June 15, 2005

The past couple days have been a whirlwind. I feel like I have been running around SO much with about 100 things to do, when really, all I have done is homework and work. I have taken breaks to walk around Boomer with Edwin and Caitlin however. That was so much fun! By the time we got home, we were hungry. So, we did what any redblooded American would do at a time like this. We went to IHOP at 10 o'clock. Mmm...pancakes...On to other news...my friend Lena had her baby today. Rylee Elizabeth was born this morning in Norman. I haven't been able to see her yet, but I can only assume that she's absolutely gorgeous. Her mom is beautiful. I hope to get to see her over the 4th when my dad is here. He and her dad were in the Army together way back in the day, which is how Lena and I came to know each other. I haven't seen her in 8 years! OMG!My good buddy Nathan (high school chum) called me yesterday and is the new 1st grade teacher at Kanan Academy in Champaign/Urbana, Illinois. I swear you guys, that man is like the Kindergarten Cop! He is probably 6'7" or so and at least 250. The boy is an all state wrestler and one hell of a guitar player. He is going to entertain those kids like the Poppa Bear that he is. I am so proud of him. He also works for a high risk day care and looks after baby's that wouldn't normally have someone there to love them. If my kids ever get to be in his class, they'll be so lucky to have Bear taking care of them.I got THE sweetest card from a client of ours today. She is this sweet, 86 year old lady who ADORES me. She'll call just to tell me I 'sound pretty today' or that I 'brighten her days in a way I could never possibly imagine'. I tell you what, if I can grow to be half the woman she is, I will have not a worry in life. She sees everyday as a sign of hope and as an opportunity to make someone else feel good. She has such a beautiful spirit. Her HANDMADE card said, 'To Our Dearest Liz, There is no one else in the world like you and you brighten my life each time we speak. You are a treasure. Love, Your 86 Year Old Friend, Virgie."Isn't that sweet?! What a doll...On the subject of friends...I need you all to read my friend Drew's blog. I made the mistake of reading it this morning when I was trying to get ready for work. I was bawling my eyes out and had mascara running down my face. I was teasing Drew the other day about how he called me a 'friend' and not a 'best friend' and how I was SO insulted. Haha! Drew took that, and ran with it. He is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. Through every trial I have gone through, he has been there with a smile on his face and a song on the tip of his tongue. Whether it was 'I Feel Pretty' or 'Baby Got Back', he always knew how to make me smile. Drew has this exceptional way of making everyone he meets feel incredibly important. For example, he met my roommates ONE time, and when he needed a friend, they put their lives on hold, packed up the Escape, and drove with me. 600+ miles! He had touched their lives in such a way, that after one meeting, they felt like he had loved them for a lifetime, just like I had. Only I was lucky enough to have had him as my friend since the eighth grade. I had moved to a new place with a new school and new people. I had never been so scared in all my life. Then, one day we were introduced and I knew instantly that I wanted to know this person better. He sat behind me at an assembly and he laughed at some random comment I had made (imagine that). I always knew that when I was talking to Drew, he was hanging on every word I said, waiting with a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on, or an energetic laugh that joined with mine in a way I could never verbally describe. His compassion, talent, courage, strength and love are what got me through some of the hardest times in my life, and what gave me the courage to take each day, one step at a time. He says in his blog that I have an amazing strength, but what he forgot to tell you, is that he is the one I get my strength from. He is the rock that I lean on and the faith I cling to. I know most of this sounds like, blah, blah, blah, but it is so incredibly hard to put my feelings for him into words. To my dear Drew, you are everything that I could have ever hoped for in a friend, everything I never got from my gene pool family ;) and everything that makes me excited for our future as family. You have helped to make me the person I am today. I love you so, so very much.Always, Liz
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