Celebrating Life...

I'm realizing that birthdays are so much more than celebrating your own life...
In fact, birthdays should be about celebrating the lives of those who have made me who I am today. So I want to take time to thank those who have made me who I am...
Thank you to my faithful friends who have taught me what real friendship looks like, thank you to my family who has loved me unconditionally. Thank you to the people who have gotten up at six in the morning just to spend some time praying for those around us.

Thank you to those who have allowed me to be goofy and have laughed with me. Thank you friends and family who have taught me to dig deeper in God's Word. Thank you to faithful women in my life who have shown me not to settle for anything less than God's best.
Thank you for sharing your lives and love with me. Thank you for being who you are for your love has made me who I am today.
Thank you Jesus for such deep love and friendship that you have shown us that we can experience here on earth, and Lord I thank you, that no matter how great a friend or how deep the love~ the best awaits us when we are with you. 1 Corinthians 2:9 *No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him*
THANK YOU JESUS for being the best of friends....

Shout out to the brothers...

I decided today that there is nothing better than my brothers... I was thinking of this today because my Tokyo campus director, Mark Rood, told me he would like to have Mary and I arrive in Tokyo the (and he just threw this date out there) "13th of December". This is not just any date but my brother Jordan's (not the brother pictured) birthday. The big 2-9 that day. So that got me thinking... I never thank my brothers enough for the job they did, raising me.
Thank you Jeremy for teaching me to always try new things. If not for Jeremy's creative and adventurous spirit I don't think I would be as adventurous as I consider myself today. Jeremy went first in our family, FIRST. I don't think that would be very easy. Jeremy was the first to leave home, the first to test limits, letting me go further because of his first travels.
Thanks Jordan for installing in me the fear of "Itsy Bitsy Spider"~ if not for your sweet voice singing that song year after year while tickling me into tears and once peeing my pants, I would not be so fearful of that song.
Thank you Jonah for being the brother who challenged my faith and put in me a sense of claiming my faith as my own... It was Jonah's faith change at the University of Iowa that made me want to go there myself when I was applying for college, to experience the same kind of heart change.
With Jeremy I've learned to appreciate art, both pottery and cooking. Jeremy and I made pottery for our parents one time, he molded the clay and once it was fired I was going to paint it... except the store we went to lost it.
With Jordan I learned to ride my bike, without training wheels and without fear. I learned to love my sense of humor and appreciate my laugh. Jordan has a sense of humor I love, since usually I am the only one who is laughing at his jokes. :)
With Jonah I learned to appreciate wisdom and stuff that doesn't really make sense to me. Jonah is extremely smart... I mean, I think all my brothers are genuises, but Jonah? Jonah is actually a genius.
Hmm...
There is nothing better than my brothers... except maybe my sister-in-laws, but that is another blog all in itself. :)