A beautiful poem that my precious friend Trisha wrote for me last Wed. night.

Moments

From the moment she was conceived,

she was loved.

From the moment she was created,

she was beautiful.

From the moment she was discovered,

she was longed for.

From the moment she was imagined,

she was amazing.

Through the moments of shock,

He was holding.

Through the moments of pleading,

He was listening.

Through the moments of grief,

He was peace.

When the moment came to deliver her,

He brought deliverance.

When the moment came to hold her,

He brought joy.

When the moment came to say good-bye,

He brought hope.

When the moment came to heal,
He brought comfort.

Through all the moments...

He was there.
In the moments to come...

you'll be together.

Wipe. the. tears. off. my. cheeks. so. I. can. type.

Let me back up and tell you a little bit about why this poem is sooooooooo special to me.

It was Wednesday evening and Luke and I were excited to leave in a few days for Santa Cruz. We had one more day of "real life" and than could relax together and be with our family. Before we could "check out," we had a couple of things to do...including get all of our tax stuff together and go in for our annual appointment. This was kinda my job to do during the day, but I didn't really know what that all entailed, so I waited for Luke to get home and we started on it together. We had most of our documents in a tax08 folder, except for Olivianna's medical bills.

We could not find them. I could not remember where I put them back 8 months ago when I was not thinking about taxes. So we began to search....in her memory chest.

We pulled everything out. All of the cards we were given, the journal I kept, some photos that were taken, her medical explanations and appointments, her outfits that I put her in, the bracelet she wore around her sweet wrist, the beautiful quilts and blankets that were made for her, the clay prints of her hands and feet, and the sweet curls that I cut from the hair on her head.

All of the memories flashed back in an instant. She was real. It happened.

And now I have a 3 foot memory chest that holds all of the most important things to me.

....and it sits on the bottom of my closet with shoes piled on top.

I went to bed very sad and lonely.

Thursday morning I went over to Trisha's house to hang out and talk "photography" shmoshmum (not a real word). When I arrived, Trish told me that she had something for me. She explained that the Lord told her to do something for me. After praying about it, her husband suggested writing Olivianna and I a poem. "A poem???" she thought to herself. "I don't write poems." But she did. and she does. and they are absolutely beautiful. and it absolutely blessed my socks off.

The cool thing is...we were looking in Olivianna's memory chest the same time that the Lord told her to do something. What a caring and gracious God I serve. And what an obedient and loving friend I have!

Thank you Trisha. You are the best.

***Trisha started up her beautiful blog recently, take a look http://www.trish-duds.blogspot.com

So...

A quick rundown of this last week...

Adi and I went to the Amgen tour of California in Modesto on Tuesday. It was pouring down rain but Adi and I braved the cold! She had snow boots on and was looking stylish! Here is a sampler from some of the shots I got.

Oh yah, my dad and I even made it in the Modesto Bee the next day. That was kind of fun. Section A12. We are in a small group of people who were standing on the corner of Sycamore and Coldwell (which was the sharpest turn in the Modesto part of the race). Pretty exciting stuff!

Our weekend getaway to Santa Cruz was very lovely! Luke's parents give the family a weekend getaway for part of our Christmas present each year. This is the second year staying at Terrace Court together (although Luke and I have stayed there alone, and Luke's family and his dad's family grew up going there.) It is totally 50's style and is just now starting to be remodeled. Quite the cozy little place to lodge!!!!

I woke up early on Saturday morning (early like 6:40 a.m....hey, that is early on vacation) and hopped over to the beach to take some sunrise pictures. The air was crisp and the ocean was very peaceful. As I was snapping away, two people from up on the pier started talking to me. I looked up and immediately tensed up. I thought to myself....I have a choice right now. I can continue to do what I came out here to do (learn and have fun), or I can STOP, listen and let the Lord work. I followed the holy spirit and had a great time making two friends that morning who are very very very different from me. Here is Laura and E.D. He lives on the streets of Santa Cruz. She lives in her car. God loves them and has a plan for them. And He wants me to love them too. He used my camera to bridge the gap. I praise Him for that.

The first shot after talking with them for a few minutes. (I was on the sand below the pier)

The second shot (clearly more comfortable and relaxed)

That afternoon, after all the girls went shopping downtown, Luke and were able to get out for a walk with our cameras. I LOVE that my husband likes photography too. I LOVE it even more that he supports my passion for it!!! Thanks babe!The previous post documents the weekend well (okay, I couldn't decide which ones to show...I am bad at that!!!).

Well, I am tired and probably need to be off to bed. Luke has been "fixing drains" in our house for over 3 hours now. The water will not go down in the tub and something is seriously messed up. I am sad that he had to spend his evening doing such a yucky job, but thankful that it kind of falls in the "husband category of things to take care of." If there is such a list!

I will blog later about my experience at the Art Gallery Walk and having my photo displayed at the gallery, as well as all the other things that will take place until I sit back down and think of something intelligent and/or witty to say!

Until then...

Christ be lifted High!