belated slideshow from ian's birthday

at scioto trails...

why i love peggy

god is so ridiculously amazing...

peggy doesn't realize this, but her calls to me always come at the right time, which, as it turns out, is actually all about HIS timing.

i was just sharing with her that i may have to change my meds...that things have been "off" for three weeks. her response:

"okay, this is fixable. we can fix this. no problem."

and i told her i love her for that.

'cause i do.

abby

yesterday, dan and laura sweetly invited us to abby's first birthday party. abby's my girl. there. i said it. she's mine. i will only share her with her parents. that's it. the rest of y'all are just out of luck.

dan and laura are wondefully kind and generous and fun. i'm so honored they asked us to share in abby's special day.

look at her. she's just so ridiculously adorable...

snakes and snails and puppy dog tails . . .

that's what grayson is made of. 

grayson is my adopted nephew and adorably ornery son of my beautiful friend peggy.  today, the kids and i went to grayson's birthday party at petland.  hilarity ensued.  and yes, kate and ian left wanting a puppy...a $1500 yorkie, to be exact.  (uh, that ain't happenin'.)

oh, and i want to officially wish peg good luck in getting that green icing off grayson's face.  (some icing fell on the floor at petland and actually left a stain!)

birthday boys

(above: wyatt, landon, and ian)

tracey lamerson graciously allowed me to combine ian's birthday celebration with wyatt's last night ~ resulting in nine boys playing, fighting, wrestling, hitting, roasting hotdogs & marshmallows, telling ghost stories, watching movies, and finally sleeping (around 3:00 a.m.). aunt juj and taylor even crashed the party (aunt juj had both ted and tracey as students in high school!). the kids had a blast, and ted and tracey were so incredibly hospitable. we really love them alot.

"Boys are beyond the range of anybody's sure understanding, at least when they are between the ages of 18 months and 90 years." -James Thurber

fishing with the lamersons

ted sweetly invited us to their family pond last night for an evening of fishing. we brought aunt jujy along too, since she is an expert fisherman! what a beautiful evening, and the kids had a blast!

"pearl" in both the english and greek

hey guys! happy new year! i hope everyone is safe after all the frivolity of monday night!

i just got off the phone with my beautiful and talented dear friend, peggy. she's the real-life wonder woman (no kidding), for reasons i will explain in a few minutes. anyways, i told her i was going to write my first blog entry of 2008 about her, so here we go...

i love peggy for a million and one reasons. she and i can go for weeks without talking, then pick up the phone, and it's like we haven't missed a beat. she was available to me last summer during a crisis that no one else even knows about ~ i called her, broken and weeping, and she took me in for the evening. she just listened. and i needed someone to listen. there was no judgement. she simply made herself available. i will never forget that.

i'm not sure exactly HOW we became buddies. it just sorta happened. she was attending a small group at RVCC that i was leading (a looonnngggg time ago) and our relationship just took off from there. when she had isabella, i visited children's hospital frequently ~ bells was there for quite awhile ~ and i think our bond grew stronger during that time.

peg is a hygienist, which is a job i absolutely could NOT do. she is also scheduled to take her boards soon to be an anesthetist. oh wow...i couldn't do that either. she is married to a rotten, ornery, OSU buckeyes fan named mark, who just might be one of the most interesting guys to have a conversation with in the world. mark has taught me a ton of things, all from the scientific/male perspective, that are equally remarkable and hilarious.

peg has a son, grayson, who recently turned two and is a blue-eyed, handsome replica of his mama. he was just making animal noises for me on the phone, while i, instead, was trying to get him to say "go irish!" and "OSU, yuck!" it didn't work.

isabella is peggy and mark's miracle, their oldest child and amazing daughter. isabella has cfc syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that typically affects the heart (cardio-), facial features (facio-) and skin (cutaneous). bells (as she is also known) is one of approximately 100 individuals reported in the cfc literature. it is estimated that there are perhaps 200-300 people with cfc worldwide.

bells has been through it all. everyting from multiple surgeries to ensure proper drainage of fluid from the brain to her stomach, to open-heart surgery, and more. her poor little body has been through the unimaginable.

equally essential to isabella's story is peggy's fortitude and stamina and abounding love. for every struggle that bells has endured, there is peggy...not complaining, not feeling sorry for herself, not collapsing under what has to be the most profoundly heavy weight a mother could bear...fighting for her child's life. peg has always reminded me of this quote by agatha christie:

"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path."

before closing this post, i invite all of you to learn more about cfc syndrome by clicking on the link. you can also see the lovely miss bells' picture here; she is the cutie in the green top. (i think she secretly desires to be a fighting irish fan!)

the name "peggy" means "pearl" in both the english and the greek. how accurate. peggy is a pearl, a gem, a precious rarity who keeps shining, no matter what. she, mark, bells, and grayson deserve a year of good fortune, wonderful health, and abundant blesssings. my prayer is that they overflow with all three.

phyllis at the bada bing

i will forever think of phyllis a. when i see a "sally o'malley" clip! i love you phylbee!

affirmations all around

it's time for you all to hear some positive things about some of the women who frequent my blog space...

tersie (theresa) - first of all, this girl gave me the best hug on sunday morning! if you want to be inspired by someone who is absolutely striving to be the best she can be, check out her blog. amazing. i wish i had a fraction of her motivation and dedication.

jen - mrs. ford, the violinist. infinitely sweet with a wonderful laugh. i love to make her giggle! jen is a truly authentic soul. she is one of those rare people who, after meeting her the first time, i felt like we had already been friends forever.

lauren - the reason that i most admire lauren is this: she keeps plugging along when most others would have quit. she is willing to fight ~ to be undaunted. she is more spiritual at her age than i ever dreamed of being. and she is quite simply, adorable with a killer smile!

jenn r - i think that jenn and i may have been separated at birth ~ we always seem to be on the same page about things! i got to spend the day with jenn last friday, and what i love about her is her passion for outreach and touching the less fortunate. she is an example of what jesus said, "this is how others will know you belong to me...because of your LOVE."

aunt jujy (julie) - amazing sense of humor. she loves my kids, and they love her back. juj is strong and brave, although she may not think of herself that way. she doesn't realize the number of times i sent her out in life to "test the waters" first so that i could safely follow.

phyllis (amlin. posted a comment on my blog as 'anonymous', but i KNOW it was her) - gentle soul. loving soul. sweetness of spirit. if you don't know her yet, tell me, and i will introduce you. you're missing out...

peggy misita - i mean this sincerely...peggy is the most incredible mother i know. so patient. so optimistic. every day, she runs the most difficult and challenging race in the world with her daughter, belles...and she never complains. she's never tired. she's never whiny. she never feels sorry for herself. she has refused to give up. peggy is the closest thing to 'wonder woman' that i have ever seen.

heather - talk about strong. holy mackerel. and determined. geesh. i want and need to be more like heather! i think that the phrase "you go, girl!" was invented just for her!!!

in several of my previous small groups, we would end our time together affirming one another. it was always a time of humility and authenticity. as women and as christians, we should be actively involved in the process of building each other up. i honestly think it's what He would have us to do.