Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Friends are the joy of life.....

Okay friends, I must start with an apology. I missed my writing a blog yesterday :( I am so sorry. I was really proud of myself for getting one written everyday, but yesterday was a crazy day. As many of you know, my job has not been going well. I LOVE what I do, teaching preschool, however, I work at a small Christian school that is privately funded and we have been DEEPLY AFFECTED by the economy. I have only been averaging 4-5 hours a day and I just cannot make it on this little amount of money. So yesterday, I had another interview in the line of interviews I have had lately. I went into each one prayerfully considering that God had a plan and I wanted his will. This interview was at another daycare, one that is growing and expanding and offers job security. One that will even offer to help pay for my education to get my Child Development Associate or my Early Childhood Associate. This will open many doors for me! Within a half hour of the interview, I got a call, offering me the job! I had been told they had others to interview and Id hear back by the end of the week, but when the call came, they shared with me that they didnt want to interview anyone else, I had impressed them so much that they knew that they couldnt find someone better. This was both exciting and humbling for me! Humbling because I dont see what they see....Im working on that, but Im not fully there yet :) And also because it was pretty obvious that God was speaking to me clearly that he had my life in his hands!!

Today was no less busy. Starting with a meeting at 10 am at church where the pastor offered me a volunteer position with young adult ministry in our church. This was a great meeting, because I have been looking for a place to minister more. I lead worship every other Sunday and I am the missions director, but I WANTED TO DO MORE! I then went in to work and had a great day with my kiddos. After work I had another meeting to discuss the Camp I will be co directing the youth program for this summer, Camp Zion is going to be alot of fun. We also had to discuss the upcoming retreat that we will hopefully be having for the youth in our Evangelical Conference. And then it was home to have some supper and relax and watch Parenthood :)

All of that to say that I finally see God beginning to move in my life and show me the reasons he has called me back to Oskaloosa for this season of my life! I went through a pretty tough place and have been really upset and concerned, but Im here now, seeing that God had me in his hands the whole time!!

So now to share with you about my friends. I am going to combine yesterday and todays blogs :)

First of all, Megan, Angie, and Stephanie. These were me 3 best friends in high school. We had some great times together. One of my favorite memories with these 3 girls is our annual Christmas parties! Every year at Christmas the four of us would have an overnight Christmas party. We would exchange gifts, watch Christmas movies, play games and just laugh and have a good time. I remember the year that we got in a fight and Megan and I started talking to each other in sign language because we knew it and Ang and Steph didnt :) We were in high school, we werent being mean, we were just being teenage girls! I remember the year that I went to get a hair cut, Meg had gone with me and they stylists had talked me into a very short hair cut, we came back to the house and noone knew what to think or say. IT WAS AWFUL! Id scan it in if I had my scanner, but to give you an idea, my brother called me "mushroom top" for the next few months. My curls made my hair poof and the top of my head did look like a large toadstool! These parties were so much fun. And so was our friendship.

Megan- Megan and I were like sisters back in high school. I was at her house alot and her family was like my family :) We had lots of Friday Night sleepovers. I remember when I had my baby think it over project for high school. I had to bring home one of those baby dolls that you take care of for the weekend. Megan and I were doing a great job taking care of her. We didnt have a night light when it came time for bed, and we wanted some dark so we could sleep for a few hours, so we had the idea of turning her lamp on and then just putting a tshirt over it, hours later, we woke up to a small fire in her room!! We got it put out, no serious injuries, but a memory that I will have for the rest of my life!
Megan and I loved music. We were on worship team together, she played piano and I got to sing. Her dad played guitar, and we had a great time. Our talks were some of the best talks ever. See with Megan, I know that I have a forever friend. Megan and I have not seen each other for several years, but I know that if I need someone to pray for me, she will. I know that if I ever needed someone to talk to, I could go to her. I am SO PROUD of the woman Megan has become, she is a beautiful mother to 2 equally beautiful boys, she is an incredible wife and most of all, she is an amazing example of Christ. I am thankful to have her in my life and I promise you that had she not been a part of my life, back in those high school years, I would not be who I am today.
Angie and I didnt get to be quite as close as Megan and I, but I still knew that she was always there to make me laugh. Angie is a very loyal friend and cares about the poeple in her life very deeply. I have always admired that about her. She has love in her heart for people that is a love much like the love of Christ. Angie has made a huge impact on my life in just recent years. I dont get to talk to her much, but seeing the life she is living, I am so proud to know her. Angie is married to a man who has been suffering from Cancer, they are both young adults, dealing with problems that most young adults dont go through and really shouldnt have to face, if we lived in an ideal World. But to see the grace that Angie has as she goes through this trial, I am amazed. To see the unconditional love that she has for her husband. To see her loyalty to the God that is standing beside her and Brian through this, it is all just a beautiful sight to watch. I am proud to know Angie and am thankful for her willingness to love God, trust him, and life life for him in the good and the not so good times.
Stephanie and I had a fun friendship. I remember that because Steph was a few years younger than me, I would sometimes ride the bus home from school with her and her brother and hang out with them when her mom would ask. One day her little brother took out a bebe gun and wanted to shoot me because I had made him mad about something ;) Stephanie and I suffered through an illness together that none of our other friends ever had called Bels Palsy. I had it for only 3 weeks. Poor Steph had it for months! But somehow this created a bond for us :) I loved going to her home and playing games with her and just having a great time. Steph is also a beautiful and incredible mother and I am quite thankful for her influence in my life as well.
All 3 of these women life far away from me and I dont get to see them much, but they have had a profound affect on my life and I would be the same had they not been in it and were they not in it, in a different way now.

I also get the chance to get tell you about 2 of my close friends now! Marianne and Lauren are 2 of my friends that I met at work at the daycare I teach at. I will say this in a way that I hope is not too conceited, but it has never been really tough for me to make friends. I love having people in my life and I love the friends I have. I am very thankful for these 2 girls as well. With everything that is going on at work, as I shared at the beginning of this blog, I have needed them in my life.

Marianne is someone who shares my faith. To know that I have someone in my place of work that loves God the way I do, is INCREDIBLE. When I share with her that God has been speaking to me, she doesnt look at me like Im crazy, she understands and listens and then shares with me what God has been saying to her as well. Marianne has a passion to serve God and Im thankful to have someone like that, because I have that passion too. Marianne gets excited with me about the little things in life :) Weather its a guy that I like, maybe its a book Im reading that God is really using to speak to me or a band I like, Marianne gets excited with me about it and that is just something I really am thankful for in a friend!

Lauren is another great friend at work. We have both been through some dark places in our lives lately and to know that we have each other to lean on is priceless. She is the friend who I can have fun with! We laugh together. We are VERY HONEST with each other ;) Lauren is a very great friend and I am thankful for her too!!

All in all, God has blessed me with some INCREDIBLE women in my life and I cant imagine life without them, and even if I could, I wouldnt want to. I love you girls!!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Grandparents are THE BEST!

I have shared with you about my parents, my baby brother, my very BESTFRIENDS! And now its time to meet my grandparents. Here is the deal friends, I dont want you to feel sorry for me in this next part, because I know that I will meet them someday and live with them forever, but I never met any of my real grandparents.

I shared with you in my story of my parents about my mothers parents. Her father was killed in a very freak electrical accident and her mother lost her 10 year battle to Breast Cancer, both happening before she met my father and let alone had children. When I was younger I LONGED for my grandparents and I was mad I never had them in my life. My cousins on this side are quite a bit older than me and they would talk about summers at Grandma and Grandpas and I could only dream what it was like. HOWEVER, I know that I have some things from them that none of my other family does. My brother and I have our red hair from our grandmother. A few other cousins have it too, and I know that is a gift that we can cherish from her :0) Many people in our community knew my grandmother and I get told quite often how much I am like her. She had a big heart, she loved children, she loved to sing, and she cared about others more than herself. People are always talking about the amazing legacy she led and how I have that same legacy because of the life I am choosing to lead. So even though I never "met" her, I feel like I know her. Because my mother is just like her :)

My dads mom died when I was 7, but we didnt know her that well and his dad died before we were born. But, we have had some incredible adopted grandparents in our lives. I dont have pictures of them, sorry :(

Grandma and Grandpa Lindsey were our adopted grandparents when were growing up, we rented a duplex and they lived in the bottom half and we lived in the top. They would make treats for us quite often. Grandma with her cookies and Grandpas Peanut Brittle. Every holiday was spent with them. We would have big meals together and when mom was done cooking we would head down our spiral staircase to the house below.

At Thanksgiving, before we could eat, we went around the table sharing what we were tahnkful for. At Christmas, Grandpa read the Christmas Story and then wed share a delicious meal. Everytime as well as prayer before meals, we would sing, "This is the Day", Grandpa was always reminding us that no matter what the day held, God was at the center of all of it and we always had a reason to rejoice. Grandpa and Grandma had a dog and they shared her with us. Everyday after school Ginger would come bounding up our stairs to greet us, we would get to walk her, give her treats, and play with her.

They had unconditional love for us and loved us as their own grandchildren. They have both gone on to be with the Lord now, but their legacy and the time they chose to give 2 children grandparents lives on for eternity.

I now have 2 new adopted Grandparents. Gpa Bob and Gma Betty. 2 older people in our church that have really reached out to me. They call everyday to see how dad and I are doing and if they dont call, we call them. Gma Betty is a great encouragement to me! She is always spurring me on to live my life for Christ and use the talents he has given me.

I can call her for recipes and she is always ready to give them to me. If I need to talk, she is ready to listen. The other day, I made some cupcakes and took them to her and was at her house for 3 hours talking to her and Gpa Bob about life. It was just like having real grandparents.

Gpa Bob has COPD and his breathing is getting very bad. He doesnt know how long he has left, but he knows where he is going and he has joy in that. They are 2 of my biggest supporters and I am greatful to have them in my life. I am going to enjoy my time with Gpa Bob while he is still here and be ready to support Gma Betty when hes not, the way she has supported me.

Grandparents are a treasure in life and I am truly greatful for the ones God has brought into my life, even if not by blood, but by heart. I love you Gpas and Gmas!!!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Everyone has a twin...and I think youre mine :)

Well, I have to tell you all that I am quite proud of myself right now. I gave myself this challenge to write a blog everyday and so far, I have done just that :) Tonight, I am writing about the friend I have known for the shortest amount of time, but it feels as though we have known each other all our lives.

Trista was the bestfriend I had while living in Sumner. I had many friends there, but none that were as close as Trista. I do not think that one day went by that we didnt talk to each other :) Trista was a significant friend too. You see, moving to Sumner was the first time I had ever moved away from home. I was living completely by myself. I knew some of the people there and had friends from college in the town. But I was so worried that I wouldnt find any of those really close friends, you know? The ones that when you are sick or scared you can call them and know that they will answer. Those friends that you can just lean on no matter what.

Trista was that friend to me. It is so funny because it did not take us anytime at all to get to know one another and really begin to confide in each other as well. I cant even tell you how many times we were out together and someone would ask, "are you 2 sisters?" I think both of us felt like we kind of were. If there is one thing that I miss most from Sumner, aside from the amazing kids I worked with, its our famous talks.

Most of my afternoons, I wouldnt go home after work without first stopping at her house. She has 6 of the most amazing children on the planet :) Each of them with their own personalities, and those kids are another thing that I miss so so much.

Austin was in my youth group and we had some great times together. I dont want to go into great detail but I will suffice it to say that I know that part of the reason I was in Sumner was for Austin and the trials that he would have to face while I was there. It was amazing to me to see that some of the very things God had allowed me to go through in my life had totally prepared me to be there for Austin and to care for him more effectively. I still remember the day that Austin and I went to buy video games for the youth group. We drove an hour away to GameStop and it wasnt even that much of an event, but we had SO MUCH FUN!!! And Austin was my road trip partner to camp and back this year! I was so sick during this time and I was going through so much that God was speaking to me, I was not a fun person to travel with, but Austin took it all in stride and still loved me anyways :)

Aidan is in 2nd grade this year. He and I had so fun moments together too :0) I got to babysit one night and after all the other kids were in bed, we stayed up watching Americas Got Talent and other videos too...He cuddled in with me on the couch and looked up at me and said, "Aunt Becky, I love you, Im glad you moved to Sumner." I loved being their Auntie :) That kid made me laugh so much!

Then there are the triplets, each one of them a little different.
Theres Noah, who I thought didnt really like me that much :0) He didnt hug me or run up to me when I came like the others did. But right before I left, he told me that he loved me and was going to miss me. He said some of the funniest things. That kid is hilarious and reminds me of my brother ALOT! He is always cracking jokes and making other people laugh, if someone is hurting he wants to make sure they are okay, and he is totally content playing by himself. I cant wait to see him grow up someday, and if he is like a Bryan Canny when he grows up, refer back to this blog, because I called it!
Ethan is so fun loving! That kid doesnt sit still very often. But some of my favorite moments with him are when we would read together. He would bring me books and we would just sit and read and of course the teacher in me came out right away :) Ethan is so smart. and he was always trying to learn more. Asking questions about things, exploring things, he is a learner through and through and he holds a very special place in his Aunt Beckys teacher heart :)
Nathanial is a very special boy. Now I love all of those kids like they are my real nieces and nephews, but I am going to be honest and tell you that Thano and I have a special bond. Thano was my cuddler. He didnt cuddle with many others, maybe part of why I felt so special :) Because he LOVED to cuddle with Aunt Becky! Thano and I would read together, play with toys together, pretty much anything little boys love to do :) I love that boy.
And finally, little Hannah, she is the only little girl. And a very girly girl at that :) she loved dollies and dress up and all things girl. I still remember the time Hannah got very sick, and she was in the hospital for several days. Those were some of the days that Trista and I got the closest, I had freedom at my job that I could go and spend time with her at the hospital and we had such great talks :) But seeing that poor little girl suffer, her Aunt Becky would have done ANYTHING to make her feel better! But hopefully by helping her mommy feel better, she felt better too :0)

I share about all of the kiddos because I feel that it is a full reflection of the amazing woman that Trista really is. She is raising some of the most adorable and loving children ever. And she will soon by homeschooling all of them :) I want to make a quick shout out to Steve, Tristas husband too! Steve knew how close Trista and I were and tolerated our many nights of talking for hours :) and didnt even get annoyed, or if he did, he was sure silent about it! and Steve even started talking to me shortly before I left :0) Youre a fun guy Steve! Thanks for letting me steal so many hours away from you and Trista time :)

Trista and I spent ALOT of time together. Sometimes it was as simple as going grocery shopping together. And though it may seem insignificant to everyone else, those were some of my favorite moments. We would have such great talks on the way to the store and back. Living in Sumner, you must know that you have to travel at least a half hour to get to decent grocery store! We went shopping for clothes, we had dinner dates, all in all we had alot of fun in whatever we did together!

Trista and I were able to be fully ourselves around each other, holding nothing back :) There were some trials and dark times for both of us during our time there and again, we were able to be there for one another. Trista listened to me for hours when I was going through many different struggles and she gave me some incredible advice. You see, many of the things I shared with her, I had never shared with anyone else in my life, but she was that person who cared about me and my bestfriend! And the greatest thing, is that I got to be that for her as well.

In college, Meggan, my bestie talked to me about about politics trying to get me to understand how important it was. I got it, but to be honest, and it is horrible to say, but I guess I just didnt care :( sorry Meggie, please dont hate me. However, it was Trista who got me on track for this. This year, I have daily looked at the polls, I have become very informed about all of the candidates and am excited to vote! Thank you Trista for your passion about making a difference :)

Trista, you are one of the most amazing people I have ever met in my life! My living in Sumner was a HUGE step in my life, and I know that if I hadnt had you there I would have never made it through. Thank you for the memories we have together. Thank you for the numerous talks.

I miss you so much. I miss George and Miss B.G. I miss Dance Central for the Kinect and all of you letting me know how AMAZING I am at it :) I miss being able to drive down the street and see you. I miss Taco Days at Schemmels. I miss your children. I miss those lawn chairs that we would sit on outside for hours. I miss all of the Social Concerns projects we got to do together to help those in our community who were less fortunate. I miss doing VBS with you. I miss talking to you about boys and how you had so much confidence in me that I was going to find Mr. Right very soon. I miss you telling me the things that God had shared with you about my life. I miss being able to be there when you needed girl talk. I just miss all of it! You really are my sister :) I guess we dont just look like we could be related, but somehow, with in our talks and such we have actually become sisters.

I love you Trista. I cant wait to get sometime to come and visit you! Tell my boys that their Aunt Becky misses them. Tell Hannah Aunt Becky misses her too :( and you can even tell Steve that I miss him. Trista you are incredible! Thank you for being an irreplaceable part of my life!!

P.S. We didnt take any pictures together while I was there, HOW UPSETTING! When I visit, I will be making sure that we get ALOT of them :) but for now, I took this amazing one off of your facebook :)

Friday, January 6, 2012

No Matter the Miles you are Still Close to My Heart...



Tonight I am straying slightly from my previously scheduled blogs :) Okay, I will still be telling about Melissa, but I am going to talk about Jalisa too. Ready, Set, Lets go!

I first met Melissa my second year of Red Rock Camp. She was dating a friend of ours, Ryan. Melissa didnt get to come to camp for the whole week, her father was very sick and she needed to be home to care for him, but she did get to come up for the weekend and this is when I met her. Melissa and I hit it off right away. She was just one of those people that I knew I was going to click with.

Melissa is one of those people in my life who I long to have closer to me, and I know that if she were, we would be hanging out all the time. She is someone who I know that whenever I am in Minnesota, I will be staying with her and Ryan. I LOVE spending time with her. I am typically NOT a dog person, but Melissa has 2 very large dogs, and so I have to become a dog person when I am visiting. I even have a room at their house that I know is "mine" when I come to visit. In my mind I like to think that it is not used for anything else but waiting for my next visit :) Even though I know this is far from reality.

I remember visits with my brother to Ryan and Melissas. Bryan is much more of a dog person that me. And I still remember the night that Bryan found out that Ryan and Melissa had a Sauna in their basement. The rest of us were playing board games, but Bryan could not get his mind off the sauna, and so, he finally asked if he could try it out. Of course, Ryan and Melissa said he could, but what we did NOT expect was for him to take the dog IN THE SAUNA WITH HIM!!! It was a crazy sight to behold :) But a memory that is forever in our hearts.

Melissa is that person who I can share my whole heart with and be totally honest and I know that she will love me no matter what. I can share my feelings with her, sometimes when I feel like I must hide them from others, I know I can always share them with her and she will never judge me. In fact, many times, when I have gotten the courage to share with Melissa, I have found out that she has either walked the road before me or is walking it with me right now. and other times, I realize that I have walked a road before her and am then able to share with her and help her. She is someone that I can always lean on. and I hope that I am someone she can lean on to. Melissa and I were roommates at Red Rock on several occasions, and I LOVED IT. We would lay for hours talking late into the night and then someone drag ourselves out of bed and still be able to counsel our girls the next day :)

Melissa is SO understanding that even after a "goldfish incident" with her husband at a late night young adult event....she is still laughing with me :) oh the inside jokes we have!

Melissa, you truly are a treasured friend to me. I am thankful for your presense in my life. I look forward to our phone calls. I love the excitement of seeing you whenever it is that might be :) I love you and your family. Thank you for being such a great friend!

AND NOW...Jalisa.



I met Jalisa at Red Rock Camp as well. You can see already that this camp is close to my heart, which is why I will be writing an entire blog about it later on. But thats another blog :)

I first met Jalisa when I counseled her my first year of Red Rock Camp. She was in high school.Jalisa and her twin sister Jalayne grew to be 2 of my favorite girls :) I know when counseling you arent supposed to have favorites, but come on, if you have counseled or worked with kids, you know that there are just those ones that tug at your heart strings in special ways. Well, it was during her high school years that I really got to know this girl. and I never expected for us to develop the friendship that we have, but it is a very welcome surprise ;)

Jalisa is one of those friends who I know that I can always have fun with. No matter what, we will always be laughing with each other. We were roommates this past year at camp and it was INSANE how much we were alike! We had one side of the room and 2 other counselors had the other, and OH MY GOSH!! Our side was clearly over run by clothes and curling irons and shoes and any other fashion accessory you could think of :) And we ALWAYS stayed out until the wee hours of the morning with our young adult friends :) The one difference between Jalisa and I, is that I can do this without requiring a nap later in the day, she however, cannot :0) and I love her for that! Id always come in to our room in the afternoon to take a few minutes to breath and be alone and there she was curled up in her little caccoon, "recovering" from our excursions the night before.

Jalisa and I had never had a fight before until this year at camp. It is a fight I will never forget and it wasnt even that big of a deal, but at the time, my little heart thought it was :) I remember I stomped off toward our dorms trying to not be too mad so my heart would be in the right place to lead devotions, but knowing that I was steaming mad too! :) Behind me, Jalisa was in shock, she had never seen me this mad and our friend Ben even said "I have never seen her short little legs move that fast". I guess I was more angry than I thought ;) We worked it out almost as fast as it had started, but I remember realizing that in true friendship you know that you can fight and get mad, but no matter what, that person will be on the other side waiting for you and loving you.

I have had the priviledge of having a couple of overnighters with Jalisa and they are amazing. It is kind of funny because like I said at camp we stay up til all hours of the night, but for some reason, maybe her guest bed was just so comfy, but I fell asleep on the poor girl, TWICE! We would be talking and laughing and all the sudden, I would wake up hours later and realize I had rudely dropped off right in the middle of our talk :)

Jalisa I am very proud of you. I am very thankful to have you in my life. You are a very intrigual part of my life and I would not have near as much joy in my life if it was not for the times we laugh with one another. Thank you for listening to me talk about boys. Thank you for letting me be neurotic and loving me anyways. I have to tell you that I LOVE every moment I get to spend with you, though they are few and far between, I look forward to them when they come. Seeing you and Cameron together is a beautiful picture for me, as I feel that I got to be a small part of that :) Okay, a BIG part, come on, admit it, I am the reason you 2 are together. Okay, but seriously, I did listen to both of you talk endlessly about one another and I LOVED every minute of it.

Melissa and Jalisa. I love you both so much! Thank you for loving me too!!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

BESTFRIEND!!!

Well its day four of my blogs! Today you get to meet Meggan :)I have always felt in life that you can have more than one bestfriend, for me, I have several. Yesterday you met Shannon, today its Meggan.
Meggan Schwirtz, when I met her, she was Meggan Stoll. We met in college. One of my first memories with her is how we got the nickname that we call each other, "bestfriend". For many times, we didnt even use each others names, just this name. Meggan and I were talking one day and she said, "I dont have a bestfriend" and I said, "I dont either", so we decided, "want to be each others bestfriend?" and we did. I know, it sounds like we were in 5th grade or something :) BUT, it really was that simple for us.
Meggan and I had many things in common. We both LOVED boy bands. We also LOVED romantic comedies, and while I was not as obsessed as she, Dawsons Creek was a large part of our lives. I remember nights where we would go to each others rooms, we would get out her pizza pazazz, the most AMAZING invention EVER by the way!, we put on a pizza to cook, start up the Dawsons Creek and talk and laugh for hours! We would usually end up staying in each others room. She would sleep at one end and I at the other, I dont know how we did it, but we NEVER were grossed out by feet the face or anything, we just LOVED spending time together laughing. Sometimes more serious talks too, crying, but always being together.
Meggan and I had our rough patches too. There was the time I had a HUGE crush on a boy named Greg, Greg is married now with 2 beautiful children and later on would be one of my good friends in college....BUT before that happened, WORLD WAR III or so it would seem, happened between Meggan and I. I told her about my crush on Greg, but see, I was one of about 20 girls at the school that had a crush on the guy and Meggan decided that she was going to tell him about my crush. He didnt talk to me for the next few weeks. Suffice it to say that I was ticked at Meggan for telling him and she was ticked at me for being so ticked at her. We didnt talk for a WHOLE WEEK and it was one of the longest weeks of my life :( I missed my bestfriend. I quickly decided that I couldnt loose her over some guy. No matter how great I thought he was. But boy on boy did we have a doosey of a fight about it.
Meggan and I seemed to always enjoy being the life of the party where we went and when we were somewhere together, it was that much more fun!
Another thing I loved about Meggan was her family. When they came to visit, it was so much fun, and when I got the chance to visit her home, it was always a great time as well. Bridgett, Meggans little sister, who was killed in a car accident very tragically a few years ago. Bridgett was always my favorite :0) She seemed a kindred spirit to me in some ways. She had this love for life that just passed through her whenever you spent time with her. Bridgett and I had a similar sense of humor and we loved to joke around with each other when she was at college. I miss that girl, ALOT. I still remember the weekend she came to visit, I had come down to Meggans room to talk to her and Bridge and her were talking and laughing and goofing around and I jumped right in, all the sudden, in the middle of our conversation, I remembered that someone had invited me to their room for cookies and milk, I just blurted out, "welp, Im gonna go get some coookies", I turned around and left. Bridgett laughed at that for hours and it was a joke that we just seemed to always bring up whenever we saw each other from that point on. The night that Meggan called and told us to come to hospital to see Bridgett after the accident, that was all that went through my mind. Her smile, the laughs we used to have, and I couldnt understand why God would want to take someone who brought joy to so many people. I struggled with knowing what to say. What to do. This was one of those moments, like I talked about yesterday, in my blog about Shannon that all I could do was JUST BE THERE. Meggan didnt know what she needed, and we didnt know what to give her. None of us had felt the pain that she was feeling before. But we all knew we didnt want to either. Meggan had incredible strength during this time and has continued to have as she figured out how to live life without Bridgett.
Shortly after the funeral, Meggan moved back home, but she was really struggling with being alone, God called me at the time to move in to an apartment with her. One of the BEST decisions I have EVER MADE! Meggan was the BEST roommate I have ever had. We loved getting to spend all that time together. We had bunk beds :) and I remember laying for hours talking about things. Sometimes wed talk about Bridgett, and I just hoped I was being the friend she needed and giving her the hope, advice, and encouragement she needed from me. Other nights, wed talk about boys, well okay, Meggan would talk about her finance Trevor and the wedding plans ;) and I would talk about boys. We had many great memories in that place. and because both of us are VERY INTO FASHION...I do remember our closets over flowing with clothes. I dont know how we fit all of our stuff in that place :0)
I had the privilege of being a bridesmaid in Meggan and Trevors wedding and I got to sing in her wedding as well. It truly was a honor that I got to be a part of this day for her. I was blessed that God had allowed me to walk with her during this very difficult time in her life and to see her come out on the other side with joy and excitement. Understanding that life would never be the same, but learning to live her new normal, seeing her take steps in faith with God and that even though it would have been so easy, she NEVER LET GO of God. It was a blessed day! Trevor and I had been very close to. He was a big brother to me, and to see the joy that he was bringing to Meggan, to see how amazingly he held her up during her time of need, I was so proud. That day was truly a day of the Beauty of Surrender in Christ.
To say that it has been an honor to know Meggan and be her "bestfriend", well let me just say, that isnt enough. Meggan, you are truly one of the best parts of my life. You are a definition of a friend, because even though we dont get to see each other physically very often, I know that you are there for me. That you think of me often and that you pray for me daily. I know that you care about my family and my well being. I know that you believe in me, that even when I doubt myself, you believe that God has great plans for me. When I want to give up and doubt that I will ever find the man of my dreams, you hold out hope and actually make plans to be a part of my future wedding. You believe in me more than I have ever believed in myself. And the best part, it doesnt matter how many years go by, when we see each other again, we will pick right back up where we started from and it will be as though no time has passed at all.
Meggan, your strength through the trials you have faced has been a HUGE inspiration to me. It got me through many of the struggles we have gone through with my mom. To know and understand that God is God no matter what our cirrcumstance, you have taught me that. Meggan, your ability to laugh and have joy and spread that to others, it spurs me on to do this for the people that I come into contact with as well. Meggan your faith in God about knowing that Trevor was the man for you, no matter how long you had to wait for him to see it, it encourages me and spurs me on to hold out hope that maybe I just have a stubborn man out there for me too! You are truly one of the bestfriends I have ever had and having you in my life has been a God send, a joy, and just plain AMAZING!
I love you bestfriend. I miss you and long for the times where I could just start talking and know that you would answer me from that bunk bed right under me :) I cant wait to meet your kiddos and be "Auntie Becky" to them :) Im thankful for you and blessed by the impact you have had on my life. You are part of who I am today. Thank you bestfriend. Because of you, I will never be the same :)













Wednesday, January 4, 2012

The Sister I Never Had...My Bestfriend...Shannon

I am really enjoying these blogs, it is making me realize just how blessed I truly am to have the people in my life that I do, and today is only day 3 :) Today's blog is one that I am truly excited about, you get to meet one of the most amazing, beautiful, strongest, and incredible people in the World, but sorry friends, you cant have her as a bestfriend, she already has one, and I have the GREAT HONOR of taking that spot :)

Shannon. When I first met Shannon, she was a Senior in High School and I was a freshman in college. It was my first year counseling camps and I was at, what would become one of my favorite camps EVER, Bethel Camp. I remember the moment like it was yesterday. Now Shannon will tell you that this is not true, but I swear, she HATED me when we first met :0) I realize now that this was more my insecurities than reality, but at the time, it was reality to me. You see, while I have many friends in my life, one thing that people LOVE to do to show their love for me is to tease me. And I do make it easy. I mean Im 4'11''...so insert short jokes here, and Im insanely adorable, so of course people have things they LOVE about me. This particular day was in the middle of July. I am a very fair-skinned red head. In high school, my friend Drew used to call me Wednesday, not because I loved that day of the week folks, no, because my skin, especially in the middle of the summer resembled that of Wednesday Addams from the Addams family. I had come to grips with the fact that my skin was never going to be tan and I learned to deal with it :) and now that I think about it, Shannon is a fair skinned red head too. ANYWAY....This particular day, a boy named Tyler, who was also a Senior, was with his group of friends, Shannon being one of them, and all the sudden he started calling me Casper and the whole group began to laugh. I was used to be teased, but as I said, it was my first year counseling and while I was used to my guy friends from college teasing me, I just assumed that this whole group of people hated me and was going to laugh at me for the rest of the week. Because Shannon was in the group, she was guilty by association :)
Later that Summer, in fact that August, Shannon came to Vennard College. We would end up being neighbors at school, well okay, so there was one poor girl who lived in between our rooms, but we lived on the same hall way. I remember the day she came moving in, I saw her she said Hi as she had remembered me from camp and all the sudden I realized she didnt hate me at all. Her mom was there with her too and it was as if I knew we were going to be friends :) Shannon and I did become very close!
As I said before, the poor girl that had to live in between our rooms, well I felt very bad for her. Because Shannon and I are both night owls, and I cant forget to mention Jilly Bean at this point too :) Jill was my neighbor on the other side. The 3 of us girls LOVED to stay up late laughing, talking, and being super loud :)
I cant tell you ALL of our secrets, but we had some GREAT times at Vennard and in that hallway.
There was the time that the guys played a HUGE prank on us. Suffice it say, it dealt with a phone, a ladder, alot of sneaky hiding and many times of them hitting our dorm room windows, us screaming and thinking it was a ghost and even a time of prayer later when we convinced ourselves it was a demon. We can laugh about it now, but at the time, we were freaked out. In fact, that night, everyone stayed in my little room. On the couch, my bed, and my floor :) it is a night that we will never forget. Our many nights of giggles and laughter to the point of poor Lavonne, the girl who lived in between us, coming out of her room begging us to be quiet so she could sleep. Several games with the phone ;) but thats ALL I can say about that one. oh the memories!!!
Shannon didnt live in the dorm for a long time. She met the man of her dreams and they got married. I remember being one of the first people to know when they started dating, when they got engaged, and feeling the excitement of having someone who wanted me to be the first to know :) THAT is one of the perks of being a bestfriend!! I even got to be a bridesmaid in Shannons wedding. The first time I had ever been a bridesmaid and I LOVED it!!!
But even after she moved out, she was still my bestfriend, we just didn't get to have as many late nights. :( BUT...when there was drama in the dorm, my bff had a house that I could go to get away from it all :0) Shannon quickly became my sister, not just my bestfriend. I got to experience going home with her on a few occasions. Little tiny Moville, the people there parked in the middle of the street, I couldnt get over it, but I loved being there with her. When I met her mom, she took me right in, her mom cared for me just as much as my own mom cared for me. I remember nights when we would sit up til 3 am just talking. Shannon, Deb, and Me. I LOVED those nights.
But as with any relationship, it had its hard times too. I still remember my "dark year" at Vennard College. I got mixed up with someone I shouldnt of, and I wanted to impress him, he was cute, he gave me attention, and that was the end of it. I didnt do anything HORRIBLE, smoked a few times, nothing big, BUT it was big enough to upset my friends because they knew I was not living up to the person they knew I was. Shannon and I had a HUGE fight about it one day, so big that we were yelling at each other in public, it was bad, BUT it was a life changing moment for me, when I finally realized she was yelling at me because she cared.
Shannon was also the first person I ever had the courage to tell about my moms depression. Shannon never judged her or me because of it. In fact, she was the first person who fully understood what I was feeling and WHY I was feeling it. Shannon was a person I could confide in and I shared more with her than I have ever shared with anyone before in my life. Yes, this, was another privilege that best friends have :)
Shannon and I have been able to be there through the tough times. I still remember the day Shannon called me, I was the first person after her family that she called to tell me that SHE WAS PREGNANT!!! I was going to be an auntie :) Shannon was so excited. She came over to my apartment a few weeks later and we were talking about how fun this was going to be. I also remember the devastating call a few weeks after that, from the Pella Hospital, it was Deb, Shannons mom, calling to tell me that she had lost the babies, you see, there were 2 babies in there, we didnt even know that yet! Shannon had lost both of the babies, and she almost lost her own life! I couldnt believe it, I didnt know what to say, but I hopped in the car and traveled to 20 miles to Pella. I cried on the way there. I prayed, and I didnt know what to do or say, but I knew I needed to be there for my sister. That is when I learned another lesson as a bestfriend, its not about the words that you say, its just the fact that you care enough to stand beside your friend, listen when they need it, talk when they need it, laugh or cry with them, just BE THERE! God blessed Shannon later on with a miracle in Gabriel William Hora and then, just 10 months ago, with Thaddaeus Allan Hora. They are 2 of the most beautiful boys you will ever meet! and they are the best nephews, EVER!! I LOVE being their auntie and I even have the privilege of being Gabes teacher right now too :) Yes, another perk of being a bestfriend, no a sister to Shannon :0)
Shannon would also be there for me during MANY hard times, and is still there for me to this day, in fact, just tonight, we talked for over an hour about some very tough stuff that we are both going through! Shannon has been there through everything that we have gone through with my mom, just to listen sometimes, sometimes to share amazing advice, just, as I said before to be there by my side.
Shannon and I are alot alike. She is the first person in my life to understand anxiety and even walk through it with me. We are both older sisters and are VERY protective of our little brothers. We both love people and want to help them as much as we can. Sometimes our emotions get the best of us, but whats great about having each other, is that, before we do something stupid in our emotions, we call each other, vent about it, maybe even go a little crazy with each other, and then, we are able to cool down and calm down and think through it. :) It is not uncommon for us to spend HOURS talking on the phone :) Especially if we begin talking about something that we are passionate about!
I have SO MANY memories with this AMAZING woman! But what I want you to know about her is that she is beautiful! She is amazing and incredibly strong! Whatever comes her way, she although it may be tough for her, she always ends up holding on to God even tighter. She has taught me how to do that too! She has taught me that God is always God, no matter what we face in life. God NEVER CHANGES and neither should our identity in him!
Shannon, THANK YOU for being such a huge part of my life! You truly are one of the best parts of it! I love you Shannon, my bestfriend, my sister, :) I cant wait for the things God still has in store for our friendship as life continues on!!



















Monday, January 2, 2012

Introducing, My Brother, My Bestfriend...Bryan Edward Canny!






Okay...You have been introduced to my parents, NOW you get to meet my baby brother. Now many of you already know him, I have written many posts about him, but now you get to hear about him and his profound effect on my life.
Now as I told you before, my parents were older when I was born and I was enough of a surprise, but after I was born, my daddy had a longing for a boy, he begged my mom. She finally told him, we will try one time, if we become pregnant, this is it, girl or boy, this is the LAST ONE! Dad began praying and he got his boy :) Bryan Edward Canny came into the world at 1:30 pm on August 3rd. He would change the life of the Canny's forever. Now when he first came home and I got the chance to meet him, my parents say that I asked if he could be taken back. I really wanted nothing to do with him for a few days. I was the only pebble on the beach so to speak, and I kind of preferred it that way! However, within about a week, I went from not wanting him around to being completely inseparable from him! I quickly got the name "mother hen", as I doted on my brother. I was always wanting to take care of him.
This trend would be one that would carry on as we grew older. Bryan and I were very close and we did EVERYTHING together. I like to tell people that it is because of Bryan and I am a teacher, because from our early years, I was a teacher, teaching him everything I could. When I came home from preschool, I was teaching him all that I had learned. This was just something I loved to do!! His letters, shapes, numbers, colors, I just loved to teach him!! I also loved to take care of him, this went on not just when we were in elementary school. Although if anyone picked on my baby brother, they better be ready to hear from me! When we were in middle and high school, Bryan did not ALWAYS appriciate this :)
I have so many memories with my brother, its hard to pick which ones to share with you. But what I will tell you is that having him in my life has changed it forever, and I would not be who I am today without him! Here are a few of the lessons I have learned from having him in my life.

1- You Should Never Go Through Life Alone. I know that it is by the grace of God that I was given a brother. God knew that we would need one another to help us face some of the challenges that would come our way. As I said, from the time we were little, we were together. Now, my parents will tell you that from the day Bryan was born they knew that while we looked alot alike, they KNEW we were 2 very different kids :) I HATED to be alone. They would feed me my bottle, rock me to sleep, and I was fine, but the minute they tried to lay me down and leave the room, I SCREAMED!! I hated being alone, EVER! A trend that has carried on into my life, even now. Bryan on the other hand, give him his bottle, pat his back a few times, and then leave him alone, he preferred that to having someone hold him sometimes. As we grew older, Bryan loved to play alone, he was very content entertaining himself, NOT THIS GIRL! I was thankful for my playmate. I will not post them here, but I have some very embarassing pics of Bryan in some of my dresses, you see, I loved to dress him up in my clothes, like a lifesize doll if you will, and at the time, I was his big sister, if I told him to do it, he did it, no questions asked :) Bryan and I were quite different, and yet, we LOVED being together. Having each other would prove to be something that we would need as we continued to grow up. There were 3 times in our young lives that my mom had to go into the hospital for depression. This illness has become much more prevelant in the last few years, but let me tell you, that when we were little, depression was NOT something you talked about with people, and especially when you are in Elementary School, kids dont understand it at all. So, God had given us one another, so when we needed to cry, when we needed to talk about it, we didnt have to bottle it up, we had each other. This "secret" bonded us together. and taught us how to lean on one another through the tough times. I remember times that we would pray together, times that we would talk to each other across the hallway from our beds at night. This is why, when Bryan got married, it was SO HARD for me to let him go. I had to learn that I couldnt just lean on my brother, I had to rely on someone much greater, I had to learn to rely on God. But I learned through my relationship with Bryan that God has given us friends and family to get through this life, we are not meant to face it alone.

2- You cant take yourself too seriously, laugh often! Bryan and I both love to make people laugh. And we both love to make one another laugh too. We can both be quite sarcastic and at times, although not so much now, our jokes can be a little inappropriate. We LOVE watch comedies together. Jimmy Fallon is one of our favorites. Jim Gaffagin and Bryan Reegan too. We LOVE Saturday Night Live, the older years much better than the new years. We all have stories from our past and they could either embarass us or we can laugh at the memory. For example, when Bryan was little, we were on our way to the candy store one day. Bryan had a cup FILLED with money. I only had a couple coins....something that is still like us, Bryan was great at saving his money, I spent it as soon as I got it. :) I digress....he had this cup and dad was driving us to the candy store. Bryan didnt put his belt on and some how, he fell out of our car. I was trying to tell my dad, who was oblivious to what had taken place and kept on driving. He said, "Becky we will be there is just a minute", thinking I was just excited to get there. Finally he looked over, we were several yards away from Bryan now. And he realized his error. He put it in reverse and was getting back to his son. He ran out of the car, Bryan was fine, on the ground picking up his money. Dad got to him and Bryan was mad. "Dont touch me, Im fine, I just know I had more money than this and were not leaving until I have ALL of it!". Bryan was fine, but this is a memory that we have laughed about many many times since it happened.
Bryan and I have had many of those moments where we laugh. Laughter has been a friend to us through many of the dark times too. So Laugh, do it often and make sure those around you are laughing too.

3- Friends are the key to life. Bryan and I have both been very outgoing people from the time we were young. We just loved to have people around. Now again, we are somewhat different too. I thrive on it and would LOVE to have people around me all the time, never really needing alone time. Bryan, while he loves people, knows when he gets his fill and has to have his alone time too. But in our lives, we have had many great friends and most of the time, we shared our friends. We were just so close in age that we ended up hanging out with each others friends alot. I will tell you though, that when you choose to hang out with your brother and his teenage buddies, prepare to be a- kicked out of subway when they have loogey races on the windows and when one friend decides to lift his shirt and rub it on the window for his friends to see. b- kicked out of wal mart when they begin yelling at one another from across the store to see if they can hear each other on the other side. c- basically you never know when you will be kicked out of a place depending on their mode and ideas of the night. d- you will learn to love watching football or die trying to get away from it. e- you will also learn to love video games, and all about the systems on which they are played. HOWEVER, this also means that when your brother hangs out with you and your teenage girl friends he will a- learn to watch chick flicks and not complain when you all begin crying at the same time. b- learn about what make up works best and what colors go best with your skin. c- when your sister is the driver of the carpool, YOU WILL listen to boy bands such as NSync, Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees, and LFO, and you might as well decided to learn the lyrics and sing along :) Yes, we had some great friends growing up and to this day are still friends with many of those people.

4- There is no better person to sing harmony with than your brother. I have been singing since I was 16 months old, and I think my love for music inspired my brothers love for music, of course, he is WAY more talented than I. If there is an instrument, he can probably pick it up and play it. Guitar, Bass, Drums, Keys, and he has a BEAUTIFUL voice too!!! I miss singing with him now that he lives in another country. Music as well as laughter got us through many things in life. My mother has a beautiful singing voice too, its kind of a bond we have with her. We know many of the old hymns because she loved to sing them to us. We have gotten the chance to do concerts together and its great. Our lives and some of our closest friends when we were younger stemmed from the Community Theatre. We loved being in plays and musicals. We also had our childrens choir at church and this was a HUGE part of our childhood, every Thursday afternoon we had practice and we did 2 musicals a year! Music is amazing, and singing is great, but having someone to sing harmony with, is something that you cant explain, you just have to experience it~!

5- Tough Love is some of the most important love! There are many times in our lives that we have had to show tough love to one another. We have had to be accountiblity partners to one another. In fact, just recently, Bryan had to call me out on alot of things. I HATED it, in fact we didnt speak for a while, but I realize now that he was doing it because he loved me so much! He said to me "Bec, I know that you are better than this, I know who you are, and THIS is not it! Do something to change it" Im paraphrasing, of course, but the idea is that he knew I wasnt living to the potential I had and he loved me too much to let me stay there. Tough Love is not always easy. But it is necessary.

6- Memories are some of the best parts of life. Weather its the stair way in our old house that we used to make sleds and slide down over and over and over again. Maybe its the cartoons we loved to watch together, or TGIF and SNICK. Maybe its all of our Christmas memories, or how every year on our birthdays we both got presents to open so that mom and dad didnt have to feel bad about someone not opening something. The years that we would go to Adventureland for your birthday parties and going to Happy Joes or Mc Donalds for mine. How when I was 5 years old and had to wear the patch for my lazy eye and your 3 year old brain honestly thought your sister was a pirate and you told all your friends at preschool. Or the time you swallowed the Windex at the daycare then then had to go to the ER and throw it all up. You had that little barf bucket from the ER for many years after :) Home Alone every year on Thanksgiving. OCT and all the memories from the plays that we were in, Kings Kids, we had so many parts in those plays ;), Bible Quizzing, you ALWAYS did better than me in quizzing :) You knew your Bible much better than me. BUT, I always got the spelling and penmanship awards! All our pound puppies and cabbage patch kids. those chipmunk dolls we had, we LOVED them! The time you got yourself stuck in the baby swing because you were way too old to be climbing in it and we had to get you out with a stick of butter. The time that you got stung by the bee and swelled up everywhere because we didnt know you were allergic. How about the Missions Trip to New York, you shaved a Checker Board in your head, we went on the Today Show crowd the next day and I got in trouble from mom because I "let" you do that to your hair :) We have so many memories together. And those memories are just part of the joy of having you as my little brother.

I could go on and on about my brother and all of the things he has taught me. I, like I said, am very thankful to have him in my life. We DONT always get along, in fact, if you have been around us for any length of time, you will know that we DO fight, and we are both hard headed and stubborn, hey were not red heads for nothing!, so our fights can be bad, because neither one of us likes to back down :) BUT, I have learned that no matter what, a brother is a brother, for all of your life. The good, the bad, the ugly, HE WILL ALWAYS LOVE ME!!!

Thank You Bryan for being such a huge part of my life. Thank You God for blessing me with my baby brother! I will be forever greatful.