Archive for the ‘Friends’ category

August

1

2011

Friendship

This last weekend I got to spend 3 days with some of my favorite people in the world.  With everything that our family has had going on and all the stress we have been feeling I could not wait for this weekend to get here.  Amazingly, just days before my friends started flying in our biggest cause of stress (what to do with our house so we could move) was solved.  Immediately a giant weight was lifted from me.  I cannot even begin to express how much lighter I felt after finding the perfect friends to rent our house after we move.

And then I got to spend 3 days with some of the most fun and joyful girlfriends.  I feel so privileged to know each of these ladies as they each speak truth and love into my life.  They bring me hope and we laugh – a lot!!

At Christina’s bridal shower

Rehearsal dinner

Amalea with Auntie Rin at the ceremony

All my girls

With the bride

Such amazing friends

My incredible family

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March

7

2011

Church

I recently began my return to church and this process has brought up so much emotion in me which I was not expecting.  About a year ago our family decided to take a much needed break from church.  We not only needed it as a family, but Jim and I both needed the break individually.  After months of counseling and working hard on ourselves as individuals (and our marriage) we came to the conclusion that we desperately needed this break from church.

Looking back now at that decision I can honestly say it was the best thing for me and for our family, but it has been a very hard year.  I often don’t know how to blog about this experience as I want to protect others involved and at the same time this experience has greatly shaped the way I view church and Christians.  Unfortunately, my experience of leaving church was not a good one.  It involved some intensely hurtful words, backs being turned, the loss of friendships I held dear and most of it all it broke down the positive image I had in my head of community and turned it into a negative, hurtful thing.

While my relationship with God has grown in the last year, I realize I still have intense hurt from the leaving process our family went through.  I don’t know what to do with that hurt and I am learning how to process it.  I am writer.  It is how I process what I feel and yet this is one of those situations in which words aren’t expressing the array of emotions I have.

For a long time I thought I was looking for an apology from those that hurt us the most, but now I realize that is not important.  I am beginning to see all the positive things that God has brought out of such an upsetting situation.  I am learning to look beyond the feeling of betrayal and to find comfort in the arms of my family.

Of course as I begin my return to church I find myself defensive and even cynical. I don’t want to be that way.  I want to be hopeful that this church community, while not perfect, is one that I can identify with and connect to.  So, here is to having hope and looking forward with a confident perspective.  Here’s to looking beyond the hurt and seeing the good – in others, in hurtful experiences, and in church.

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November

18

2010

Friendship

I have learned so much about friendship over recent months.  I have learned what it means to truly love others and be there for them no matter what.  I have seen how much pain one can feel when a friend hurts.  Friendship truly is a beautiful thing and while I consider my husband to be my best friend, there is something so wonderful about girlfriends. They are vital and to live without them would just be insane.

Last weekend I got to spend 4 days in Austin, TX with some of the greatest ladies around.  I heard that somewhere near 900 pictures were taken over those 4 days (there is something to be said for having professional photographers as friends).  That should give you an idea of how much fun we had.

I think Mariko said it best on her blog so I am just going to steal what she said.

“We’re spread out among 5 states, but when we get the chance to all get together, I swear time stands still, the world stops turning, and epic-ness explodes on earth. We laugh, we cry, we embarrass each other, we encourage, we build up, we’re real, we love. We’re ourselves with no inhibitions.

Between all of us, the personalities couldn’t be more diverse. We’re crazy, we’re reserved, we’re loud, we’re quiet, we’re sweet, we’re blunt, we’re ridiculous, we’re calm, we’re dreamers, we’re logical, we’re risk takers, we play it safe. All put together, we’re a well rounded person…and that’s why our friendship is thicker than blood.”

So right Mariko!! These friendships mean the world to me and while I may not see these ladies as often as I would like I know that no matter what they have my back and I have theirs.  Life is full of so many ups and downs, but these ladies have proven to be here for me in the midst of it all.  Thank you friends for showing me that true friendships can and will survive distance, time, misunderstandings, changes, and differences.  You all give me hope in others.

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June

28

2010

Because of Love

Beautiful couple:

Adorable kids:

The summer after my freshmen year of college I worked at a summer camp and there met some lifelong friends.  One of those friends is Catherine Besk (Blincoe at the time).  There are so many thing about Cat that I love – her joy for life, her passion for loving people, her sincere heart and giving personality.  She is the kind of person that shines and you just want to be around her as much as possible.  Almost 8 years ago she married to love of her life, Kenny, and they have 2 beautiful daughters, Maizie and Lucy.  Though they thought 2 kids meant they were done, they were wrong.  Instead, it was placed on both of their hearts to adopt a child internationally and so they have begun the process of raising money to adopt a child.  This is no inexpensive journey they are embarking on…they are going to raise $30,000!!

Please read more about their story on their blog and think about donating or if you are in the Santa Cruz, California area check out some of their creative fundraising ideas (zumba classes, movie nights, yard sales).

Their blog is titled “Because of Love” and I truly must say this family is one filled with huge amounts of love.  Follow them in their journey and support them as they raise the funds and prepare their hearts and their family to bring another child home.

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June

5

2010

Z

I am pleased to introduce you to Zoey Kumiko Richards. Zoey was born May 30th at 8:14 pm at home.  She weighed in at 5lbs. 14 oz. and was 19 inches long.  Isn’t she absolutely beautiful.

I got a text with this picture last night that said, “Hi Auntie”.  Yep, I am beside myself with joy and wish so badly I could be there to hold baby Zoey.  Congrats to my best friend, Andy, and her husband, Danny.

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May

1

2010

Dearest Emily

Today the world lost one of the most beautiful and loving people I have ever known.  I consider it a complete privilege to have know Emily Haager and to have been able to share life with her.  Emily and I were always able to have very deep conversations about the real struggles we had.  Recently we started a conversation about joy in our lives in response to a blog post about my own struggles with finding joy.  Emily shared this with me: “It’s been hard not knowing the path ahead for my life and trusting God in the midst of it (at the same time being content and joyful about where I’m at now).”

Though that path took a major change today, I know that Emily is resting in the love of her Lord today.  And I hope her friends and family are finding joy in the midst of such deep pain.

Dearest Emily, your light continues to shine even though you have left this place.  Your story is one I will share for the rest of my time as it is full of grace, perseverance, love, hope, determination, patience, faith, and joy.  I am not the same after knowing you and I count myself incredibly lucky to be able to call you my friend.

Hope you are surfing freely and breathing deeply.  I miss you.

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April

8

2010

Life

There is so much regarding weddings I want to blog about, but today I just can’t.  I have sat down to post a few times this evening and all I keep coming back to is my dear friend who is fighting for her life.  That is the only thing on my mind.  Some people come into our lives and leave an impact beyond words.  Emily is one of those people.  When I met Emily she started to explain about the life threatening illness she was born with.  She got about two sentences in when I interrupted and told her I knew exactly what she was talking about.  I had already lost one family friend, Katie, to this dreadful disease and while a lot of people have never heard of it, I had unfortunately seen the severity of it first hand.  Emily has Cystic Fibrosis, a hereditary disease which affects the entire body, causing progressive disability and often early death (wikipedia).  Those of you who have first hand experience with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) know the ugliness of this disease and the pain it causes.  My friend Emily is a fighter and she has fought CF so beautifully her entire life, never allowing it to rule over her.  Through endless trips to the hospital and enduring invasive procedures she has found a way to live with this illness and has used her talents and life to spread the word about CF.  I see the life that Emily has had and it reminds me of Katie and the life she didn’t get to have.  Her life was cut short because in the end her body lost the fight with CF, but like Emily, Katie lived a beautiful life and found ways to push her body beyond the limits of the disease.

Emily has been in Intensive Care for almost 2.5 months and she has been fighting hard.  She continues to fight and just today came out of a grueling emergency surgery, not to mention that two nights ago she endured 2 code blues and cpr as well as another code blue last week.  I am amazed and inspired at her perseverance and determination, I am in awe of her fight, of her strength, and most of all I smile because of her heart and the beautiful person she is inside and out.

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