I have just a few more friends to write about. But first, I am just thinking about a conversation I had with Heather yesterday, and how we both feel so blessed to have a variety of friends. It's really a good thing if you think about it. Some people are threatened by having more than one close friend. It's like they need all the attention or something. I don't know because I am not like that. I like to have a variety so depending on the need, I know who to go to. Anyway, this next friend is one from a while back as well.
I have been on five missions trips, two of which were to Jamaica with Lancaster Bible College. The first was in '93, when I was just 16. The summer after that, I was just dying to go back. I loved the ministry there. So I re-applied and was accepted. It was on that trip that I met a girl named Daphne. She and I instantly clicked. Part of the connection was that we are the same age (and there was a variety of ages on that team). She is another one who I would consider like a sister. She and I actually are pretty different. We joke about how I always see the cup half full and she sees it half empty. She can't stand the show "Jon and Kate Plus 8" which just happens to be my favorite show. Things like that we joke about, but I actually think our differences, like mentioned with some other friends, help me to gain a better perspective on things...or life in general.
Daph and I finished that trip and both headed off to Lancaster Bible College just shortly after. Unfortunately, (so I thought at the time) we did not get to be roommates as we had hoped, but we did become great friends. She left LBC after the first year there, but we stayed close. Out of five girls I could pick as my bridesmaids, she was one of them. (Three sisters, Melissa, and her) I don't know what it is that has kept us close all these years- besides just a good foundational background as friends, and then I guess having kids at the same time, etc. I say that because she lives in PA (just near Hershey, and was the great one who sent me free tickets for my birthday this year!), so we don't get to see each other often. We do, however, email almost daily.
I love Daphne because she is real, she is organized, she is smart, and we can laugh (usually at me) over things that happened in the past. She inspires me to get more creative with homeschooling (which she is excellent at), and how to get outside of my box of routine things that I always do with my kids. She is a good resource.
I think the best friendships are ones where both parties rely on each other for help. This is the case with Daphne and me. When she's down or just wishing some things were different with her family, she will ask me to pray. She probably knows I will try and make some kind of joke to cheer her up (and I do pray!). When I am disorganized and insecure about something, I ask Daph's advice on how to get things straightened out again and just keep going. We both bring out the good in each other. She brings me to reality and I encourage her to dream a little. It's fun, and I am thankful for how God brought us together, and allowed us to walk through life together for many (14 to be exact) years!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Yankees
So yesterday was Scott's 32nd birthday. His brother, Tim, is out visiting, and treated us (Tim, Scott, Max and me) to a Yankees vs. Orioles baseball game in Baltimore last night. I love Camden Yards- it's a great stadium, where all seats are great!
Tim went down earlier than we did, so we drove alone. We were looking for a parking spot (garage, lot, whatever) and everything was $20-$25! Unbelievable! We spotted a lot for $10 and as we turned around, I saw some spots on the street, and even though during the day they are metered, after 6pm they are FREE- it was 6:15. God blessed us!
The game was so exciting! Not only did I get to see 5 homeruns, 4 of them were by the Yanks. And, not only that, but the first two were back to back...and so were the second two. I have never seen that once, let alone twice! It was great.
The thing that was so shocking to me was the amount of Yankees fans. I would say the majority of people there were rooting for the Yanks. That was fine by me...because I just joined right in. Anyway, all this to say that I think I enjoyed this game as much as the guys did. I could go watch baseball every night. I just love it. Football, no. But Baseball, yes! There's my post for the day! :)
Tim went down earlier than we did, so we drove alone. We were looking for a parking spot (garage, lot, whatever) and everything was $20-$25! Unbelievable! We spotted a lot for $10 and as we turned around, I saw some spots on the street, and even though during the day they are metered, after 6pm they are FREE- it was 6:15. God blessed us!
The game was so exciting! Not only did I get to see 5 homeruns, 4 of them were by the Yanks. And, not only that, but the first two were back to back...and so were the second two. I have never seen that once, let alone twice! It was great.
The thing that was so shocking to me was the amount of Yankees fans. I would say the majority of people there were rooting for the Yanks. That was fine by me...because I just joined right in. Anyway, all this to say that I think I enjoyed this game as much as the guys did. I could go watch baseball every night. I just love it. Football, no. But Baseball, yes! There's my post for the day! :)
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
A lot going on
This last week and a half has surely been a crazy one. There have been some really good times and some stressful ones as well. Let's start with the positives...
Last Friday I was able to spend my birthday at Hersheypark with my husband- just the two of us. We have not been there alone in 10 years. The thing I found so fun that day was getting pictures of us on rides that I had gotten 10 years ago (our first date as a matter of fact), and now comparing them. I am going to get a frame and put them in it. I think it will be fun. We did have a blast and I was so thankful for my friend, Daphne, (the next on my list to write about) for sending me FREE tickets for the day.
Then, on Monday, I had my sister come over again to babysit for me all day. What a good girl. I headed up to a mall in Lancaster to meet two of my college friends, Daphne and Becca. We had an absolute BLAST shopping from about 11 am until 9 pm. I spent all my birthday money and got tons of stuff. Sales were awesome, and that is the way to go. God blessed my day!
Yesterday was Paige's birthday. I got up and cleaned the house until my sister came over and we all headed off to Chuck E Cheese's. (Yeah, I say it's for the kids, but it's always for me because it's my favorite place!) Then we got food at Costco, came home, and set up the food for a party. All my family (except my brother, Adam's family) came. It was such a great party. It felt like Christmas!
Today I am cleaning up the mess and getting ready for Scott's brother and friend to come stay with us for a few days. They will be here a couple days this week, then a few more next week, and then some days in Sept. I haven't seen Tim since we've moved so it will be good to hang out again.
Last week we officially started school, and that has been so so so great! It is wonderful teaching all my kids and doing it individually with all of them. I love homeschooling! I find myself sitting there smiling as I watch them doing their work. I laugh to myself when I notice the differences between each kid. It's so obvious, and I am thankful to God for giving me the ability to do this. I would be missing out on so much. (Like when the kids come home from Sunday School and I just trash their papers right away so we don't have junk lying around- I had no idea what they were doing. I'm sure it was good, but I wasn't part of it, so I don't have that excitement that I would have if I were teaching.) I love knowing each day exactly what they are doing- and making it fit for them and their learning styles. It's so fun...and much easier than I ever would have expected.
Those are the highlights of my week. The negative is that my sister-in-law, Kristy, has decided to "run away from home." She just up and left with the two kids and we don't know where she is. We think she's in Nevada. She talks to her mom every once in a while, and we know everyone's fine, but she is just not thinking clearly. Apparently, she finally talked to her husband, Chris, yesterday and said she doesn't love him and doesn't want to be his wife anymore. It's so sad, and although Kristy has done many crazy things that the family would not approve of, we are usually not so shocked as we are now. I can't believe she has done this, and I am praying that somehow God will grab her heart and "knock some sense into her." It is going to take an act of God. I know He can do it, but have no idea if that is part of His plan. I say all this to ask if you would pray with us. Hopefully one day soon I can add this situation to the "good things that happened this week" section of my blog!!!
Last Friday I was able to spend my birthday at Hersheypark with my husband- just the two of us. We have not been there alone in 10 years. The thing I found so fun that day was getting pictures of us on rides that I had gotten 10 years ago (our first date as a matter of fact), and now comparing them. I am going to get a frame and put them in it. I think it will be fun. We did have a blast and I was so thankful for my friend, Daphne, (the next on my list to write about) for sending me FREE tickets for the day.
Then, on Monday, I had my sister come over again to babysit for me all day. What a good girl. I headed up to a mall in Lancaster to meet two of my college friends, Daphne and Becca. We had an absolute BLAST shopping from about 11 am until 9 pm. I spent all my birthday money and got tons of stuff. Sales were awesome, and that is the way to go. God blessed my day!
Yesterday was Paige's birthday. I got up and cleaned the house until my sister came over and we all headed off to Chuck E Cheese's. (Yeah, I say it's for the kids, but it's always for me because it's my favorite place!) Then we got food at Costco, came home, and set up the food for a party. All my family (except my brother, Adam's family) came. It was such a great party. It felt like Christmas!
Today I am cleaning up the mess and getting ready for Scott's brother and friend to come stay with us for a few days. They will be here a couple days this week, then a few more next week, and then some days in Sept. I haven't seen Tim since we've moved so it will be good to hang out again.
Last week we officially started school, and that has been so so so great! It is wonderful teaching all my kids and doing it individually with all of them. I love homeschooling! I find myself sitting there smiling as I watch them doing their work. I laugh to myself when I notice the differences between each kid. It's so obvious, and I am thankful to God for giving me the ability to do this. I would be missing out on so much. (Like when the kids come home from Sunday School and I just trash their papers right away so we don't have junk lying around- I had no idea what they were doing. I'm sure it was good, but I wasn't part of it, so I don't have that excitement that I would have if I were teaching.) I love knowing each day exactly what they are doing- and making it fit for them and their learning styles. It's so fun...and much easier than I ever would have expected.
Those are the highlights of my week. The negative is that my sister-in-law, Kristy, has decided to "run away from home." She just up and left with the two kids and we don't know where she is. We think she's in Nevada. She talks to her mom every once in a while, and we know everyone's fine, but she is just not thinking clearly. Apparently, she finally talked to her husband, Chris, yesterday and said she doesn't love him and doesn't want to be his wife anymore. It's so sad, and although Kristy has done many crazy things that the family would not approve of, we are usually not so shocked as we are now. I can't believe she has done this, and I am praying that somehow God will grab her heart and "knock some sense into her." It is going to take an act of God. I know He can do it, but have no idea if that is part of His plan. I say all this to ask if you would pray with us. Hopefully one day soon I can add this situation to the "good things that happened this week" section of my blog!!!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Jen
Perfect timing...I just received an award, which I will blog about next, from my friend, Jen, and I was just about to write this new post about her...another friend in Oregon.
For those of you who have been to my house, you will know Jen by the picture that is sitting next to my coffee maker. It's of me with four of my close friends in Oregon. We all signed it, which I think was a fun idea (not my own). This is the Jen I am writing about today...Jen Rouse.
If I want to describe her, I just have to tell you that as I was all worked up about some crazy story I heard (via email) of a little boy who was killed while going into a men's restroom alone, Jen, my most sensible friend, just encouraged me to look on Snopes. How simple was that? But I don't think like she does, obviously. I get all crazy and emotional and weird :) and Jen is there to calmly say, "Amy, let's give this a little more thought." Now I certainly don't want to portray Jen as being boring or too intellegent- she is a lot of fun. I have laughed hard many times with Jen and appreciate so much that she has both sides. She is probably the most well-rounded person I know. It's like she can laugh with you, cry with you, be crazy with you, but also bring you down to reality quickly when you need it. In a world full of many unstable people, it sure is nice to have someone like Jen around! :)
I would say that I love our differences. Jen helps me see a different side to things, but at the same time, is so fun and has the same real life struggles that I have. It makes it easy to sit and have a conversation with her because you never feel judged, you don't have to be fake, and you know you've been heard and understood. One of my favorite memories with Jen was maybe a month or so before we were going to move and I was babysitting her girls for a couple hours. When she came to pick them up, we got to talking and the subject of our move came up. She got teary and so did I. If you know me, I absolutely hate to cry in front of people, but I was amazed that I did not feel uncomfortable with Jen in that situation. We both knew how sad it would be to not see each other as often as we would have if we didn't move (especially now that we lived in the same town), and most of all to not be able to watch our kids grow up together in the same way.
Yes, I miss Jen. I wish she could come over for dinner tonight. I wish I could watch her girls tomorrow (including Evie, whom I still haven't met! Sad!) and see my kids' faces when they got to see each other again. But, I appreciate that we are still friends via email, blogging, and the sweet letters Beth sends in the mail.
Jen, I do appreciate who you are. You are one of a kind, really! That is awesome because you are the one person everyone can count on. You are reliable, trustworthy, and mature. At the same time you have a great sense of humor (anyone knows that if you know who she's married to! :) Eric is just crazy!). I'm thankful that we had a chance to get close, even if it was just in time for us to move out here. We struggled with things at church, and I feel that brought us close in a way that will be an eternal bond. As hard as those times were, I'm thankful for them. I think all of our friendships are stronger because of that! I love you, Jen!
For those of you who have been to my house, you will know Jen by the picture that is sitting next to my coffee maker. It's of me with four of my close friends in Oregon. We all signed it, which I think was a fun idea (not my own). This is the Jen I am writing about today...Jen Rouse.
If I want to describe her, I just have to tell you that as I was all worked up about some crazy story I heard (via email) of a little boy who was killed while going into a men's restroom alone, Jen, my most sensible friend, just encouraged me to look on Snopes. How simple was that? But I don't think like she does, obviously. I get all crazy and emotional and weird :) and Jen is there to calmly say, "Amy, let's give this a little more thought." Now I certainly don't want to portray Jen as being boring or too intellegent- she is a lot of fun. I have laughed hard many times with Jen and appreciate so much that she has both sides. She is probably the most well-rounded person I know. It's like she can laugh with you, cry with you, be crazy with you, but also bring you down to reality quickly when you need it. In a world full of many unstable people, it sure is nice to have someone like Jen around! :)
I would say that I love our differences. Jen helps me see a different side to things, but at the same time, is so fun and has the same real life struggles that I have. It makes it easy to sit and have a conversation with her because you never feel judged, you don't have to be fake, and you know you've been heard and understood. One of my favorite memories with Jen was maybe a month or so before we were going to move and I was babysitting her girls for a couple hours. When she came to pick them up, we got to talking and the subject of our move came up. She got teary and so did I. If you know me, I absolutely hate to cry in front of people, but I was amazed that I did not feel uncomfortable with Jen in that situation. We both knew how sad it would be to not see each other as often as we would have if we didn't move (especially now that we lived in the same town), and most of all to not be able to watch our kids grow up together in the same way.
Yes, I miss Jen. I wish she could come over for dinner tonight. I wish I could watch her girls tomorrow (including Evie, whom I still haven't met! Sad!) and see my kids' faces when they got to see each other again. But, I appreciate that we are still friends via email, blogging, and the sweet letters Beth sends in the mail.
Jen, I do appreciate who you are. You are one of a kind, really! That is awesome because you are the one person everyone can count on. You are reliable, trustworthy, and mature. At the same time you have a great sense of humor (anyone knows that if you know who she's married to! :) Eric is just crazy!). I'm thankful that we had a chance to get close, even if it was just in time for us to move out here. We struggled with things at church, and I feel that brought us close in a way that will be an eternal bond. As hard as those times were, I'm thankful for them. I think all of our friendships are stronger because of that! I love you, Jen!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Oregon Friends- Heather
I decided to write about my Oregon friends for those of you from Maryland who read my blog. How about that?
Let me start with Heather. Do you ever have one of those friends you just feel really connected with? It seems like you can talk and just completely understand what the other person is saying. The interesting thing about mine and Heather's relationship is that we aren't exactly alike. We have different interests in many ways. I would actually like to be more like Heather and have the priorities in life that she has. She is probably the friend I admire the most. I just think she has it all together! And, no, I am not putting her up on some kind of unreachable petastal. I just mean that she is a very balanced person and her emotions don't guide the decisions she makes for her family. I really appreciate that because it's an area I know I could stand to work on.
Heather really inspires me. She is the one who encourages me the most in my spiritual life as well. I love her because she challenges me in ways that are very non-threatening. We have some kind of awesome connection, and usually it's not about the superficial things in life. We have a deeper friendship than that.
I also think it's awesome that even though I have been away from OR for 8 months now, and both of us have taken different roads than we were leading before I left, we still really understand each other and still have some of the same struggles and frustrations. It lends itself to great conversations.
I would say that Heather is the one who I have grown up the most with in my adult life. I am so thankful that she pursued our friendship almost immediately after I moved to Oregon. She is the one who kept me sane, but also gave me a great time, all the years I lived out there. We started out just newly married, then we have enjoyed being pregnant together, and now we are both homeschooling and sharing similar experiences all along the way. I love that.
Heather, you are like a sister to me, and I love you so very much. I think it's rare to meet someone later in life (after school days) and still be able to develop a friendship that is like one you've had your whole life. I think you are great, and I miss you!
Let me start with Heather. Do you ever have one of those friends you just feel really connected with? It seems like you can talk and just completely understand what the other person is saying. The interesting thing about mine and Heather's relationship is that we aren't exactly alike. We have different interests in many ways. I would actually like to be more like Heather and have the priorities in life that she has. She is probably the friend I admire the most. I just think she has it all together! And, no, I am not putting her up on some kind of unreachable petastal. I just mean that she is a very balanced person and her emotions don't guide the decisions she makes for her family. I really appreciate that because it's an area I know I could stand to work on.
Heather really inspires me. She is the one who encourages me the most in my spiritual life as well. I love her because she challenges me in ways that are very non-threatening. We have some kind of awesome connection, and usually it's not about the superficial things in life. We have a deeper friendship than that.
I also think it's awesome that even though I have been away from OR for 8 months now, and both of us have taken different roads than we were leading before I left, we still really understand each other and still have some of the same struggles and frustrations. It lends itself to great conversations.
I would say that Heather is the one who I have grown up the most with in my adult life. I am so thankful that she pursued our friendship almost immediately after I moved to Oregon. She is the one who kept me sane, but also gave me a great time, all the years I lived out there. We started out just newly married, then we have enjoyed being pregnant together, and now we are both homeschooling and sharing similar experiences all along the way. I love that.
Heather, you are like a sister to me, and I love you so very much. I think it's rare to meet someone later in life (after school days) and still be able to develop a friendship that is like one you've had your whole life. I think you are great, and I miss you!
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