Well, this was a fun and busy week – as evidenced by my complete lack of photos! The week flew by like a whirlwind – starting with a lovely visit from Del! Del and I became good friends back in 2006 or so when she would come from New York to visit her daughter, Amie and then son-in-law, Paul. I would spend time over at their house and listen to her many stories of life in the Phillipines and stories of God’s love and faithfulness. Many of you know that in 2008 Amie and Paul were pregnant and expecting their first child. Part way through her pregnancy she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Sadly, their daughter Bianca was born very early, around 22 weeks, and passed away. Less than 3 months later, my wonderful friend Amie passed away as well. Amie was a true light and source of encouragement to me and so many others. She had such a loving and serving heart and I can still hear her laugh and see her smile to this very day. Her mom is exactly the same! We have kept in touch via email, text, cards, and phone calls. She has supported me and encouraged me through many of my life’s struggles, including the loss of Nathan, as she shares in the pain of losing a child. And I will never forget the encouragement she offered to me when I thought I would never become a mom or marry again. She reminded me of God’s love, grace, and faithfulness. So this was a super special visit for me, to have her here to meet Kevin and Griffin for the first time. It had been 7 years since she had been back to Ohio and we were happy to host her at our house for a couple of nights. We had a small gathering of friends for dessert and she accompanied me to our small group girls dinner too. She also enjoyed being able to visit with Paul (she surprised him at NPC on Sunday) and his wife Megan, as well as their kids Nick and Sam. Finn gave her the biggest hugs and she told me how special it made her feel –  and how she imagines how it would feel to hug her granddaughter Bianca. On Saturday we followed the Bethune’s lead and attended the OSU Men’s Hockey game. We had great seats and all of the kiddos got to see the players enter the rink right from our seats!
And here is a fabulous photo that Debbie captured this week – she even got Lily! They are all sporting their craft project of the day – Lily even managed to keep hers on for a split second to get the photo 🙂