It was. It is. It will be.

this week a friend of mine from high school passed away.  she was 28.  it was unexpected.  it was the day after christmas.  it was not the desired answer to thousands of prayers that hundreds of people prayed.  it was, is, and will continue to be devastating for everyone that knew her.  

today a father will bury his daughter.  today a mother will bury her baby girl.  today there will not be one empty seat or one dry eye in a church in minneapolis.  today i am sending all of my love to minnesota.  today i am hugging every friend i see.

maggie, you were the sweetest of the sweets.  you left a beautiful and unparalleled mark on this world.  i am praying for you and your family as you spend your first days in heaven and they walk through their first days without you by their side.  may you have a million arms to welcome you home and may we find peace knowing that you are indeed... home.

Beach Me

clouds can't stop us.

Merry Christmas

 christmas with my family has always been exactly, completely, entirely...  

this:

and even though my parents traded snow for surf and moved...

here:

and instead of having aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, priests (yes, priests) and friends over for dinner we started passing out gift baskets at my dad's hospital in... 

these:

and candlelit midnight mass on christmas eve has become us one by one trickling into the living room to watch my crosspoint family on...

this:

and us "kids" no longer wait at the top of the steps for our parents to get the coffee and camera ready before we get to see what santa brought us like...

this:

not all that much has changed like...

this:

merry this and happy that to everyone and everything.

'tis the season.

ps - i got the most bestest biggest outstandingest terrific amazingest supercalifragilisticexpialidocious gift ever this year.  more on that as soon as i can share details...

Tom Petty Was Right

the waiting really is the hardest part.

my friends sean and mary susan just returned from a trip to ghana where they got to meet the sweet baby girl they will be bringing home in 2012.  

now, they wait.  but waiting is an understatement.  while they anticipate, expect, hang on to their hats, hold on, hole up, keep their shirts on, lie low, look forward to, sit tight... wait for the day they can bring her home, we pray.  may she feel loved.  may she feel safe.  may she feel wanted.

Christmas Courage

i come from a family where funny is king.  sarcasm is our first language.  the sole purpose of gift giving among us is for the giver to purchase something that the recipient will be mortified to return.  this clan will go to great lengths for a laugh.  

but this?  this took some special kind of christmas courage.  my 21 year old brother flew from wisconsin to texas, that's one thousand one hundred and eighty miles... in this:

i have never been more proud of him.