Beach Butterfly

these are from my bestie, Sarah Mack...well, she ordered them for us. the sand butterflies are actually done by a baby loss mom in australia. as a way to keep the memory of her baby alive, carly creates these butterflies on the beach near her home. carly regularly writes baby names on the beach for people at no charge, these butterflies are what allows her to keep doing that. i love the way Charlotte's butterfly turned out! i cant wait to have one printed and framed to put with her things in our living room. if you would like more info on the beach butterflies, just go to Carly's page and follow the prompts. 

tomorrow i will be doing a post about the charms my bible study girls gave me for two reasons. 1. i have been wanting to write and show them off. 2. i will be supporting a blogging friend in her journey to recovery after a stroke. please see Joanne's page for more info. if you have a charm of any kind and you blog, you should join me tomorrow!! the info is in the post called birthday surprise.

i wanted to thank everyone who has been praying for my friend lisa and her sweet family. this past weekend peter and i drove to indianapolis to celebrate the life of little jaxton. please continue to pray for my friends as they continue to grieve and try to understand how their lives will continue without him. at the funeral, both josh and lisa were able to stand and give an account of their time with jaxton and how his sweet life has impacted so many people. lisa read the most amazing words describing her love for jaxton...please feel free to read what she said, but be prepared for tears. 

lisa, thank you for always being real and sharing your heart. i wish that there was something more i could do for you, my friend, but know that i love you and i am praying continuously for you to see and feel the peace that only God can give you.  

last week, on tuesday, i spent some time with a my friend elizabeth. a few weeks back, elizabeth and i spent some trying on and picking out a wig just before she started her first round of chemo for ovarian cancer. her first round went as well as it could have i guess. she did find out last week (her off week) that according to her numbers her body is responding to the treatments. the other visible sign that things are working is the hair loss. elizabeth and i were both dreading the head shaving day, but we had talked about it several times and had formulated a plan. basically, after finding the wig and then a week later taking her shoulder length hair to a short layered cut, elizabeth would call me when she knew it was time to do the big haircut. last tuesday was the day. to say that elizabeth was brave (even though she doesnt think so) is an understatement. elizabeth also has an amazing family and support system at home cheering her on as well as countless friends who are right there when she needs or wants anything. just before the haircut, steve (her hubby) prayed for elizabeth. i got so choked up because he kept referring to as his beautiful bride. after the hair cut it was no different. he looked at her with all this love and pride in his eyes...hair or no hair...wow. i of course wish that elizabeth was not going through chemo, and i of course wish that we didnt have to shave her head, but i will tell you that homegirl has a very pretty head...not lumpy or funny shaped at all! today elizabeth started her second round of chemo. please go to her blog to know how to specifically pray for her and her family.

i know that this has been a long one...there has been a lot going on in my life and in the lives of the ones i love. please, take the time to pray today for the ones that are close to you. make the time that you spend with God in prayer special, not just something that is on your checklist...but rather a time that you look forward to and a time that you cherish. 

blessings, ALo