1 year || Giving Back

"Jesus I sing for,
All that you've done for me."
[jeremy.riddle]


A Mouse told his mother and father that he was going on a trip to the seashore.
"We are very alarmed!" they cried. "The world is full of terrors. You must not go!"
"I have made my decision," said the Mouse firmly. "I have never seen the ocean, and it is high time that I did. Nothing can make me change my mind."
"Then we cannot stop you," said Mother and Father Mouse, "but do be careful!"
The next day, in the first light of dawn, the Mouse began his journey. Even before the morning had ended, the Mouse came to know trouble and fear.
A Cat jumped out from behind a tree.
"I will eat you for lunch," he said.
It was a narrow escape for the Mouse. He ran for his life, but he left a part of his tail in the mouth of the Cat.
By the afternoon the Mouse slowly climbed the last hill and saw the seashore spreading out before him. He watched the waves rolling onto the beach, one after another. All the colors of the sunset filled the sky.
"How beautiful!" cried the Mouse. "I with that Mother and Father were here to see this with me."
The moon and the stars began to appear over the ocean. The Mouse sat silently on the top of the hill. He was overwhelmed by a feeling of deep peace and contentment. [Fables, Arnold Lobel]

One year of:

• A journey I thought I couldn't handle.
• Sickness I thought I wouldn't get through
• Trusting, hoping, and praying for a miracle
• Complete remission

I could tell you all about how this past year was one of the hardest years of my life. But I could also tell you that in this past year I have been completely healed and what I am doing to give back to the community.

Autism is a "neurological disorder that impairs and individual's ability to communicate, form relationships with others, and relate to their surroundings" (autismspeaks.org). Autism now affects 1 in 88 children, and 1 in 54 boys. It is the fastest growing serious developmental disability in the United States and more children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes, and cancer combined. And unfortunately, there is no medical detection or cure for autism.

So, why am I sharing this with you? I have the privilege to be apart of the Council for Exceptional Children, Towson USG chapter. On Saturday, students from the Towson program are going down to Washington DC to walk for Autism Speaks.

I am typically not that person who asks for donations from people, but as a group we are trying to raise money that will benefit Autism Speaks for future research. Check out the Autism Speaks website to see why this is such an important issue, and consider donating to our effort of promoting autism awareness. Even if it is one dollar, every little bit counts in the long run.

All the miles of a hard road are worth a moment of true happiness.
That is why I am choosing to walk for Autism Speaks.

New Friends + New Places

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says 
to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'"
[c.s.lewis]

Friendship is an amazing concept to me. I am extremely grateful for all the friends I have made in the 9 1/2 years of being in Maryland. But if you were to ask me where I met all these people or how we became such good friends, I honestly couldn't give you an answer. Maybe it's just that my brain is getting old. But this new friend, I remember meeting like it was yesterday.

To begin this story we need to time travel all the way back to 2004. We had just moved and we were beginning our school year. Leo was going into 7th grade and I was going into 9th grade. We were so incredibly blessed to make friends from the very start. Why is this part of the story relevant? Well, since 7th grade Leo has had four really close friends, and one of those friends is Riley.

Fast forward to March 2012. It was the weekend we had just found out I was sick and I had come back home. It was also the last weekend of the annual Youth Drama play. I was standing in the back of the auditorium talking with some friends when all of a sudden Riley comes over to me excitedly. [side note: since I had been away at school for a year and a half I didn't really talk to many of Leo's friends. So having Riley purposefully come over to talk to me was a little strange.] Anyways, he came over to me, enthusiastically said "Hi Andi. This is my girlfriend Kelsey." Before I could properly introduce myself and say "Hi. It's nice to meet you" Riley saw someone else he knew and rushed over to introduce Kelsey to them.

After our brief introduction I didn't see much of her that summer. She lives up in Pennsylvania, so she only comes and visits every few weeks. But when she did come down it was typically during an admin weekend and she would graciously help us out, even though she didn't have to at all. She came to help at our annual youth retreat last August, she has come to several monthly youth meetings, she has used her exceptional decorating skills to help make a boring gymnasium beautiful for our Junior/Senior banquet in the spring, she has even been gracious when the guys on the admin team joke around with her. [Kelsey Farmer. dum-da-dum-da-dum-dum-dum]

Kelsey had always come down to visit us, so I thought it was about time that someone other than Riley go up to Pennsylvania to visit her for the weekend. We ate sushi, painted our nails, watched a movie, had a photo shoot at Longwood Gardens (seriously the best place ever), made curtains and suffered from sharpie highs at their youth meeting, and over all had an excellent bonding experience. We talked about anything and everything. Her family and friends were generous and kind [who knew that people not from the south could be kind?!] And by the end of the weekend, I was known as "Kelsey's friend from Maryland... who wasn't Riley."

Being at Longwood gardens almost felt like you were in a Jane Austin movie. It was that beautiful. If you are ever in West Chester I highly recommend you go here. We only spent maybe two hours there and didn't even see everything. I'm pretty sure you could spend an entire day there.

The thing I loved about Longwood Gardens was the variety of places you could go. They have a conservatory, a meadow, a bell tower, small waterfalls, multiple garden areas, and being there is extremely breath-taking. Some of you may not be "nature people" and that's okay. You should still go visit, because even the bathrooms are cool. Only at Longwood Gardens will you see plants growing on walls as you walk to the bathrooms. If that isn't an excuse for you to go visit, I don't know what else is.

Kelsey - I loved coming up to visit you despite my crazy school semester. Thanks for showing me Longwood, modeling for an impromptu photo shoot, protecting me from humiliation when we went to get our sandwiches, and dragging me around to all of your admin events. The weekend was too short, but I am so glad that you are dating one of my brother's best friends, which allows you to come down and visit every month.

Until our next adventure together...

Sweet Southern Hospitality

"Love bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends."
[1cor13:7-8]


I have lived in Maryland for almost 10 years now and I have come to the conclusion that you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl. Everything is so much better in the south. People are laid back, super kind, and if you don't say "yes ma'am" or "no sir" then you would get a talking to.

Growing up I have been blessed to have many adopted family friends. This particular story begins a very long time ago when my dad went to high school with this girl named Peggy. My parents started dating and mom and Peggy became very good friends. They been together through the good times, and the bad times. They been there for each other during moves and kids. Let's just say they are live long friends.

When I came along into this world, for some reason I "named" this family friend Mimi. At the time we were in Roanoke, she and her kids lived in West Virginia. They would visit often and I remember her youngest daughter Mandi would teach me how to do cartwheels down the hallway. We would also go on many adventures. We went to the Roanoke Express hockey games (which aren't in existence now) and mix popcorn with M&Ms and peanuts, and also went to several baseball games.

Fast forward to Christmas 2011. Mimi and her husband David had been living in Frederick, Maryland for quite some time. This particular year all of her kids and grandkids came to their house for Christmas. My parents and I went up one evening and we had dinner together and enjoyed each other's company and also played an intense game of Apples to Apples. This was the first time I met John. For the most part he seemed nice, and he was certainly one of those guys who wasn't afraid to be involved in the family activities.

To make a long story short, John and Mandi fell in love, got engaged, and just recently got married. We had the great privilege to drive 8 very long hours to a little mountain town called Banner Elk to participate in this exciting event. During non-wedding events my parents and I did some sight-seeing around town, but the wedding was one of the most thrilling parts, and the setting couldn't have been more perfect.

The wedding itself was small and cozy. There couldn't have been more than 60 people there. The ceremony was short, but that didn't stop a chorus of tears and sobs to happen. I don't think I have ever been to a wedding where there were so many sniffles holding back the tears. Even poor Mandi and John had trouble getting through their vows.

The wedding decorations were simple yet elegant and Mandi and John thought of everything. They had mason jar glasses for guests to take home as favors, toiletry items in the bathroom if guests needed them. They even had a fire specifically for roasting marshmellows and making s'mores.

 Besides everything being so perfect, the company couldn't have been better. For part of the evening they had a country band playing music, and my oh my did people's southern, country roots come out.

If something went wrong during the evening you wouldn't have known it. Mandi and John had smiles on their faces the entire night. They were calm, and nothing in the world could have ruined the moment.

Having adopted families is one of the best things someone could have. Of course your immediate family is the best thing you could have, but having those people in your life who are more than just friends and acquaintances, who will support you through your darkest storm, who love you just as much as your immediate family is an incredible blessing.

Panda, I am so incredibly blessed to be your little sister. Every day I thank God that He allowed our parents to meet so very long ago and that they became life-long friends. John, I know without a doubt that you are the right man for my sister. I am so happy that you are in our family and am excited to get to know you better - and taste more of your awesome cooking ;)