Thank You, Stella's Mommy!

When DH and I were first married, he was serving as the BCM director for Western Illinois University, where I also was a student. (That's probably another post for another time, but I will just quickly say that it was a difficult time for me, juggling trying to live up to God's call as a minister alongside my husband when all anyone saw me as was just a young college student...altho I now see my hair could have had something to do with it! LOL:-) We had a small group of core students that we became very, very close to and spent a lot of time with.

I still remember our "BYOM Survivor Parties" every week at our house where the students would "bring your own meat" for DH to grill while we all watched to see how "the tribe has spoken."

A decade later, we have seen these students graduate, start their careers, and some marry (some of them others from the group!) and start families of their own. It's really such a blessing that they allow us to continue to have a glimpse into their lives and how God has guided and blessed them over the years!

One of our students, also a close friend of mine and fellow music major (I think one of the first people I met in the music department?) would house sit for us when we were out of town for various trips and camps. Our beagle absolutely LOVED Selena! She taught Annabelle how to give kisses (thanks a *lot* Selena;-) and would even do laundry for us! Selena was always very crafty, and you would often find her crocheting some sort of beautiful creation. Well, this week she blessed our family with the sweetest surprise in the mail filled with some of her beautiful crafty creations for the whole family! DH and I received a super fun wreath, Lucy got a one-of-a-kind tin with her name on it filled with a bracelet and pink nail polish (I'm so happy to hear that Selena retained the most important piece of knowledge from her college days: Pink IS God's favorite color!;-) and GP got one of Selena's crocheted creations as well as HOMEMADE teething biscuits which he absolutely LOVES (and apparently, from the picture, I have no clue how to spell;-)

Selena--thank you so much for taking such time and energy to bless our family! We love you, miss you, and hope to meet your hubby and precious baby Stella one day soon!:-)