An Inspirational Life

Today I attended the funeral of my friend’s father.  Becca and I have never been super close but any time I’ve spent with her I’ve fully enjoyed, so when I heard her father had passed away, I made a point to attend the service.  The tears started flowing as pictures of Ralph Preston and his family flashed across the screen at the front of the church.  You could almost feel the love that this man had for his wife, his children, his grandchildren; and vice versa.  Merely 60 years of age, cancer had pulled this beloved man from the arms of his loved ones.  I’m sure I wasn’t the only one in the room asking… why?!

As the children spoke about their father and loved ones rose to share memories, I was overcome with love and admiration for a man I had never met.  In some way or another, Ralph had touched every life in that room (and there were hundreds of us); whether it was directly (by opening up his home when a family was moving into town, providing his vehicle to someone who needed a lift, sharing his skills by fixing something that someone else had broken, or by offering a shoulder to lean on and a listening ear to someone in need) or indirectly (by raising amazingly independent and loving children who had impacted people like me).  He was called a practical man and one who always put the needs of others before himself.  Again and again they spoke of his deep faith and his unending love. 

I left the service today with my head held high.  Yes, I cried quite a bit; but mostly I was inspired.  Here was a man who spent his 60 years touching the lives of others – whether through prayer, a kind word, or a thoughtful deed.  Ralph Preston, I never knew you but you make me want to be a better person.  You make me want to not only hold my loved ones a little closer and tell them I love them more frequently; but to also reach out in a more intentional way to impact the lives of my friends, neighbors, and strangers walking down the street.  I plan on keeping your photo (the one on the cover of today’s program) in order to remind to me to emulate you and your love every single day.  Thank you for living your life in such an amazing way!

The Most Perfect Day

I know it's been nearly two months since I posted.  What can I say, I can't seem to find the time to write down all the amazing things that have been happening in my life.  Only one of which is, two weeks ago I married to my best friend. Yup, that's right!  So maybe that's why I've been kinda busy lately :)  We don't have photos from our photographers yet but here are a few that my amazing matron-of-honor (Jessica Woodin) took.  She's an aspiring photographer and is truly talented! http://www.jmwoodinphotography.com/

This was a very moving moment for me... walking down the aisle with my dad and first seeing Mark.  If you can't tell from the photo, I felt like joy and love were oozing from every inch of me!

I love this one!  I felt like I was fully in the moment all day but I can specifically remember not recognizing anyone was at the ceremony except me, Mark, my grandfather, and my great uncle (the latter too performed the wedding - one is a justice of the peace and one is an Episcopal priest).  It really was so intimate.  Not only that but this shot also captures the barn on the other side of the lake.  When Mark proposed last August, he made a point to do so in the middle of the lake... halfway between the barn and my family camp.  

Jessica did an amazing job catching a very intimate moment here.  I love how she got the beautiful blue flowers, the gorgeous arch that Mark made, the lake, and the large tree (which won't be there many more years unfortunately). 

The only thing that could've made the day better was if my Kenya family was with me.  We did our best to have them represented though!  Many of the Reason2Smile board members and their families were present.  We were so glad to have them!!  We had many pictures of the children from Jambo Jipya and each guest received a bottle of maple syrup (from my Uncle Jamie's sugar shack in Lake Placid) with a Reason2Smile bracelet around it.  Not only that but my bouquet was tied with a cloth from Kenya.  Although my Kenyan family wasn't present, they didn't feel quite so far away.  I spoke with my Kenyan mama (Christine) today and she greeted me with much excitement.  It was wonderful to hear her voice and to hear how happy she was for me.  She said she'd been telling everyone that her daughter was getting married in America and that my ears should have been ringing (or as they say in Kenya, my tongue should have been sore from biting it so many times) because they had been talking about me every day for the past few weeks.  When I told her that the day wasn't quite complete without her and the children there, she said, "My soul was with you."  Boy do I love her!

My uncle Nip made the portrait that we used as a guest book and his daughter, Jamie Beth, made our beautiful cake!

Bells on the table came from my great-grandfather's collection.  The picture blocks were made by Mark and me - blending our love for woodworking and photography.  My mother and grandmother made the centerpieces and bouquets - all the flowers came from gardens from people who are important in our lives.

My mother's cousin painted dozens of beautiful rocks with various designs which were scattered all over the point (as well as the table numbers), and my grandmother's cousin, Cathy Messenger, made my stunning dress.  I've always wished I lived in the Medieval time period so that I could wear the beautiful dresses. My wish came true!  We found a pattern in the costume section of a fabric store and Cathy did an amazing job!  I honestly felt gorgeous - I'm humble too :)

Then of course there was lots of dancing and wonderful music!  Our band (the Delaney Brothers) was wonderful and so was our DJ (Lee Kyler)!

From close family to dear friends, everyone pitched in and helped make the day truly amazing! They used their time and talents to contribute to our day. We are incredibly grateful to you all!  Here's to many years filled with deep love, heartfelt conversations, and amazing experiences!

One last shot... this one makes me think of the time Reagan (a little 6 year old at Jambo Jipya School) asked me, "Teacha Keela, how do people in America kiss?  All of your noses are so long!" :)