Phi Mu, Hell Yeah!

I joined Phi Mu my freshman year of college at Mercer University in 2003 and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.  Over the course of my 4 years at Mercer I developed as a person and made many lasting memories, and much of that had to do with my involvement in Phi Mu.  Some of these women have continued to be a big part of my life after college, and some I just enjoy seeing their cute kids on facebook :)  Either way, these women still mean a lot to me and I am honored to call them sisters.

In the midst of us building our lives after college with weddings and trips and making more lasting memories, my sisters and I have also experienced some tragedies.  In May 2010, the longtime boyfriend of one of our sisters was killed by an IED while serving our country in Iraq.  Only 1 month later, one of our own was killed in a car accident.  And, most recently, a sister's husband, who we also went to college with, died in a plane crash while serving our country.  Times like these fill us with deep sadness, can make you question your faith, and just plain ask why...But, times like these also make you feel tremendous support from those around you, hold your loved ones a little tighter, and they remind me of the bond I share with the incredibly strong women I get to call my sisters.  

Last night a few of us went to see our sister, Ashley, who just lost her husband.  I haven't laughed that much in a while.  Yes, you read that right.  I didn't really know what to expect, but certainly not to laugh as much as we did!  We hugged, caught up on what the week has been like for her, logistics of this weekend, and plans and fears for the months to come, but mostly we reminisced on old times, ate pizza, sat on the floor and laughed our heads off.  I wouldn't have cared if we would have cried the whole night, but Ashley said the night was perfect and just what she needed.  That is sisterhood! 

I have been collecting money for flowers and gift cards for Ashley and have been honored to do so.  The messages I've received, some from sisters who never even knew me or Ashley, have been overwhelming (in a good way).  I received my first round of checks in the mail today, and felt the flood of emotions all over again.  It's also been a little overwhelming handling the logistics - what should the flowers look like?, what should we do for a gift card?,  have we reached out to everyone?  (and my skills learned while being Sisterhood Chair and Treasurer have come in handy!).  But most of all it has truly touched my heart to see such love for Ashley.  

I can't imagine going through this.  As I think back on my Valentine post, I feel physical pain in my chest imagining losing my husband, best friend, partner in life.  While I don't want to be any less dependent on or less close to my husband in fear that I could lose him, it makes me realize the importance of my God being my rock.  I've heard my pastor Andy Stanley say that in tough times you can either lean toward God or against God.  I hope to continuously build a strong foundation that I would lean toward Him if faced with an unimaginable situation.  I love 2 Corinthians 12:9 "But he said to me 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."  How comforting it is that in my weak moments in life, God's power can be made perfect.  I've been praying that Ashley will feel God's perfect peace and comfort in this dark time in her life. Visiting with her last night and seeing all the family at the Whitlock's house I can tell that God is at work; that is the only way to explain it.  

This weekend we will honor a true hero, loving husband, and loyal friend to so many people.  I will never forget him.  

So...my most spiritual post yet is titled "Phi Mu, Hell Yeah!"  Haha, well all these tragedies have also made me realize what an amazing group of women I am a part of.  Seeing everyone come together, hearts breaking for our friend, wanting to do something, sending cards and texts and facebook messages, collecting money for flowers and gift cards knowing that is a minuscule offering for such an enormous loss but it is done with such love - makes me feel both humbled and proud (is that possible?) to be a part of this sisterhood.  And, well, nothing makes me feel more Phi Mu pride than memories of being huddled in a group of my sisters loudly shouting, with fist pumps, "Phi Mu, Hell Yeah!"

To My Valentine

Last day of 8th grade.  Yes, Kevin has a goatee and yes, it is blue and his hair is purple - the boys decided to use crazy color hair spray for field days...

In honor of the month of love...thought I would share mine and my Valentine's love story :)  To avoid duplicating efforts, I will refer you to our wedding website for all the details (didn't even know if it still existed or not but it does, yay!).  While searching for that site so I could post the link on here, I also came across this awesome Buckhead Church blog post which describes a "wedding in Waumba Land" put on by a very creative and thoughtful mother - still cracks me up!  What a fun special memory.

Anyway, the last time we were at Kevin's parents' house I took a peek at his middle school yearbooks.  When we first started dating in 2008, I scrounged up all of our middle school yearbooks and I loved seeing what we wrote each other!  But now that we are married and have truly committed to "<3 ya always" it takes on a whole new meaning!  I snapped a couple pictures so I could share with you...

Note who Kevin considered his best friends in 7th grade...a bunch of guys and "Nat Dees"  love it!

Unfortunately Kevin only took the advice I gave him in his 8th grade yearbook once in 9th grade (we went to different high schools),  but 9 years later he made up for it!

I haven't taken pictures of what Kevin wrote to me in my yearbooks and they're at my parents' house - but I will never forget one line he wrote in my 8th grade yearbook: "you have the best looking legs in the 8th grade" HAHA!!

Sometimes I just can't believe I'm married to Kevin Riggs, one of my bffs from middle school who made me laugh like no other and still does.  He is my best friend, my companion, my partner in life.  Every night I am excited to come home to him and I always look forward to being together on the weekends - just told Kevin the other day that I feel like every night is like a spend-the-night party with my best friend.  Well I should really say most nights, haha...don't want to give illusions of perfection - sometimes I freak like a crazy person over nothing and sometimes Kevin isn't Mr. Sensitive, but we always land on giving each other grace and understanding even when we don't understand each other and that's a pretty incredible thing to experience.

So glad to be married to my Valentine!