Celebrating Births

This weekend was a FUN weekend.

The Stegall’s (Mark & Cathi) came up to Portland for Mark’s birthday, so we celebrated Mark (30), Paxton (1) & Brian’s (35) birthday all in one weekend. Well… we’ll be celebrating Brian’s again later since his wasn’t actually ON this weekend, but you know, celebrate as often as you can, right?

Thought I’d post some photos from this weekend:

It used to be rare for us to meet couples and immediately bond like superglue.  Brian and I each had our separate friends that were AMAZING, but finding a couple that we really both felt we connected with equally was pretty rare.  One of us would usually feel connected with the other couple while the other one would feel “meh”.

However, in the last year, Brian and I have found a good handful of couples we both not only connect with, but connect DEEPLY with.

I’m not sure if it’s because we went through such a huge life change or if we’re just more aware of ourselves now with nothing to hide.  Maybe it’s both.  Maybe experiencing grace is what allows us to either attract or draw towards more “real” friends.  It’s probably because we no longer keep people at a distance.  We’re no longer afraid of being hurt and no longer feeling the need to protect ourselves from disappointment.   I’m not saying the friends I had before were not good friends.  I’m simply saying: it was me.  I was the one who never allowed myself to be real with them and I missed out.

All this to say the Stegall’s are AMAZING friends.  My heart is fuller knowing they’re a part of our lives for the LONG haul… not just for the convenience of today.  They are here to stay.  And WE are here to stay.

I am just beginning to understand and FEEL what unconditional love is SUPPOSED to feel like.  And it’s good. Our friends are no longer just our “friends”… they are also our family.

The road we are journeying is a LONG road.  Today, I’m taking a break on the hill…
… laying in the soft grass
… staring at the big blue endless sky
… thanking God for the grace He keeps extending me in the form of friends that ARE family
… and celebrating the births of friends, family & new marriages.

God is good.

Why don’t you take a break from your journey too?
and thank God together!

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 7:32 am and is filed under Family, Friends and tagged with , , , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses Subscribe to comments


  1. Crystal Renaud

    hooray for birthdays and hooray for celebrating. i am really, really trying to embrace my next one. i am thankful that i have friends(family) like you to celebrate it with(well, in spirit since you don’t live here, but whatever). love you!

    [Reply]

    Nov 10, 2009 @ 9:00 am


  2. gitz

    I think one of my favorite things in life is seeing other people make lasting connections. There’s just a light or a joy that radiates when friendships are authentic.

    Makes me happy.

    [Reply]

    Nov 10, 2009 @ 9:51 pm


  3. alece

    i missmissmiss my heart’s friend. i’m so glad you two live near(-ish) one another and can hug on each other every now and again.

    and i love that you are finding genuine, deep couple-friend connections. God is good indeed!

    [Reply]

    jenni Reply:
    November 11th, 2009 at 1:45 am

    cathi. is. rad.

    [Reply]

    Nov 10, 2009 @ 10:33 pm

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