My Friend

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Wow..I am practically falling all over myself with excitement because I won an award over at The One-Minute Writer blog. It's a great site that I love and please take a second, or a minute, to go check it out.  It is exactly what the name implies; there is a writing prompt for the day and a timer for 60 seconds.  It's fun, creative and a blast to see what I can come up with and then also see what others contribute to the prompt.

The prompt yesterday was "Reflect on how your life has changed since March 5, 2004" and my entry (remember, I only had one minute) was this:

Hurricane Katrina slammed into the gulf coast of Mississippi in August, 2005. The storm wreaked havoc, chaos and loss for many people but for me it brought a mom and her two kids into my home and into my heart. The family stayed with me for about six months before returning home to Mississippi.

The hurricane: awful beyond words.

The friendship: God-given.

Coincidentally, I had intended on writing about my friend, Angi, today anyway so I think it's great to add the award about her on top of a tribute to her.

This chick from the hurricane, now my best friend, just came into town for a few days to help me while I recover from back surgery.  So I thought I would make some "What I love about her is..." statements so that maybe you'll get to know her and realize how special she is too!

What I love about Angi is ...

• how she loves God with all of her heart.
  
• her ability to throw down a fantastic meal!
• the way she sings a song to someone to make them feel better.
• her innate ability to appreciate and affirm others.
• how you can see her tonsils when she throws her head back laughing!
• how readily she offers love and support to her friends.
• that she's crafty and scrapbook'y and really good at it!
• when we Skype, words are barely needed because of the funny faces she makes!

So, Angi ... here's to you, my friend!

A friend sent me a link to a YouTube video and I hesitated, like I always do, about whether I should watch it or not.  I usually don't have a lot of time for "forwards", chain mail and that kind of stuff; I have even gotten pretty adept at letting others know not to fill my inbox with it.  (with a really sweet voice and a "would you mind not sending me....")

But, this friend that sent me the link, knows me well.  She knows me so well that she knew I needed to see this video. 

Will you please watch it?  I think you may need to see it too.

I realized, once I wiped my tears and blew my nose a few times, that I am blessed with many great friends!  And, we have been through much.... weathering our lives together hand-in-hand.

We've seen each other through much of what the video shares regarding life's hard blows.  We have seen diagnosis' and chemo and surgeries and parents' passing away and husbands who have walked out.  We've cried on shoulders through failed pregnancy attempts, our teenagers disappointments and our own feelings of parental inadequacy and failure.

We've experienced sheer joy when we've each discovered that we are not the only one on the planet who's found egg on our face after an embarrassing moment.  There have been lots of times filled with laughter and love and faith sharing and meal providing.

There have been a lot of prayers said on each other's behalf.

My friends.... I love you so very much!  Thank you for allowing me to journey through life with you.  ;)

Love bears all things, 

believes all things, 

hopes all things, 

endures all things.

1 Cor 13:7 ESV

Friendin' Along The Way

Watching Copernicus and his buddy Dell navigate the arduous trails of Devil's Punchbowl , I considered their ways of friendship.

Friend Rule #1:

Find a great adventure together and go for it.

Friend Rule #2:

Run like crazy...and grab a rest stop when needed.

Friend Rule #3:

Allow friends to head out on new adventures.

Friend Rule #4:

Don't be afraid to go solo for awhile.

Leavin'...on a Jet Plane

Join me and Copernicus on our way to California...

It begins in the Dulles airport as we make our way to check in.

Daddy....wait up for me.

Readying myself to put Copernicus in his crate.

Daddy says goodbye to puppy.

Puppy as baggage headed for the cargo spot on the plane

Ahhh...California!

My cross-crountry travellin' puppy waits well as friend navigates LA traffic to the airport. Hurry up, girl!

We're here!! We're here!!

Let the fun begin!!

....and not only am I in friend heaven but schnauzer brother heaven too!