A Glimpse into the Week

Tag Archive - friends

An Anniversary & A Bambino!

April 18, 2012 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

There is much to celebrate today!
My heart is overflowing with jubilation!
I am grinning ear-to-ear!
I am elated to celebrate today!

Why so much joy you ask?! You see, today marks a very special anniversary of two dear, dear friends in my life AND those friends just happened to have their first baby boy THIS MORNING!!!! Combine that with the fact that it was one of their birthdays earlier this week and we have a Celebration TRI-FECTA!

These two people, Crystalina & Jesus, bring so much into my life – joy, laughter, faith, growth, love, with a whole lotta e.t.c.! We’ve spent much time together and celebrated just about every event you can think of in each others’ presence. Affectionately, we call one another brothers and sisters. These two truly are that in my life.

In 2007, soon after I moved to NJ upon college graduation, I met Crystalina at the coffee lounge I was working at that my brother-in-law managed. It was an instant hit-off with us and our friendship has grown from those days on. We’ve not only spent time together, we’ve mentored teens together, had long talks over coffee, discussed and struggled with life decisions together, traveled and established a deep life-long friendship! I met Jesus practically the same way – through my brother-in-law – he’s from Costa Rica and became closer than family in a matter of months. By the way – Costa Rica – what a beautiful country – if given the opportunity, I’d move there in a heartbeat!)

Last year, I got a call from Crystalina while she was down in CR visiting her (then) fiancé! They were thinking about getting married within a few days instead of the bigger wedding they’d been planning for later in the fall. I was so on-board for many reasons and in an instant knew I just had to figure out how to be in CR for the big event! Given about 48 hours until the ceremony, I hit the internet in search of tickets, ok’d it with Keith and called my Dad. Since I knew their wedding was happening quick, not many others from the US were going to be able to attend, which made it all the more important to conquer this feat and be there to celebrate their marriage as they said their vows.

Two frantic days later, I was packed, had a cell phone that would work in CR (try explaining that situation to the AT&T rep!), was packed and…. did NOT have a ticket! That’s right, it was now Saturday morning and I was waiting for the last minute ticket price to lower once more before confirming my flight that afternoon! Keith and I headed to the food market we volunteer at and he was on his iPhone every five minutes checking. With my bags in the car, I was ready to go straight to the airport! An hour and a half into our 3 hour shift, I told our team leader that we had to go – that I was actually going to Costa Rica and we had just bought the ticket on the iPhone! Needless to say, there was a lot of fast-paced explaining before we hit the highway to get me to my flight which was boarding in 2.5 hours!

That day, I was full of joy – not only was I getting to go back to Costa Rica (where I’d been the past two years in April as well), but I was going to be participating and witnessing two of my closest friends say, I do! Armed with a boarding pass, cell phone and camera, I was off! I arrived in CR that night and stayed with some missionary friends we know there. The next day began a whirl wind of wedding planning if I’ve ever seen it!

Due to the surprise of deciding to get married within three days – Crystalina was off to find a dress and I joined in the decorating committee, became the driver for the groom, and the event photographer! We had so much fun and there is not another couple I would want to go through that expedited process with! From grabbing flowers on our way to Jesus’ hometown from the airport, to stopping by the local hardware store to have a 12 ft plastic pipe weaved through our car, to finding a wedding night cabin for them which & having to call the fireman to come exterminate a swarm of bees in the area, to being asked within 10 minutes of the wedding if I’d walk her down the aisle! Much fun, stress and laughter was had to say the least!

As I think back, that trip was fantastic, and it also came at a time where I needed a revamp and a time away from MN in the most serious way. Things were rough around here last spring as we settled into life in MN and a trip away, to reconnect with a place I so long for almost every week, was just what the Almighty Doctor ordered!

So, a year ago today, I witnessed their marriage and was able to support them in a unique way being in Costa Rica…. and yesterday, I was sending text messages back and forth with Crystalina as she experienced the ups and downs of labor as she prepared to give birth to their son, Micah! What a year!!

This morning, at 8am,
Micah Mauricio Solano
was born!

Making Crystalina and Jesus parents on their first wedding anniversary! A long and hard night for both, yet such a joyous occasion for so many as we all welcome this little boy to the world and our hearts.

I am so freakin’ proud of these two, the trials and challenges they have face and continue to face seem like immoveable mountains often, but they cling to their God and trust in His unfailing plans for the fullest life He has for them. They constantly encourage one another, seeking out the best in each other so that not only in their marriage but in their friendships and family life they are working to be who God has made them to the utmost! And now, happily entering parenthood and so looking forward the adventure that will bring to their family!

There is much to celebrate today! There is much to be thankful for – their love & marriage, their healthy baby boy and our friendship with one another! Shortly after waking up this morning, we were able to Skype with Jesus and to hear the excitement through the tiredness of his voice was amazing. If only I could give each of them a giant bear hug!

I am thankful for the peace God brought through the labor and delivery, for the joy of new parents and the miracle of life that God allows us to experience as mama’s and papa’s. I’m thankful for friendships that go beyond talks – that are real and that we know we each would do anything in the world to be able to support and show love to one another. From airport pick-ups, to traveling for weddings and text message galore… this is what life-long friendship are for!

Seeing as this much has happened in a year – a year and a week ago, they didn’t even know they would be married within 7 days – I am wait in anxious anticipation over what God will bring them through and the adventure that is to be had throughout the next year as they welcome Micah into their lives and arms!

Crys & Jesus – SO proud of you guys! May God bless you today as you celebrate the life that has been added to your family! And may rest from the past few long days be found for each of you! Micah is such a precious boy and a joy in my life already! (PS – we did tell Brooklyn that her husband was born today! And Keith followed that up with the fact that he’s Costa Rican so they’d have cute kids one day! Never too early to start arranged marriages! ha) We’ll take you to POPS to celebrate when we all are in CR together SOON!

Enjoy today!

SCK

Talented

March 3, 2012 in Beautiful You with 0 Comments

Happy weekend! This post was for yesterday but a few different events throughout the day made me postpone it to today. I hope you’re having lovely Saturday! We were graced with a bit more snow but I saw the more devastating effects of another unpredictable weather (non)pattern down south. Sad. Weird.

March is kind of a big deal around here… it’s the month the Mr. and I started dating, the month we got engaged AND the month we tied the knot! Pretty simple and secure way to remember it all! This year (March 8th) we’ll be celebrating our 4th anniversary! I have some fabulous blast-from-the-past photo posts brewing for next week.

We’ve also been working on something MAJOR and next time you come visit, things around here will look drastically different. I’m jollity just thinking about revealing it to you! Stay tuned!

~~~

So… the past two weeks I’ve noticed a bit of a theme on almost all the blogs that I keep up with and that is one of comparison, the fight to be who we each are, staying true to ourselves and instead of wishing for the abilities of others, to enjoy and use the ones we have! As you know, this is a huge point for me and this blog. I want to encourage YOU to always be YOU, and not focus on what you’re “missing” that someone else has got.

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This is not easy! I’ll be the first to admit that comparison comes all too easily to us females! We compare E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. Of course, each of us deals with this struggle on a different level. (Perhaps we even compare our struggles with comparison!) We compare fashion styles, cooking abilities, talents, creativeness, decorating talent, hostessing skills, and much, much more! In the blog world, it’s comparing posts and creative writing ability or the fact that we often only see the sunny-side-up of others’ lives showcased.

I used to struggle big time with comparison of talents. I think I’ve somewhat conquered this and have been able to celebrate my own talents and abilities rather than wish for someone else’s. For example, when I met the Mr. and realized he is musical, I used to pray my heart out for God to change my non-ability to sing well and give me an amazing voice that others would desire to hear and almost be jealous of. How horrible is that! But I think it’s true – we often desire the talent of someone else so we can be as good or better than they are at it. Lots of prayer and growing in life brought me to a place of realizing I will NEVER be a great singer. I wasn’t designed that way and that’s A-OK with me! But I tell ya, it’s so hard to dwell in that place.

Another area is fashion. For the most part, I don’t care about the latest trends or the hottest styles. But, my best friend Becky is a freelance Stylist and Personal Shopper at J.Crew. She’s an amazingly dressed + perfectly accessorized fashionista! So cute, ALL.the.time. Her style is lovely and her beautiful passion is to help make her clients (&friends) feel gorgeous and confident. I LOVE that about her. (Plus, she loves to go shopping with me – nothing’s better than someone who understand your style and will just take the $ and pick out perfect things for yoU!) If I’m honest, there have been times in the past when if I was meeting up with her I’d spend extra time thinking about my outfit and trying to make it better than others I’ve worn that week. It took a while for my head to catch up with the known fact that she doesn’t care or base our friendship on the critique of my outfits! I love her advice and her ability to match the perfect blend of personal style with trends! I don’t have that ability, I’m not a big accessory gal but I can take joy and celebrate HER talent in that area.

Those are just two example of the struggle of comparison and what I’ve learned from each. I share those because I think the root of beating this ugly beast of comparing ourselves to others isn’t just telling yourself to stop. But I think it’s to focus on celebrating the abilities, talents and gifts of others. If you can focus on being thankful others are made unique and everyone is good at something, then you spend less time wanting it yourself.

In fact, it’s so much more delightful to know that you have friends surrounding you that can call cover an area of life – sure I can learn different things from other’s abilities but I want to celebrate their uniqueness and if I’m just wishing to be like them, that takes away from them as much as it takes away from me. The quote floating around Pinterest and the blog world as of late is,

“COMPARISON IS THE THIEF OF JOY”

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Oh how true those words ring in our ears. As we enJOY the special things each of those around us is capable of, we spend less time focused on wanting what they have been gifted with and more time pulling out their abilities as we ask them to use those in our lives.

For me, I have a hubby that plays and sings wonderfully and can teach me about music and answer my questions; I had a best friend that can help me shop for the perfect outfit and decorate my house; I have a neighbor who can sew craft projects that I don’t have the desire/time to do, I have a sister who belongs on the Food Network with her mad cooking skills and passion; I have a Mom who is an amazing photographer; I have friends who have hours to spend putting together the perfect blog posts of trendy treats. I want to CELEBRATE that about each of them and use it to my advantage in my life. If I could do all those things myself, I wouldn’t get to hang out with them or appreciate them as much as I can now.

And me… what CAN I do well? I think I’m good at encouraging others, I think I can be a pretty good writer, I know I have the ability to love on others and be sensitive to their needs and help fulfill them. I have a passion for photography but don’t always take the best shots… but I celebrate the great ones I do take. I love having mentoring relationships with teens. I can create good meals. I think I’m a pretty good mama to Lil’ Miss. I help people have fun and can bring a smile to another’s face to change their day for a moment or more. I’ve had to realize that most of my talents are not visible talents per se (such as singing, fashionista, uber-creative) but more internal, or seen through my actions or more one-on-one. I think it’s harder for those of us whose talents are more hidden from the outward expressions to felt talented often, but you are! Take it from someone who is right there with ya!

Take a moment, or an hour and think about (I’m a fan of lists, so put it in a list so you can see it!) all the things you are GOOD at, things you KNOW you have the ability to do well, things others have told you that you do well and they appreciate about you.

YOU are beautiful,
YOU are talented,
YOU put together cute outfits all the time,
YOU say the right things at the right time,
YOU make other feel special,
YOU have talent,
YOU SHINE!

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Something that I cat leave out of this post as it’s hand-in-hand with this messy thing called comparison is learning to accept compliments. It seems simple yet it took me years to realize the importance! Mr. actually taught me during our first few years together (one that my Mom had continually tried to teach me as a teen and I never actually got right). When you choose to negate a compliment that has been given to you, you are proclaiming that the person who gave you the compliment is wrong in their thinking, or more bluntly – you’re calling them a liar.

So very often us ladies find it all too easy to put off what someone compliments us on. Someone says, “You look so good today.” We reply (with full on un-approving smirk) “Oh, now I just ran out the door and feel like a mess.” Or your own hubby may tell you that you cooked a great meal and you’ll give 10 different reasons why it wasn’t perfect or didn’t deserve that compliment. I’m sure not everyone deals with this struggle but I think “we’re not good enough” is wound around our minds so tightly that it’s hard to just say Thank You sometimes. More than a verbal response – do we actually BELIEVE what this person is saying? Choosing to believe the compliments and not hold them up in comparison to someone else has to be learned! A re-wiring is required.

Choose to rewire!

DO
the things YOU do well,

CELEBRATE
the talents, abilities and gifts of your friends & others

ACCEPT
the compliments that others desire to bless your life with!
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I challenge each of my readers to leave a comment with three things YOU know you do well!
(A talent, gift, ability, passion you have, etc)

Thanks for popping by today!

Enjoi Today!

SCK

Disclaimer: I do not in any way claim to be an expert at any of this! I’m just a girl struggling through the same things as you in my own little way! I hope this will only encourage you to continue conquering these struggles!

A Glimpse into the Week

September 9, 2011 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

Wow. I went MIA this week, in a serious way!

It hasn’t been the lack of ideas or the time, just simply haven’t logged on to blog-world! I hope you are enjoying your week and have a fun weekend planned ahead! Not sure what’s on our schedule but I know it will include a football game at my Alma Mater and picking up a few things for baby! (4 weeks left before she’s set to arrive!!)

This week was very full of fun times and laughs with friends and family!

We spent Labor Day afternoon out by Lake Johanna with friends of ours and their three little muchkins! While the kiddos enjoyed the playground and small beach area – Keith grilled up some good steak and brats! YUM! I was most excited about the brats because we picked up real brat buns! That may not seem like a big deal to you but growing up in Germany, there is definitely a specific bun for a brat! Here in America, people pair a brat with regular ole hot dog buns thus ruining the full-experience of enjoying a brat! The brat bun must be crunchy on the outside and soft inside, longer than a hot dog bun to fit the brat. A brat bun also doesn’t get soggy when putting kraut & mustard on it like the hot dog bun does!

Tuesday I was able to catch lunch at Olive Garden (Soup, Salad & Breadsticks, baby!) with a close friend from college! Mel and I used to go to OG every few weeks during our undergrad years to enjoy lunch together – but we might have told the professors we had a “luncheon” to attend and since we were both pretty involved in things at the school, they’d let us leave class early to go! So this week we were able to finally meet and catch up on life! Mel’s an amazing lady and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation about life over the past two years!

OH Wednesday… probably the funniest day this week! Loved it! Perfect weather and spent the day with my 4-year-old nephew, Shane! What a hoot that boy is! He always has been but somehow as he gets older it’s more entertaining! After picking him up we went to a little local zoo, Como Zoo, and walked around for a few hours looking at the animals. After two hours of trying to figure out why Shane was so anxious to move on to the next thing each time we stopped., I finally figured out he has a new “thing” about always wanting to be in the shade! (Couldn’t make his aunt any prouder!) So I invented a game for him to run from each shady spot as we continued our stroll through the zoo! (I would consider that a trial-parenting success!)

The successful parenting game was soon trumped by a not-so-successful attempt at Biblical parenting! After getting back in the car to leave the zoo for our house, Shane was putting up a little stink about not being able to put his seatbelt on, even though he does every time! After getting on the road, I decided to tell him, “You can always do all things through Christ…” a simple lesson I thought would be short and sweet…. but boy is this little guy a smart one – he quickly responded… “No, no I can’t…” then he proceeded to list a few things he actually can’t do!

“I can’t chop down trees”
“I can’t drive a car”
“I can’t make breakfast”
“I can’t break a window”

And with that we BURST into uncontrollable laughter! He’s a smart one! The rest of the day we spent outside playing by our apartment and enjoying his company! At home he entertained us with his own reading of Corduroy, check it out:

Shane Reading Corduroy!

Wednesday evening, my sister hosted a beautiful baby shower for me! She’s the best party planner there is – food is always the priority! The hor’dourves and desserts were delicious!! (You can see what all she put together here!) She seriously needs to start the business she’s dreamt of – planning small private parties! Such a joy to celebrate our little girl with about 15 friends out by the lake! I feel so blessed and loved by the gifts, advice and laughs that everyone showered me with! So many crafty women too – lots of homemade items for baby girl! It was the perfect shower – no goofy games, just a joyful time with some fabulous women and scrumptious food!

The rest of the week has been errands and getting things marked off the to-do list! The hubby has some work to do in preparation for his school year which begins in about 4 weeks as well!

Hope your week has been FUN-tastic and you have some relaxing time this weekend!