Friends

I have posted before about friendship. It is something that I think about a lot. I think one of my strengths (most of the time!) is that I am a good friend. And I have been blessed throughout my life with the greatest of friends.

I don't believe in leaving people behind. Once a friend, always a friend. I can go 10 years without seeing someone and when we finally meet again, it's like we never missed a day. But even I can miss the mark sometimes.

I have recently been avoiding someone I have always considered a friend. I grew up with him, have known him since elementary school. He is a great person. He recently went through a tremendous tragedy in his life, Now more than ever he needs love and support from everyone.

I have been avoiding him because I just didn't know what to say that would let him know that I do care. I have been agonizing over it for weeks. I finally realized it doesn't matter what you say as long as you say it. Just a simple, "Hey I've been thinking about you" would be more than enough. So I did. I talked to him and I realized how silly I have been.

In friendship, a little goes a long way. A hug, a text, a phone call, a smile can brighten my day beyond words. After all, we are all here to help each other along the way.

Once a friend, always a friend.

Last week was our 14th anniversary. We agreed to not get each other gifts because we have spent so much money putting in our yard this summer.

The day after the big day, Ross surprised me with this beautiful road bike. I gave him "the look" and he said, "It's not our anniversary today. This cannot be considered an anniversary present." I told him he cheated but I was so ecstatic about the bike. I have wanted one since I "retired" from running. We went out on a ride the other day and it is smooth as buttah. SO NICE!

We have a long standing joke between us because I always say I want whatever exercise gear I have to be cute and girly. I think you can have great stuff and look like a babe too. He decked everything out in pink for me. He knows me too well ;) Thanks honey for the not-anniversary-present!

Hope

There are some games in which cheering for the other side feels better than winning.
Gainesville State players douse head coach Mark Williams in celebration.

They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas. It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through.

Did you hear that? The other team's fans? They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, "Go Tornadoes!" Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions. "I WOULDN'T EXPECT ANOTHER PARENT TO TELL SOMEBODY TO HIT THEIR KIDS. BUT THEY WANTED US TO!" It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name.

"I never in my life thought I'd hear people cheering for us to hit their kids," recalls Gainesville's QB and middle linebacker, Isaiah. "I wouldn't expect another parent to tell somebody to hit their kids. But they wanted us to!" And even though Faith walloped them 33-14, the Gainesville kids were so happy that after the game they gave head coach Mark Williams a sideline squirt-bottle shower like he'd just won state. Gotta be the first Gatorade bath in history for an 0-9 coach.
But then you saw the 12 uniformed officers escorting the 14 Gainesville players off the field and two and two started to make four. They lined the players up in groups of five—handcuffs ready in their back pockets—and marched them to the team bus. That's because Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility 75 miles north of Dallas. Every game it plays is on the road.

This all started when Faith's head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the Gainesville team. Faith had never played Gainesville, but he already knew the score. After all, Faith was 7-2 going into the game, Gainesville 0-8 with 2 TDs all year. Faith has 70 kids, 11 coaches, the latest equipment and involved parents. Gainesville has a lot of kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery—many of whose families had disowned them—wearing seven-year-old shoulder pads and ancient helmets. So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans—for one night only—cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking the Faithful to do just that. "Here's the message I want you to send:" Hogan wrote. "You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth." Some people were naturally confused. One Faith player walked into Hogan's office and asked, "Coach, why are we doing this?" And Hogan said, "Imagine if you didn't have a home life. Imagine if everybody had pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you." Next thing you know, the Gainesville Tornadoes were turning around on their bench to see something they never had before. Hundreds of fans. And actual cheerleaders! "I thought maybe they were confused," said Alex, a Gainesville lineman (only first names are released by the prison). "They started yelling 'DEE-fense!' when their team had the ball. I said, 'What? Why they cheerin' for us?'"
It was a strange experience for boys who most people cross the street to avoid. "We can tell people are a little afraid of us when we come to the games," says Gerald, a lineman who will wind up doing more than three years. "You can see it in their eyes. They're lookin' at us like we're criminals. But these people, they were yellin' for us! By our names!"

Maybe it figures that Gainesville played better than it had all season, scoring the game's last two touchdowns. Of course, this might be because Hogan put his third-string nose guard at safety and his third-string cornerback at defensive end. Still. After the game, both teams gathered in the middle of the field to pray and that's when Isaiah surprised everybody by asking to lead. "We had no idea what the kid was going to say," remembers Coach Hogan. But Isaiah said this: "Lord, I don't know how this happened, so I don't know how to say thank You, but I never would've known there was so many people in the world that cared about us." And it was a good thing everybody's heads were bowed because they might've seen Hogan wiping away tears.
As the Tornadoes walked back to their bus under guard, they each were handed a bag for the ride home—a burger, some fries, a soda, some candy, a Bible and an encouraging letter from a Faith player.

The Gainesville coach saw Hogan, grabbed him hard by the shoulders and said, "You'll never know what your people did for these kids tonight. You'll never, ever know."
And as the bus pulled away, all the Gainesville players crammed to one side and pressed their hands to the window, staring at these people they'd never met before, watching their waves and smiles disappearing into the night.

Anyway, with the economy six feet under, it's nice to know that one of the best presents you can give is still absolutely free.

HOPE.

made by K-lo

I have formed a new company. Made by K-lo has officially launched. Please go check it out! I will be adding new stuff all the time.

made by K-lo

Tragedy and Rebirth

I remember September 11th like it was yesterday. We lived in Clinton. Ross worked in Salt Lake so we were all still sleeping after he left. I remember him calling to tell me to get up and turn on the tv. I was watching the news feed when the second plane hit. I remember the feelings of disbelief as we all started to realize that this was an intentional attack. I was horrified.

My thoughts immediately turned to my little sister Alison who was living in New Jersey at the time. She was supposed to be in New York some time that week and I began praying that it was not this day. I started calling her and it would be more than 12 hours later when we finally heard from her that she was ok and she never made it to the city that day.

I cried more and prayed more that day than I had in a long time. I prayed for my sister, for those people that I knew would never see a loved one again, for the many, many people that stepped up to the plate and died to help others live. I prayed for my country and my President.

For all the grief, confusion, hate and fear that came from that day, there were more stories of courage, heroism, charity, brotherly love and kindness. Our president called for us to bond together as a nation and pray together. I learned so many lessons in the wake of that tragedy and I saw the hand of God everywhere.

About a year later, I went to visit that sister and we went to ground zero. It had changed much. Most of the debri was gone. I was overwhelmed with the many pictures still posted around the city of missing people that I knew would never be found. But I could feel the spirits of those that had been there. And that they live on.

I believe everything happens for a reason. If nothing else, it gave people a purpose and something to believe in, even if for just a small moment. And for me, it brought back hope in the human spirit. Nothing can break us until we let it.

I will always have great reverence for this day. I continue to pray for those who were lost, those who were found and those who sacrificed so much for all of us.

Simple Treasures Boutique

Musings

I love Sundays. They are a day to reflect. A day to connect with God and with loved ones. I think a lot. About me, my family, friends, people I know, how I can make the world a better place by making me a better person.

I am working a lot lately on becoming who God intends me to become. Becoming like Christ will take a lifetime, if not more. It is a process that I mess up so much because I am so imperfect but I have the desire and I want so much to be better.

I know that with Heavenly Father's help I can be. So I am putting all my effort out there and I am trusting that He will lead me where I need to go. Even though I am a work in progress, I feel great peace in knowing that I am on the right path.

The Parable of the Imperfect Pot

A water bearer in India carried two large pots on the end of a pole. He went daily to the stream and returned to his master's house with water. One of the pots was perfect, while the other had a crack, leaking at least half of its contents before the servant reached his master's home. After a year, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishment. However, the cracked pot was ashamed of its flaw and apologized for its inability to provide a full pot of water at the end of each day's journey. The water bearer told the cracked pot to notice the road as they returned from the stream. The cracked pot watched and saw a wide variety of beautiful flowers blooming only on one side of the road. The water bearer said, :I have always known about your flaw, so I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the road. Every day you watered them. If you hadn't been just the way you are, I wouldn't have been able to pick those beautiful flowers to grace my master's table. Each of us, like this pot has our own strengths and flaws. Uniqueness is what sets us apart from others. Our gift might be that we can make others laugh or that we live our life with integrity. Let's celebrate our own uniqueness, and try to find it in those around us as well.

Whose kid are you?

The other day I was teasing the boys. Just generally being annoying and weird, you know, like all moms do. Corbin looked up and said, "I knew it was a mistake leaving that orphanage."

Holy Crow! He is so funny!

Life Lessons

This is a good e-mail I received.

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone..
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents
will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journeyis all
about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never
blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to
you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an
answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it
for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this
matter?".
26. Always choose life.
27. Forgive everyone everything.
28.. What other people think of you is none of your business.
29. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
31. Don't take yourself so seriously.. No one else does.
32. Believe in miracles.
33. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or
didn't do.
34. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
35. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
36. Your children get only one childhood.
37. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
38. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
39. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours
back.
40. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
41. The best is yet to come.
42. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
43. Yield.
44. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.