Tributes

Hello.

Last week is a week I'd rather forget quite honestly. Let's start off with Friday, August 14th. This is the morning that I received a call that a friend had passed away after a 3 year battle with stomach cancer. I'd met Becca when I was in 7th grade. She my camp counselor at Yellow Creek Lake Camp. I then was reconnected with her when she began attending my church when she came to AU for college. She helped out with the youth group and she and I grew very close. That remained for a few years until she graduated and moved away. Fast forward to 2 years ago when I realized that my good friend Steph and Becca were running partners. Steph invited me to go visit Becca and we had a nice time. Then a year ago Marcus and I moved into Becca's hometown! Small world, right? I did not spend as much time with her as I would have liked. We saw each other at Carol's Corner or at ballgames or community functions. We always shared a hug and a laugh. A few weeks ago, Steph and I went over to Becca's for another visit. We ended up staying nearly 3 hours but we just didn't want it to end. We shared funny stories from our past, stories about how we met our mates, stories about the kids, she shared family photos that she had organized for her kids so they would know their heritage. It was the most perfect visit. We did head back over the night before she passed, but Jade, her husband stopped us and let us know the situation. That was very hard for me. That night I couldn't hug my boys without thinking how short life is. She has two young children also and I can't imagine not seeing them grow up. It all hit home for me that evening. The next morning we received the call. Monday was her viewing and hundreds if not a thousand showed up to pay their respects. Tuesday was her funeral. Of course there was crying, but there was also some laughter. It was almost as if Becca was there conducting it for all of us. One of the neatest tributes to her was when my friend, Steph and the other 5 or 6 ladies that would run with Becca did somewhat of a tribute run for her. They all took a flower from the gravesite and headed for a run down one of Becca's favorite roads to run. I know they had a wonderful time remembering and honoring her. I think that was the coolest idea and so fitting. She truly left her mark her on earth not only through her children and husband, but her good works. I encourage you to check out her blog where you can get a snapshot of the wonderful Godly woman she was. May she rest in peace.

To add to all of the feelings of losing a friend, I found out on Monday that two fellow employees have resigned. One will be done at the beginning of September and the other towards the end. That leaves me as the only recruiter. Ugh. Talk about stress. I've been trying to go with the flow, but it just makes me a bit nervous. Hopefully we'll get someone hired soon and we can get them trained and move on. i will miss Debbie and Susan though.

So - this weekend I just needed to veg. We had two picnics to attend. We had a great time. Marcus also went to a local tattoo parlor and got some new ink. He designed it himself (the tattoo guy perfected it though) and he is very proud of it. As he should be. It looks HUGE in these pics, but it's still small enough that when he has a short sleeved shirt on it is not visible. He wanted this tattoo to represent his faith and our boys. I think it looks great and does just that.

Last thing. Aiden is still really enjoying the 1st grade. We hear a rumor that he has a little girlfriend ... but he's not quite ready to admit that. He does tell us that they play on the monkey bars together though. Cute. We also had a meeting for Logan's preschool. UGH. So weird! Where has the time gone?