Meeting blog friends

I first began following a blog and praying for people I had never met through Luke's blog back in September 2004, shortly after his near-drowning accident. And in June of 2006, when Luke's family was vacationing in California at a campground about 30 minutes from where I live, I got to meet sweet Luke and his family. I still have fond memories of the afternoon I spent visiting with Luke and his family, and remember vividly holding him in my arms. Praying for his healing became even more tangible. Join me in following Luke's journey and praying for him!

Then this last fall I got to meet Bella's wonderful family: Tim & Angelique, and big sister Ali (4½). Anabella was born with a rare genetic skin disorder, Epidermolysis Bullosa, and underwent a bone marrow transplant during the summer. Bella died on October 11, at the age of 16 months. I had the privilege of attending her memorial service...her parents and big sister are truly amazing. Bella was a blessing to all during her life and continues to touch people through the legacy she left.

Then just yesterday, while home in Northern California for Christmas break, I was able to visit sweet Elijah's family: his mom, Marie, brother Josiah, 5, and baby sister Haliah, 8 months (Dad Steve was at work and big sister Kayla, 12, was at a sleepover). I have been following Elijah's blog since Marie's pregnancy with him in 2008, and this past year Marie and I have gotten to know each other through facebook and texts. Marie is a wonderful prayer warrior and has blessed me numerous times. And we got to know each other all because of precious Lijah's short life and the impact he has had on so many. It was fantastic getting to meet them and spend the day together yesterday.

New babies

Two of my good friends have had new babies in the past couple weeks and I've enjoyed getting to meet both of them.

First, my good friend and physician mentor, Amy, had her third baby, William David "Will" on April 29. Her now 20-month-old twins , Grace and Faith, are the sweetest girls ever and are great big sisters to Baby Will.

Then my friend Robyn had her third baby, sweet Ellie Grace, on May 6. Ellie already has two great big sisters, Keira (3) and Claire (19 months).

Prayers for a little baby

A childhood friend of mine had her second baby, Mia Amore, on February 4. And this precious baby girl has been in the NICU struggling to breathe on her own and fighting for her life ever since. Please pray for baby Mia, and visit her family's website to learn more about her and see the latest prayer requests.

Twice as nice

A tangled web of love

What do you do when you sense the dynamics of a friendship shifting into slightly more than that? What do you do when someone loves you but you just aren't attracted to them like that? What do you do when someone wants to start going out with you and all you want is to remain friends just like you've always been?
My friend Brian likes me...I like him too, but only as a friend. I don't want to hurt him...but I know already that we are not morally, religiously, or even recreationally compatible (we don't even like doing the same things), not to mention the fact that I'm just not attracted to him. But how do I let him know that without hurting him?
Furthermore, how do I set and stick to boundaries when we aren't actually/officially going out?

Destiny and Stacy

My friend Katie and I were best friends growing up. We were constantly begging our moms to let one of us go to the other's house for the afternoon, where we went roller blading, swimming, played Barbies, and did crafts. We had sleep overs, and invited each other to every birthday party. We were in Awana Bible Club together, sang in the same choir, were on the same sports league. We played endless games of Monopoly, Yahtzee, Missionary Conquest, Uno, and our very favorite, Life. In this game, we added a new twist of our own invention: naming all the people we had in the game. For those who've never played the game, you start with yourself, then get married, and then acquire children throughout the game. For us this was serious business. We carefully selected a first and middle name for each child that was born to us.
Katie married young. She got married a few years ago and now has two absolutely beautiful baby daughters. When she was pregnant with each one I couldn't help but think of our days of playing Life and wonder what names she would choose for her precious babies. Destiny Marie is 2 years old now, and Stacy Jacqueline is 9 months. When I went home about a month ago I was so pleased to be able to hang out with Katie and the girls, they are just adorable. Thanks for being such a great friend!

Scrapbooking

I've never considered myself to be very creative, but after giving one of my best friends from college a bridal shower back in April, I decided I wanted to make a scrapbook for her with the pictures I'd taken from the shower. And I found out that I actually really like scrapbooking, and it's not as hard as I thought it would be! :) I just bought a small scrapbook, purchased a package of various decorated letters, assembled the pictures I'd taken at the shower, gathered some stickers I had plus a couple of plates from the shower, the confetti, napkins, invitations, etc., and two weeks later, voila! I ended up with a finished product! Of course it isn't anything professional, especially compared to what people who are pro scrapbookers produce, but I think it came out pretty nice. And of course I had plenty of help from my darling kittens, who follow me around the house and always want to be right in the middle of whatever I'm doing. :)