just put good stuff out in the world. It doesn’t always have to come with a price tag or pay back.

Your reward will come to you.

4. Remember the big picture, don’t let all the little details get you bogged down. One thing I’ve learned about little details… 1. They will drive you crazy if you let them 2. They will probably work themselves out 3.Things turn on a dime and sometimes the little details become irrelevant before you even get to them

5.Throw off defeat… just keep moving. How many times have I imagined myself doing that cool little spin that ball carriers do to evade a tackle on the football field.

6. Sometimes there are things that just aren’t meant to be. If there is one thing I have learned, it’s that if something just doesn’t work, don’t spend too much time spinning your wheels. Stop. Probably something else is coming that you don’t know about yet. A new door will open. It will probably be better than what you were working on.

7. Most people and organizations have a hard time thinking outside of themselves and their own needs. It’s just human nature. Next time, try to think of how you can offer value to someone that isn’t offering you something - people won’t believe you. (I called up an organization a few weeks ago and offered to drive 2 hours to meet them and give them help free of charge… no strings attached. They didn’t believe me. At first they said yes, but then they canceled.  It was just outside of the “norm” in their world.”

These are 7 things that I think Taira and I saw when we first met and read each others minds.

Team Martina is a shining example of all these things - different, unexpected, unselfish.

Life is short. Be different. Do good stuff. Make a legacy where you can. Make people smile.

                                   By Sheila Jones

Martina McBride has a song called “Show Me”.

“Like a thousand red balloons in a saphire sky
A Roman candle burnin’, burnin’ through the night
Like the pyramids in Egypt
The diamonds in your eyes
Show me
Show me what love is”

About 5 years ago I started doing a lot of work around cancer causes.       Then the bottom fell out.

I knew I had to be doing the right thing because I felt so called to it. But it sure was painful.

I was working in strange and unfamiliar circumstances in a place that somehow seemed all wrong.  I constantly ran into obstacles and chased dead ends. I have to admit that I lost a little faith that people were good.

But something inside kept telling me to just keep going… this was a refining process. I was on the right track. Something incredible was coming…

Just

Hang

On

Then in 2009, God showed me… revealing pieces of the puzzle. He took me to Central America to serve in an orphanage for homeless children.  He SHOWED me.

Me and the kids at Casa Alleluia in Guatemala

In 2011 he took me to the Middle East to serve adults and children made homeless by civil war and ancient conflicts.  He SHOWED me the BIGGER PICTURE. He showed me countries where bombs explode and people are saved every week.

Me and my team at the Lebanese border

Then he brought me back to cancer volunteering with a renewed spirit.
He brought me a heroic volunteer group of friends of which the likes I had only ever read about and dreamed of… Team Martina.

And then he brought us cancer survivor Taira Baughman.

I swear I had never met so many people in real life that I think really, secretly wear capes. They are heroes. As much as I tell you about what they publicly do… there is more good that happens anonymously… that you may never know about.

And it’s purely amazing. You may not believe until you are shown it.

So thank you for renewing my faith that people are really, really good. There is still a lot of bad in the world… but God “SHOWED me” … what love is and that people can be very very good.

And we still have the ability to literally change the world.

WATCH “Show Me” by Martina McBride

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GcDyHT0I4E

Team Martina has been blessed over the last 2 years with incredible support from hundreds of country music fans. One of which is our special teammate Amy. She has been the backbone of Team Martina. Since 2011 she has helped to raise thousands of dollars for cancer research.

Amy has done some amazing things in that time… she has shaved her head not once, but TWICE… as a show of solidarity with cancer patients and to bring attention to our efforts to raise money and help cancer fighters around the U.S. With Amy’s help, every step of the way, we have raised $100,000 for cancer causes.

Here’s something else even more amazing, yet sad… in the time that we have been Team Martina, Amy has lost her Mom to cancer. And recently she lost her 3 year old dog to cancer. I am dumbfounded by this turn of events.

Last week a group of friends got together to do something very special in memory of Amy’s dog “Peanut Ann”. They started a fundraising effort for the Animal Rescue League Of Northwest Georgia that will provide help for homeless animals. This organization is in desperate need of funds as it is run solely on donations.

I am incredibly touched and proud of the spirit these fans are showing. Thank you Carolyn Bryant and Pearl Roth for your efforts on this project.

Please visit their fundraising page here and consider giving even just $10 or $20 or more. It’s for a great cause. Let’s hear from the Peanut Gallery!!

LET’S RETURN THE INCREDIBLE SPIRIT AND EFFORT BACK TO AMY that she has shown in the fight against cancer for so many others!

http://pearl-roth.com/The-Peanut-Gallery/

The Music of Hope          Guest Blog By Maryann Makekau

In 2001, my husband and I opened our home to help parents of struggling teens. At first, we weren’t even sure that anyone would come. We did it Anyway. For seven years, we ate together and prayed together. The bulk of our time, however, was spent just listening and taking turns being the shoulder to lean on. One by one, those teens, and their parents, rose above the struggles. Another seven years passed before I understood how helping hurting families was actually paving the way for something more.

In December 2008, I received a phone call that changed my life course. My best friend’s voice was barely audible as she spilled the words, “I have cancer.” I choked back the tears as Vicki continued. “No one ever talked about my mom’s fight with cancer. I want my kids to know, but I don’t want to scare them.” My heart sank as I listened—hearing confusion, worry, fear, and sadness—colliding all at once. I went from helplessness to hopefulness in a matter of seconds, as I promised to find the perfect book to help her and her 2nd graders.

I’d spent over twenty years researching and writing in the mental health field. With 1 in 8 women diagnosed, my friend’s situation was sadly common. According to the U.S. Department of Labor more than 81% of primary educators are women, and with children spending an average of seven hours a day with their teacher, surely someone had created a resource. I wasn’t prepared to come up empty-handed in my search for a book that honestly, but gently, explained a teacher’s cancer diagnosis to children.

I was wrong. I found only two books. One talked about cancer as if the teacher was taking a mini-vacation, gone for awhile and then back in the classroom – all better. Another one overwhelmed me with confusion; I simply wanted a book that explained cancer through a child’s eyes. That’s when fate stepped in and my friend’s aspirations for my life became clear. For twenty-five years, Vicki had been encouraging me to write a book, saying I had a gift I was supposed to share. Convicted, I sat down and wrote When Your Teacher Has Cancer.

Next thing I knew, I was sitting in her classroom explaining cancer through a little book on pink paper. I didn’t know if they would understand the tools that I presented. If fact, I didn’t even know if they’d understand my explanation of cancer. I didn’t know if it would mean anything to anyone, other than my best friend. I did it Anyway. I now volunteer my time inside support groups around the nation.

After two series of books and countless advocacy events, it’s clear that volunteering to help hurting families over a decade ago was, in fact, paving the way to something more. I haven’t had cancer; I haven’t been deployed to war; I haven’t had Alzheimer’s disease. Yet, I am willing to walk beside those who have. Choosing to love them through it furthers understanding and magnifies hope. In Sheila’s words, “it’s our opportunity to do good in the world.” Team Martina is changing lives with that philosophy. Just as music soothes the soul, compassion soothes the heart.—that’s the music of hope. That is what I have been called to do with my life.

Maryann is an author, inspirational speaker, and spirited entrepreneur. She is also a veteran, spouse of a military member (retired), and mother of two military “brats.” Her book, “When Your Mom Has Cancer”, appeared in the Martina McBride music video, “I’m Gonna Love You Through It”. 

http://becausehopematters.com/books/when-your-mom-has-cancer/

I’m sitting here on this Easter night contemplating this question… “What does it really mean to love someone through it?” and “How far are you willing go to love them through it and what exactly is involved in that?”. 

That’s the whole idea behind Team Martina… we’re a community service group and we’re a family of friends founded on the basis of “loving people through” cancer, crisis or other challenges. That’s what we’re all about. That’s what Martina McBride’s song, “I’m Gonna Love You Through It”, talks about. That’s what The Isaacs wrote the song about.

But how many of us have really stopped to consider how far we may have to go with that?  I bet not many of us.

Just what kind of commitment are we talking here?

Overcoming cancer can take a long time and some times the end result is not what we had prayed for after all. And, in the interim, things can get pretty hard. Even those of us who may be just visiting in the life of a cancer patient, and not directly involved in the day to day struggle of fighting cancer, may not appreciate the level of commitment, understanding, and love required even of us bystanders.

Let us, for a few minutes, remember that we’re all dying. We all have a terminal condition. We have all been dying since the moment we were born. The Bible says in James 4:14 that we are like vapor… a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. We cannot even say what our tomorrow holds. Everything in this life is temporary.

I thoroughly believe that the basic purpose of our lives here on Earth is about serving each other and making this world as best as we can - to move onto an incredible eternity with God, our permanent home. I don’t feel like we can attach too much importance to anything on this Earth. This is just a gateway… our end goal and home is beyond. We’re on a journey… together.

So if indeed we all have a terminal illness then we’re all loving each other through it everyday aren’t we?  So how do we do that? How do we treat each other every day with more and more understanding as we move through this life?

How do we become more and more understanding with someone suffering through something like cancer as the months, weeks, and years go by, when the struggle grows long, when the rubber meets the road, their body grows weaker, when the money runs out, when we get tired… after the music stops and the song is no longer playing and we don’t feel inspired… how long are you willing to hang in there for someone battling cancer?

Our friend and cancer patient Taira says that when you do something to help someone, you will get double for your trouble… this saying is inspired by a passage in the Bible meaning God promises to restore to you what you have lost and give you even more. But what if you don’t get something back right away for your trouble?  Are you anxiously waiting for that “something”… your reward? Or are you comfortable just helping someone and expecting nothing in return?

I think we’re all hoping deep down that we get something.. don’t you? Very few of us can totally let go all the time of the desire for some kind of recognition or reward. It feels really good to make that connection… to participate in a good deed and see that… YES!… it really resonated with people and made a difference and they liked it.

We give gifts to friends to not only just give them something… but we also get the reward of connecting with them, making them smile… it makes us feel good. We get something back in that way. It’s human nature to want that. That’s a big part of what draws people to do volunteer work and do good deeds… we all speak of how ‘rewarding’ it feels.

I think that often that reward is out there, it just may not be in the form we expect or come in the time we expect. And as we mature, we do learn to savor and enjoy the satisfaction of simply helping someone and letting it go… letting that good deed go out into the universe with no strings attached.

It is very freeing to be “no strings attached” in our life and in our giving. Free yourself from that burden and enjoy the rewards.

“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” - Nelson Henderson

“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.”
Maya Angelou