a beautiful weekend.

this weekend was very special. weekends like this do not happen all the time so when they do you hold tight to what is good and real in your life. my sweet friend katie emailed me a while back and said she wanted to plan a weekend to celebrate no more cancer. so we did. and it happened this weekend on the river. i know all these girls through young life in some way or another. but what i love the best is that for many of them our friendships began when i became their young life leader while they were high school...but now more importantly we are friends. walking through life together. even though we maybe in different stages of life we are doing life together. these relationships are special. not something everyone gets to experience. but as young life leader i am given the honor to walk through life with these women. the joys and the sorrows. when things are good and when nothing in life seems right. i love it and i love them. although i did not spend a lot of time when these girls when i was sick...i knew they were in this with us. through phone calls, package, letters, babysitting, cleaning, bringing meals, and praying. oh, man do these precious girls know how to pray. in many ways these girls are young...18, 19, 20...okay they are young. but the desire they have to know the Lord and follow His will is something inspiring to watch. i lead young life because of my own leader erinn. the way she loved me and walked through life with me and continues to do so is why this matters to me. this being these girls lives and that they know one thing or maybe two things. that they are loved and that nothing else matters in comparison to knowing Christ in a real and intimate way.

we started the weekend with dinner at plaza azteca because people in chesapeake love this place. saturday morning we ate dunkin donuts and shared our hearts. i cried the whole time. because i can not seem to keep myself composed when reading scripture anymore. and i was given the chance to get a glimpse of these girls hearts. how cancer changed them. what is different now. how they will never be the same. not because of me and who we were in cancer but the ways God allowed us to be apart of His story. its awesome to know that you are a part of something bigger. not only did cancer change us but it impacted these girls and that makes me so thankful i am not sure what to do with it. God is big and He is good. even when nothing seems to look or feel good. saturday morning was special. so special that you are sitting there thinking as its happening...this is big. and it was big. i know what its like to plan something and so desperately hope it turns out as good as you imagined. so when its better than you imagined and its only saturday morning you know you are in for something good. thank you girls for loving me. loving ava. wow you guys love her so well and that makes me love you all more and more. just to see you care for her the way you all do. its rare. and the fact that ava is able to experience this much love at only 15 months of life...i get emotional thinking about her little life and how you all are making imprints in it. thank you.

on saturday night we watched our wedding video. it was the first time since i was sick that i have watched it. and it was hard. but in a good way. listening to our vows. where we talk about healing. we know health and healing a deeper way then we ever imagined that day in may. and one other part. when our dear friend chris kessick, who was marrying us, said i want you to remember one
thing...God...loves...you (it was slow and drawn out so i added some periods in between the words). and what is incredible about those three words. these seemingly simple words. they are the three words we constantly share with people when we talk about cancer and what we learned. through it all. from day one. God loves us.

gotta love the fake laughing shots.

the weekend was full of a lot of relaxing, talking, and snacking. a few of my favorite things. it was nice to be at the river house and just be. no plans. no agenda. just celebrating life and how thankful we all are that that cancer is gone. i felt alive and i felt free. and we danced. its good to dance. thanks for creating an environment that felt easy and simple. although our lives may not all be easy and simple we were able to stop and just be together in the midst of it all. and that is important. many of you shared some really special things with me this weekend...i cherish your willingness to really go there with and be real. i love it. keep doing it.

thank you ally, allison (wants to be called ally but i keep forgetting), alex, shannon, alex queen, ariel, becca, sarah, katie, leslie, jes, kb, katie. for driving home. for sharing your hearts. for praying. for loving me through cancer. who would have thought that cancer would be in our story when we are all so young. but i hope and pray that it taught you about Christ and what is real and who He is. its enough. He is enough. trust me. my life is more full because you are in it. thank you for my sweet box full of letters from you all that will soon to be stuffed full with the hundreds of letters we received when i was sick. i love the gift. another thing became real clear to me this weekend...we have moved past that i am just your young life leader. but we are friends and i hope to always be in your lives and you in mine.

this weekend was documented. video to come. and thank you to our friend matt benson for the mini photo shoot.

cancer is done and done. my favorite phrase that justin hates.