A forever friendship

Ok, fine. I think I'll come out of hiding. There's a no better time than now, right? (That's what I'm telling myself as I sit here in peace and quiet; something I never get. I pray I get this again so I can start writing again!)

And why have I been hiding, you ask? Well, most of you know my story. And I've not really been hiding. Just occupied. I got sick, then pregnant, then had a complicated delivery and then when Finn was about 10 months old we packed our bags and moved far away to . . .Omaha, Nebraska. So. Life has been crazy. Lots of ups and downs but overall, it's been one exciting adventure. My life is never dull. (I'm saying that with a smile, I promise!)

Since being here in Omaha I have found my life to be even busier than before. Well, in the mother-sense. Not so much the photographer-sense. I haven't hardly picked up my camera for any "jobs" since last summer. It's been a somewhat-difficult thing to get used to, but honestly, it's been nice. What's been keeping me so busy is the exploration of Omaha, finding new doctors, getting the kids acclimated and getting myself acclimated, plus the biggest reason, Finn, who is now 18 months, and quite the busy little guy. (That's probably an understatement.) The weeks have just flown by. Plus we've made a few trips back to Illinois, I spent 9 days in Mexico and we just got back from Walt Disney World. Like I said, my life is never dull!

Our moving . . .yeah, that's something I'll have to write more about later. If you know me, you know it's something you probably never dreamed I would do in a million years. I didn't think so either. But it has happened (God's plan!) and it has been a really great adventure. More on that another day because yeah, you're right, it's big stuff for our family.

Right now I have to remind you about one of my best friends, Alexis. She is living as an expat in Japan right now and has for a couple years now (in which I can't hardly believe it's been that long). And as you know, Japan was just hit by a category 9 earthquake followed by a tsunami within the hour which took thousands upon thousands of human lives, not to mention homes, places of work, farms . . .livelihoods. Thank God Alexis lives in Kobe south and west of Tokyo. But everything has still "hit" her and her family. So please, please think about her and their family as they journey through this very very scary time. And please continue to keep the entire country of Japan in your prayers. It's the one and only thing that is going to get these people through such a horrible time in their lives.

I told Alexis a few weeks ago that when I did start back up my blog, I already knew in my mind what it was going to be about. I didn't tell her it was going to be about her. And this was before the catastrophes took place.

See, life is never dull for Alexis, either. But when you think about it, it's never dull for any of us. Life is a journey, life is a book, life is preparation to take us to the next place . . .a place of perfection . . .something we all dream about. And that journey and preparation is different (yet so much the same) for each of us. (Ok, that was a side thought, but a thought that already resides in my head a lot as I question my own life and why I go through the things I do.)

Alexis has been a part of my own personal journey for the past 10 years. My original post was gong to be about that. A "Happy 10-year Friendship Anniversary to us!" blog post to a best friend who has literally gotten me through the worst and best times in my life. Now it's a "Happy 10-year Friendship Anniversary to us!" plus a "Stay safe, I'm praying for you and I love you so much" post.

I also have to throw in a picture (now why would I post a picture?! HA!). I thought of Alexis a few weeks ago when Neil brought home a new wine for me to try. He knew I'd like the label and when I saw the label, I almost didn't drink it so I could share it with Alexis when I next saw her because it was so cute and so perfect for her and I. But then the selfish part of me said "nah, just drink it, she'd rather you drink it and enjoy now and then you can just buy it again when you see her next". So I did. I drank it and I thought of you, Alexis, with every single delicious sip!


So back to Alexis and our friendship; many of you know our history, but some do not.

We met online 10 years ago in a pregnancy-support board. Shortly after, she and her family moved to Decatur, Illinois (where I lived at the time) from the Chicago-area after the birth of their 3rd child, Allison. Not long after their move to my town, they lost sweet Allison at 3-1/2 months old to complications with congenital heart defects. I knew from that day on that my friendship with Alexis would change me forever. There was a reason for God bringing her into my life and now I know many of those reasons. She was there with me as I learned I finally had a viable pregnancy. She got to see Noah's heart beating with me. (We celebrated!) We then shared our new pregnancies together. And the moments, memories and celebrations continued for 8 more years. I am SO incredibly thankful for this special friendship we have.
She has been a stable rock for me. Our friendship is one that will last forever . . . past life, but literally forever.

So, that said (in the shortest way I think I have ever said it!), thank you, Alexis, for your friendship, and Happy Anniversary! Looking so very forward to the next 10 years.

You can learn more about my wonderful, colorful, funny, entertaining friend at her blog (she's been much better than me at keeping up with her blogging). She has a big following so go check it out when you have time. She's an amazing writer and just by reading her stories, I can guarantee that she's immediately become your friend, too :)