We're Engaged!

AT LAST!

Hey everybody! Sorry it's been so long (again). I've been getting harassed (and rightly so) that I haven't posted in so long. But what can I say - I'm in love :) Ryder proposed on Thursday March 5 - it was so beautiful! For those of you who haven't heard the story - here it goes!

So as many of you know, I was waiting, ever so patiently (ok, maybe not THAT patiently) for Ryder to propose. I knew that he had the ring and it was just a matter of time. He had made it clear that he wanted to surprise me - and surprise me he did! On that Thursday, I had had a Board meeting in Lansing - while driving back to GR, he called and said he had a coupon to go out to this nice restaurant and did I want to go? I told him that I was a little tired from driving all day and that I had my yoga class that night, and so could we maybe go another night. Ryder insisted that we go that night because the "coupon" would expire. Ok, I thought, I'll go.

So after yoga, we went to Leo's (nice Seafood restaurant downtown GR) - I had eaten my dinner salad and our waitress brought our meal. I was picking at mine because the salad was huge and I wasn't feeling very hungry - but then I noticed what looked like writing on my dinner plate. I thought to myself that this was a fancy restaurant and maybe there was some sort of design or quote from a famous chef or something. I asked Ryder if he had any writing on his plate - he said "no" and said I should find out what it said. So I pushed my food around and found a beautiful poem addressed to me written on my plate with the final line being "will you marry me?"

Ryder then pulled out the ring and our waitress brought over champagne and a beautiful pink rose.

It was so awesome! Can't wait to see you all and show you my beautiful engagement ring!

We left for Key West (a vacation we had planned for several months) about a week later - I'm including some pictures from our trip!



Ryder w/ signs about the distance to different parts of the world from the most Southern Point in the US.



Las Tortugas - beautiful island (with an old Fort) in the middle of the ocean. Used to be heavily populated with sea turtles.



Me at Fort Jefferson (Las Tortugas)



Lots of roosters and chickens roam the streets in Key West - this was a handsome little dude I thought!



Ernest Hemmingway's Home when he lived in Key West. 70% of his writing was done here! Also has 50-60 cats on the property - needless to say, Ernest had a BIG thing for cats.



Random doggie on a roof. Reminded me of Cook's old friend Stevie :)


The "No Name Pub" on "No Name Key"



Inside of the No Name Pub - they say that there's 75k stapled, plastered and taped to the walls and ceiling of this place!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving (yeah, I know I'm a little late!)

Happy Thanksgiving !

Yeah, I know I'm late on this but I haven't been a dutiful blogger lately - sorry. Here's 2 pic's from our Thanksgiving at Mom's house. My sweet, beautiful niece was there - she learning to walk and is hilarious as she imitates her Mom and Dad doing funny things! On the relationship front, Ryder and I are doing great. After a lot of discussion, praying, and talking to trusted friends - we've decided to put the adoption of Jeremiah on hold for now. As you can imagine, this has been an agonizing and very painful decision for us both. There were lots of tears shed, and I hope, lots of growth in our relationship as we worked through coming together on this huge, life-changing decision. We both continue to want to serve and honor God with our lives and we are praying that includes adoption and/or foster care at some point in our life together. Thank you to everyone who's been praying for us, who have listened to us during these past several difficult months - we are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family!

Hey all - sorry I've been MIA lately :) Just busy (not sure busy doing what, but busy none-the-less). Here's a link that I thought may be of interest - it's a chart (with lots of other interesting information) that shows the number of children orphaned by AIDS in Africa, listed by country. Sometimes I'm not sure if telling people about these numbers really helps....it's such an overwhelming, in many ways, unimaginable amount of children, that sometimes I think people's eyes glaze over when you try and explain the pandemic that is happening right before our eyes. You'll notice that Ethiopia has about 650,000 orphaned kids due to losing parents to AIDS - in my own mind, I figure that's over 6 packed U of M stadiums....full of kids who no longer have a parent.

Here's the link.

Frequently Asked Question (from FHTH September newsletter)

Q. If someone I know adopts a child with HIV, aren't they putting themselves and all the rest of us at risk of catching it?

A. So many of us are afraid when we hear the terms HIV and AIDS: and this is understandable! We have seen what the disease can do! But many people don't know that HIV is a very fragile virus - it begins to die immediately when it leaves the body - and there are very specific
ways that it is transmitted. HIV is only transmitted when the virus enters the bloodstream. This only occurs through sexual contact; through the use of contaminated needles or other sharp instruments, or receiving a transfusion of HIV-infected blood products; and from a mother who is HIV infected to her child during pregnancy, childbirth, labor and delivery, and breast-feeding. HIV exposure does not occur with normal household contact. It is not transmitted through tears, saliva, mucus or other bodily fluids. HIV+ individuals can, (and do!) share cups, baths, pools, dishes, bathrooms, and normal life! In addition, advances in treatment in past years have transitioned HIV from what used to be a terminal disease to a chronic illness. When children
receive treatment for their HIV, the amount of virus in their bloodstream can be brought so low that it is considered "undetectable" - making the possibility of transmission that much more remote!

(From HIV to Home Sept 08 newsletter)

"History will judge us on how we respond to the AIDS emergency in Africa...whether we stood around with watering cans and watched while a
whole continent burst into flames.....or not."
Bono

On a lighter note.....

Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back at Starbucks! Had one on Sunday morning - delicious!

Quote for the week

"I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides."

- Elie Wiesel

Unexpected Blessing

Happy Monday every0ne! So this weekend I was on a church retreat Friday and Saturday. It was an awesome time of fellowship and communion with God. One of Scriptures that we focused on was the story of when Jesus came to dine with Mary and Martha. I was convicted (yet again) of my Martha attitude and habits and my longing to just sit at the feet of Jesus, as Mary did. I was also so encouraged as I thought about how Jesus was SO patient and gentle with Martha as she ran around frantically making sure everything "was perfect". How awesome to know that I have been adopted into the family of this Saviour who patiently waits and beckons me to come and just find rest and joy at His feet!

So anyway, while I was at this retreat, I stole a moment to check my email (so Martha-ish!). I had received an email from the Director from "From HIV to Home" - even though she lives in Colorado - we have become fast friends over email as we talk about the many blessings (and few challenges) that come with adopting an HIV+ child. She wrote me to inform me that a family (whom I have never met) will be doing a fund raising walk for me in early September. This family (who also has 2 adopted children from Liberia) will be walking to raise money to help bring little Jeremiah home. Can you believe it? The joy and amazement I feel in knowing that this family would sacrifice their time, money, and energy in order to bless Jeremiah and myself is absolutely amazing. I serve a very big God -a holy God - a God that continues to bless and amaze me in the most unexpected ways. Would you please join me in praying that the fund raising they do is a big success, but more importantly, that God would bless this family in amazing ways for the sacrificial work they are doing!