Two Years Old

My Dear, Sweet Sophie Lee - Today you are two years old. As I sit here writing this letter I can hear the sounds of you stirring in your bed, just beginning to awake for the day. In a few minutes you will begin your morning chatter. You will talk to your "Big Bear" for a minute and then you will call out "hi mama, hi daddy" in the hopes that someone will come get you up and love on you. You have these expectations because not a day of your life has gone by where you were not loved.

But, Darling Girl, I need you to know that you were loved well before the time you were born. Your mama Kim loved you too - she loved you enough to know that you needed something she could not give you. She loved you enough to let someone else give you what she could not. And she chose your Daddy and me to be the Blessed ones to be able to love you.

And, two years ago, on the day you were born, she chose me to come into that operating room and hold her hand as you were born. I will never forget hearing your first cries, your first breaths. The wonderful nurses allowed me to hold you and take you to your first mama so she could see your sweet face too. Oh, how she loves you. I pray that you never doubt the love in her heart for you - you have NEVER been unloved. EVER. Not even for a single moment of time!

Sophie, your sweet smile lights my world! Your sweet spirit & personality are the best things about you, but that sweet face can melt my heart in a heartbeat! I love the way that your smile shows on every inch of your being!!

I love your silly sense of humor and adventure - you LOVE life and, already, grab it with both hands and give it all you've got. It is a wild crazy ride just being your mama - and I would not have it any other way!!

When you snuggle into my arms, it's like you were created to fit there ... it just goes to show that our Sweet God knew you would be my girl from the first moment of time. And I am more thankful for that than you will EVER know! You, sweet thing (along with Daddy, sister and brothers), are my heart!!!!

You LOVE your family and being at the center of every family gathering - even when it means having to hold your own in a noodle fight with your cousins ...

... or getting a bucket of water dumped on your head by your big sister. You take it all in stride and just seem to soak in the love. And, golly bob howdy little girl, you sure are loved!!

This year you have learned the art of being a friend. We have had such a blast having our weekly dates with Miss Belle, but my very favorite part of her time with us has been watching you learn to share, get along with and just PLAY with a little buddy. You also love Evy, Lyla, Owen, Brookie, Cassie, Caleb and all your buddies at church. You are a very sweet little pal and it makes my mama's heart happy to see how you have grown!

You love music and LOVE to dance - whether it's the Hula, hip hop, Mamma Mia or the Free Credit Report Dot Com commercials, if there is music playin, YOU are dancing! You even, occasionally dance to your lullaby music. A phenomenon which has led some pretty silly sleeping positions ...

Sweet Girl, you are such a Blessing to your daddy and me. You never cease to amaze us with the way you love, learn and live with everything that you have. You already know your ABC's and can recognize and name most letters (the one's that you are unsure of are always called "two" and that makes me smile.) as well as many of your numbers. You know many different animals and the sounds that they make. You now your body parts and are especially fond of your (and everyone else's!) elbow. You seem to learn something new every day and I LOVE watching you learn and grow.

You LOVE your daddy! There is a dance that you do every single night when he comes home from work. You sing the word "daddy" over and over and bounce and dance for a good five minutes - I know it makes his day! You love when daddy gets down on the floor and pretends to be a puppy - it never fails to make you giggle and smile. Also, daddy will ALWAYS play hide and seek with you girls and THAT is your favorite game. You always know he s gonna jump out at you and you cannot wait to see where and when it will happen. And that is my favorite game to watch y'all play.

You not only LOOK just like your daddy, but you and your daddy love alike too. Big soft hugs, sweet tender touches and a fun sense of humor that melts my heart every time!

And, finally my sweet girl, you will never know what you do to my heart. Loving you has taught me so many new things. I am stronger, wiser and a better person with you in my world. I will never, in a million years, be able to thank your mama Kim for giving me the gift and privilege of being your mommy. It has TRULY rocked my world.

I love you sweet Girl, more and more every day. I thank God for leading Kim to us and for making me your mom. I thank Him for creating such a sweet, adorable, loving, fun, beautiful, AMAZING girl my baby. I pray that I live my life in a way that leads you to Him and teaches you to love Him with all that you are. I KNOW without the love of my Father, I would not love you the way I do. I would not have had the two best years of my life - with you, your sister, your brothers and your Daddy. You five people are the loves of my life!!

And I am the MOST Blessed woman on the face of the earth to get to love on YOU!

Happy Birthday My precious, beautiful girl! I love you more than life!

Forever and ever,

Mommy

Friends ... Even Though We've Never Met

I know some of you may not understand this, and some of you will know all too well what I'm talkin about.

I have "imaginary" friends.

OK, before you get too excited, please understand, they are REAL people - flesh and blood. And they are REAL friends - the kind that have been there to pick me up when I'm down, support me through some rough stuff, encourage me when I need it, celebrate my victories with me, love me through it all and NEVER give up on me.

They are only "imaginary" in the sense that, for the most part, I have never met them. At least not face to face.

Let me explain ...

A few years ago my PBFF Beth Moore, along with her daughters Amanda and Melissa, started a little blog. They wanted to be able to encourage Christian women and to share a bit more of themselves with the women they love ... and they do love ALL women! And, I feel pretty safe in saying, they probably had NO earthly idea how far and wide the community they were creating would spread. OR how the word "community" could, and would, take on a whole new meaning.

One day Beth was writing a blog post and attempted to send a message to her "sistas in Christ". Spell check, however, corrected "sistas" to "siestas" and, as silly as it seems, that is the name that has stuck. We became the Siestas. Last August there was even a gathering of many of these women, aptly titled "The Siesta Fiesta" ... only I didn't get to go :(

But these women bloggers who frequented the LPM Blog (Beth's) had begun to frequent each others' blogs - and some (myself included) were even spurred on to start their OWN blogs. Through time we came to feel as if we knew each other - we had, after all, been looking into each other's lives for a while now. And, without even realizing that it was "strange", we actually started to become friends.

Almost a year ago one of these friends and I realized we lived somewhat close to each other so we decided to meet for lunch. And in one instant Teri went from being an imaginary friend to a REAL LIFE friend. She has truly become one of the closest friends I have. And because she had been to the siesta fiesta and had actually met some of my other imaginary friends, she became my link to them.

So, a few months later I received a surprise phone call from Fran - one of my all time favorite bloggers - who had gotten my number from Teri. And, let me tell you that Fran has seen me through more stuff than I can even begin to explain. She is truly a heart friend, in soooo many ways.

Eventually we connected on Facebook and Twitter too. These mediums have proven to only strengthen the bond shared by these women who love the Lord and who love on each other so very well. We have laughed together, prayed for each other, for each other's marriages, homes, children, families and lives. We have documented our mutual love for coffee, shopping, good food and Jesus. We have lamented our mutual disdain for bad TV, bad coffee, bad politics, a lack of realism and transparency in the world and, just this morning, chocolate covered bacon (YUCK!!). We have formed real, true friendships.

The kind of friendships that most people just do NOT understand. I mean, really, sharing personal information with someone over the internet?! It is unheard of ... unless you KNOW, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that these friendships have been truly ordained by God.

I mean, really, there is no one else BUT God who could do this.

Only HE could take strangers spread across the country (and in some cases, even further!!) and weave together a blanket that could cover every hurt, shelter every weakness and unite scattered hearts.

And, really, only HE could put Teri and I in a car for nearly an hour, through the streets of Detroit, on a quest to the airport to see someone that neither of us had ever even met. Only HE could let a girl feel safe enough to give someone SHE had never met flight information so that they COULD come to the airport just to spend a couple hours lovin on each other!!!

But that is just what happened...



And, truly, meeting Robyn was just like pickin up with an old friend!!!

Because, after all, we have been friends for a while now ...

Just imaginary friends.

But REAL friends too.

Friends ... even though we've never met ...

... until last night.

Really ... do ya think Beth had ANY idea at all?!?!

60 Miles, 3 Days, 1 Cause

I spent the weekend with a few thousand AMAZING people.

Selfless people.

Giving people.

Tireless people.

But, THESE people ...

...are the ones who I spent the most time with. My crew team. My 3 Day family!!!

We are the Check In crew ... we scan the walkers out each morning and then back in when they return to camp each afternoon.

We are ...

Scanner Angels!


Now, it is our job to pump them up for the walk as we send them off as well as to welcome them back with open arms and make "home" a happy place to be. So, we play our music loud and we dance for HOURS as they come back in a few at a time through the afternoon. So, we did a LOT of this this weekend:

And it was a BLAST!

Cause, ya know we like to ...

... crew like a ROCK STAR!!! (PS - that one was for YOU SuperModel!)

I LOVE every little thing about the 3 Day experience - even down to the community showers (because it is COMMUNITY!!!), but my favorite part of the experience is the people. Many of us on Check In have been coming back for a few years now. Some were brand new this year. But this is a team of people that are AMAZING women.

Women, who are now some of my very best friends ...

But, THESE women are the TRUE heroes ...

They don't just lace up their shoes for three days to fight breast cancer, they fight it every day of their lives. They have stared death in the face and fought it down.

THEY are the survivors!

They are the reason we do this thing!

And, for me personally, I do it for Marla - who fought it and won...

Grandma Norma - who lived to be 95 sweet years old! ...

Paula - who fought the fight as long as she could ...

... as well as Holly, Pam, Donna and Alice who beat the beast. Bev, who fights the beast even now. And, now this mama ...

She is an 8 month survivor. Her baby girl walked the last half mile with her, carrying the belief flag. I looked that little girl in the eyes and told her her mama was a hero. She looked back at me and said "yeah, she's MY hero". I asked her if she knew her mama was saving lives this weekend and her eyes got HUGE as she looked up at her hero. That was when the hero told me HER story - 8 months clean - I looked back into those big little girl eyes and told her that her mama was saving HER life this weekend. "She is doing this for YOU sweet girl!"

And then we all hugged and cried.

And there were many more hugs, many more tears and MANY more heroes throughout the weekend. Too many to recount here. But, they have changed my heart and resolved my will to fight even harder against this horrid disease. Now I know, more than ever, that I will never give up!

There is a moment during closing ceremonies when the walkers and crew have all come into the cheering of the crowd. Then it gets quiet as the survivors are introduced. And then all involved take one shoe off, kneel down and hold that lone shoe in the air as the survivors enter the arena.


And that moment rocks my world every single time.

For those who have fought and won.

For those who have fought and lost.

For those who are fighting now.

They - and WE - are all fighting for one single thing ...

A world without breast cancer.

Little Pink Tents

**This was originally posted LAST year before the 3day ... and, because I procrastinated til the bitter end THIS year ... here it is again!!!**

This weekend I am going camping. Camping in a little pink tent that will be sitting in a sea of little pink tents. A sea of little pink tents in the middle of the city. Tents full of people nursing sore feet, aching bodies and blisters. Lots and lots of blisters. Blisters that come from walking, BY CHOICE - twenty miles a day for three days straight. And other little pink tents full of people who - BY CHOICE - will get up around 4AM (or earlier) each of those mornings, brave the chilly morning air and fix breakfast for a gajillion people, ride out into the streets to blaze a trail for the walkers, set up places for them to nourish their bodies, bandage their blisters and rest on that trail and set up fun spots to send off, encourage along the way and welcome the walkers back to their little pink tent homes.

Why, you may ask, would somebody - much less a few THOUSAND somebodies - subject themselves to that? Because we are desperate to put an end to Breast Cancer. DESPERATE!!!

Some of the people I will be camping with have had breast cancer. Some are fighting it now and have chosen to camp and walk and/or crew in between their chemo treatments! Some have some one they love fighting it now. Some, like me, have some one(s) they love who have beaten it. And some, like me, have some one they love who have lost the fight.

I will do absolutely everything in my power to make sure that these two little girls (well, not so little anymore!!!), who are faced with growing up without their mommy, do NOT have to face growing up in fear.

I do it because Paula was my very bestest friend in the world. Because her children are two of the most delicious girls on the planet and I love them so very much. I do it because I have two little girls who's family medical histories are sketchy at best and I want them to be protected. And I do it so that NOBODY else has to feel the pain that comes from watching a loved one suffer this stinky disease.

I do it because "Everyone Deserves A Lifetime".

Please say a prayer for us this weekend. Those of us on the crew will be starting on Thursday and the walkers on Friday. Please pray for the families that we will be leaving at home. Please pray for nice weather, safe conditions, good spirits and A CURE!!!!!!!!!!

Also, if you would like to support the cause with a donation, please click on the button on the sidebar that takes you to my fundraising page! Thank you so much for your prayers and suport!

Thank you so very much! Don't know if I will be back before Monday....

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

This Is Where I Beg Your Forgiveness And Promise To Blog A Little More Frequently ...

I have been a VERY bad bloggy friend this summer ... VERY bad.

And, here and now, is where I promise to make up for lost time and tell you a bit about our summer.

I spent most of the summer training for a triathlon ... an event which I, sadly, did not even get to participate in. And, for the record, shin splints do NOT get better by just pushin through the pain. I did get to go to the event and cheer my friends on...



... and take a whole ton of pictures - I am workin on a little slide show. That guarantees a post for another day! Because my sweet, heroic friends who DID participate deserve a post of their own. Especially Kelly




and Jane



who came in 1st and 3rd for the women (Jane, by the way, was robbed and SHOULD have come in at least second. Unfortunately she missed a turn on the bike portion and rode a couple miles or so before realizing her error and turning around. Girlfriend was NOT happy!!!)

I also had a birthday last month. Now, I knew that the hubby had something up his sleeve but wasn't sure what it was. I could not have even begun to prepare myself for what he had planned....

Here is a glimpse of my surprise ...



Yeah, that would be my mommy - who flew in for my birthday! Please ignore the fact that I had just woke up and had been cryin my eyes out over my surprise!!! We had a whole 36 hours together before she flew back. I had a stinkin blast with her and could not have felt more loved. Thanks Honey, and thanks mommy!

We also spent a day at the beach, just my little fam and me.






The girls had a blast - until it was time to go home of course. THAT was not so much fun at all!!!

And, given the fact that we were parked DIRECTLY in front of the police station, draggin two screaming children and (because our keyless entry thingy does not work at the moment) setting off the car alarm, it was NOT the highlight of the day for mommy and daddy either. Just sayin!

We have also spent a LOT of time with this sweet thing too...



... Miss Belle. Our Monday dates with her are numbered though because her sweet mama, Mrs. Erica, is bout to give birth any day to a bouncing baby boy. I am TOTALLY lookin forward to that even because I have been asked to attend said birth and be the official photographer!

I do hope that it doesn't happen next weekend though. Because NEXT weekend I will be camping, with a few thousand of my closest friends, in little pink tents.



Because, for the 5th year in a row I will be participating in the Breast Cancer 3day. I am a member of the crew - which means I do not do the walk, but I work the event and support the walkers in ANY WAY I can! I am also raising money to benefit the Susan G Komen foundation in their support of breast cancer patients, awareness and the search for a cure. I do it for Marla, Holly, Alice and Donna - who all survived the dreaded disease. I do it for my Bev, who is fighting it right now! I do it for my Grandma who won HER battle and lived to be the sweet age of 95 years young before going Home to Jesus!

And I do it for Paula, my BFF, whom we lost to this stinky stuff 5 years ago. I will fight to the end to be sure that her girls do not have to face that battle. IF you feel led, at all, to support this endeavor, please visit my fundraiser page. Every little bit helps!

OR, support me with your prayers - prayers for a safe weekend for all involved, for my man and girls at home without me, and for a CURE for cancer. ALL types of cancer. Because EVERYONE deserves a lifetime!!!!

I have so many other things to share about the summer, and I will, but given the fact that Sesame Street just ended, my time for blogging is up for the morning. So, I gotta go for now, but in the words of Arnold, I'll be back!!!!!!!!!

I have so much to tell you about my weekend, and I will ...

But right now, that is not as important as the need to be on our knees for this sweet baby boy and his family.

Please, take a moment right now, wherever you are to pray for him and his family, as well as those caring for him, for God's peace, wisdom for the doctors and healing for Stellan's wee heart.

Thank you so much.

Bring It On

In a few short hours I will be participating in a mock mini-triathlon: 300 meter swim, 14 mile bike ride and 5K run. This is in preparation for the actual event, happening next week. I am both excited and scared-outta-my-ever-lovin-mind, all at the same time. I have been training for this for a while now, but still feel ill prepared. And yet, there is a part of me, way down deep, that is screamin loud into the night "BRING IT ON"!!!

'Cause, that part, it is insane!

Ya see, in a few short hours I will ALSO be turning another year older.

I will be 41.

And, in these 41 years, I have NEVER been one to swim for anything other than pleasure, ride a bike - AT ALL or run - unless something was chasing me. In short, I have spent these 41 years avoiding, at any and every cost, any form of athleticism at ALL!

BUT, a few months ago, I looked at my two little girls.

I saw Hattie, five years old and a tiny, petite, slim little frame. She doesn't eat much. She would rather read a book than run and play - unless she is outside and there is dirt and/or water involved. She is a blue eyed blond with fair skin and straight hair. She is shy until she is used to you and will always prefer to be out of the limelight. She is utterly beautiful, inside and out.

And, I saw Sophie, one year old with a fuller, more athletic frame. She LOVES food, loves to move and will dance even if there is no music to be heard ... and LOOK OUT if there IS music! She is the life of the party, lights up any room and enjoys every ounce of attention that she can get. She is an olive skinned, curly headed brunette with deep brown eyes. And SHE is is utterly beautiful inside and out.

These two little lights of my life could not possibly be more different.

And, simply because they are girls, there will always be the tendency to compare.

I also took a look in the mirror ... a good look long look. Something I just do not do very often at ALL!

Because, I know ALL about that tendency to compare. And, in my own eyes, I always seem to come up short - leading to a long standing, very poor self image.

And, that very day I realized that there is no way that I can ever teach my oh-so-opposite little girls to like THEMSELVES until I can learn to like MY self.

And, thus began my journey ...

Now, I realize that I am just never gonna be a small, petite kinda girl. I will never be skinny - but that does not mean I will never be HEALTHY. And that doesn't mean I can never LIKE myself.

So, I started working out with Jillian Michaels ... the Shred. I hurt in places I had never even know about before. But, in a way, it felt good ... really good.

So, I kept going.

And then I got the invitation to do this triathlon.

I was pretty sure it was a joke, that they had never REALLY intended for me to actually DO the thing, but I was intrigued. So I started training. I started living and breathing fitness ... and I started feeling so much better!

Better physically and better mentally.

I started to see that maybe I COULD do this thing. Maybe I WAS able to be a physically fit person ... and I started to actually LIKE myself.

In the last few weeks I have found myself with shin splints that are KILLIN me and threatening to keep me from running in the triathlon. BUT, I have chosen to continue - because, even if I walk, or CRAWL, that last leg of the race, I WILL finish this race.

I WILL.

I KNOW that this is the body that God has Blessed me with. THIS is my temple to host the Spirit that lives within me. This is the only chance I will ever have to give God my very best.

And THAT is what I intend to do ... give HIM my best.

And, at the same time, give my girls someone that they can look up to, learn to love themselves from AND have fun with, play with and run around with. For a LONG, LONG time.

And, give my husband both the woman he fell in love with and the woman that he deserves.

And, that is the best that I can do.

Psalm 45:11 tells me that the King is enthralled with my beauty.

The KING!

And, really, who am I to disagree with the King?!

So, tomorrow I will turn a year older ... but, then again, isn't it just the first day of the rest of my life?

I Heart ... FEET!

This week at I Heart Faces they are trying something a little different ... namely, feet.

Which means that. instead of the usual stream of the cutest faces around, you get the sweetest feet! How fun is that?

Last summer we took a trip to the beach ... where my daughter found a mud puddle. If you know Hattie at all, you know that this was the best day of her life! I managed to time this shot so that the motion of her rapidly moving feet can be seen as well as the splashing of the mud. It is one of my very favorite pictures, because THIS is the epitome of my girl - sun, mud, motion and fun. LOVE it!



Head on over to I Heart Faces to see more FEET this week ... or enter your own!