kentucky, easter, and lots of animals.

sometimes things happen where it seems far greater to really see it oppose to just read about it. this past trip to kentucky was one of those times. i am so very thankful to have married into a family that loves me as if i have always been there and that i am apart of them. it is nice to be loved and cared for and if only for a few days...get a glimpse of what life would be like if we lived near family. i like it.

easter morning with the cousins.

 

not the least bit scared. she loved the bunny. she spent most of easter brunch hoping the bunny would return to the table. no such luck.

jack's birthday breakfast and trip to the zoo.

 

waited all day for the penguin exhibit. it was the very last thing we saw and we came upon this...

 

this was closest she got to seeing penguins at the zoo...lame wooden cut outs. 

she asked if she could climb over the fence and live with the geese...but we decided that would be a no.

these kids love each other. it sure is something special.

it was a good good trip. thank you, thank you, thank you...for how you love me and how you love ava even more. but these two girls are real ready for daddy to come home and you better believe there will be balloons and cause for celebration.

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mamalode magazine subscription winner is...commenter #2. congrats jen.

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new sponsie for you. our good friend cory just started an adorable etsy shop with onesies for boys and girls and some super cute infinity scarves. so how about a giveaway? maybe a precious onesie for your baby or a lightweight perfect for the spring scarf for you? leave a comment and be entered into the giveaway. winner will be announced monday on the blog. in addition, receive 15% off your entire order when you use code: LIBBY. enjoy shopping.

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we're back with something important.

relay for life. i must be honest. before getting sick i did not really rally behind the american cancer society or any causes surrounding cancer. but as you might imagine...when something like cancer hits home the way it did for us your heart changes a bit and this year we are participating in the virignia tech relay for life. this will be our first one and i am a little nervous that they will want me to wear a special t-shirt or a sash that says survivor. i know i survived and i am proud and thankful but i also do not like to draw a lot of attention to it. which is silly. it is not that i take it for granted or "it's not big deal that i had cancer and now i do not have cancer." it is a big deal. for sure. but no sash needed.  because we have some of the greatest friends ever...our sweet friend katie who believes in what the relay for life is all about and is behind the fight to cure cancer. this year she rallied and created a team. read her thoughts below and some information about the relay for life event at virginia tech or if you want to come or support from where you might be reading this blog.   ***  the summer of 2010 one of my closest friends Libby was diagnosed with lymphoma. that fall when i headed back to school  i told myself i was going to create a relay team in her honor. but sadly it did not happen. life got in the way and i was not on top of things and instead i joined a team i had been a part of in the past. i still participated with relay but i knew that i wanted to do more. so this year i decided that life would not get in the way because that is a terrible excuse. and i created Team Libby. for those of you not familiar with relay here is a little info:relay for life is an event hosted by the american cancer society every year. the american cancer society is the largest, nonprofit source of cancer research funding, and our mission is to eliminate cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering through research, education, advocacy, and service. Virginia Tech has the largest collegiate relay in the world. it is a huge event here. a little crazy. a lot of fun and such a sweet thing to get to be a part of. this is my third year being involved with relay at tech and my first year being a team captain. our event is April 20, 2012 on virginia techs campus.i want to invite all of you to be a part of Team Libby!!!

Our Reason to Relay

Why 'Team Libby?' and why do we 'relay?'....

We relay to make a difference-to fight together-and to find a cure. As college and high school students we are teaming together to fight cancer. As members of Team Libby, we have all been touched in some way by our friend, Libby Ryder, and her fight against Lymphoma. We also invite you to read John Piper's article here, titled Don't Waste Your Cancer: http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/taste-see-articles/dont-waste-your-cancer. 

John Piper writes on the eve of prostate surgery:

'I believe in God's power to heal by miracle and by medicine. I believe it is right and good to pray for both kinds of healing. Cancer is not wasted when it is healed by God. He gets the glory and that is why cancer exists. So not to pray for healing may waste your cancer. But healing is not God?s plan for everyone. And there are many other ways to waste your cancer. I am praying for myself and for you that we will not waste this pain.'

Team Libby wants you to partner with us! Partner in the fight, in prayer, in the journey of not wasting anything that the Lord puts in our lives. 

  

     We are making a difference by teaming up to participate in the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life.

there are a few ways that you can be a part of Team Libby

1. you can donate to relay for life using this link:

http://main.acsevents.org/goto/kmm

after clicking the link-click donate on my behalf and go from there

2. or you can order a team libby tshirt

this is the front left side of the shirt.

this is the back.

shirts will be $15 (proceeds will go to relay for life)

email orders to:  katiemmeehan@gmail.com

with the subject line: Team Libby T-Shirt and please include your name, size, and address

3. you can join team libby and come to blacksburg for the weekend!!
http://main.acsevents.org/goto/kmm
click join my team!

lets fight cancer together.

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(be back friday night with the mamalode winner and a recap of our trip to kentucky)

little Keller man.

i don't usually do this but i sent laura this post before i published it (new mom and wanted to make sure she was down with the pictures i was going to post. she just had major surgery and is lacking sleep...wanted to be sensitive to that). she approved.

our life has been on hold a bit as our best friend's welcomed a little man into all of our lives. please meet...keller benjamin wright. our godson. not my grandson. a little type-o i made on instagram and twitter. he is so precious and handsome.

  

laura called me while they were on the way to the hospital to tell me her water broke and i did not believe her. it was april fools and i for real thought she was joking. our whole conversation is recorded on video. hilarious. justin and i both planned on jumping in the car to surprise them but since ava had been sick we decided i would stay and justin would go

 

gotta love the suit and tie. when ava was born cliff showed up wearing his attire from our wedding. that still makes me smile. so unnecessary. kinda funny, but i love it. i mean the birth of a child is one of the few...this is like a huge deal. no practicals right now...we gotta be there. we gotta hold him. we gotta love our friends.

justin and i needed to get on the same page before his trip so we spent all day monday together when he got home. we talked through the tough stuff about our marriage. where we have dropped the ball. how we have gotten comfortable. stopped pursuing. being "too" busy and lost sight of the intentionality that is necessary for a crazy, deep, and intimate marriage. i mean crazy in the best way that can possibly exist. the too is in quotations because come on..."too" busy for your spouse? never and i mean ever. new rule for the ryder family. but marriage stuff is for another post.

this is about new life. babies. friends and what matters. life matters. the miraculous creation that is encompassed into a little life. a new little person with hopes and dreams and fears...but for now he is mostly focused on the basics. eat, poop, and sleep. but little baby keller will one day be a husband, father, and friend. his life matters. who he will become matters. what he is about matters. and without a doubt in my mind this little guy will be prayed for and loved so deeply the rest of his life because little man lucked out. he does not even have the faintest idea what he was born into. who is mom and dad are....like crazy lucky. cliff and laura are legit and real and honest and funny. we get each other. you know how you might have a hand full of people that really get you. like get you, get you...well these are two of those for us. they encourage us. teach us. are real with us and we have a created a space in our friendship where we can be brutally honest. about marriage. ministry. our faults. our fears. our joys. our heartache. it has been sweet and genuine and real.

i have not stopped thinking about two things: laura, you are stronger than you think you are and cliff, you love your wife so well. one last thing...you love ava as if she were your own and i have to cry as i think about the love and concern you have for our little girl...when you do not have to love her half the amount that you do. i hope to show you both and little keller the same kind of love you shower on little aves.

 

welcome to the club. the..."i do not know what i am doing half/most of the time but i know how to love. i now know a deep and selfless love like no other." something changes inside you when you become a parent. never again do you think and feel anything the way you did before. it is raw and real and life is no joke. you are responsible for another human. it is humbling. enjoy it and stay close to Jesus.

 

ava hung out with some girls (thank you, katie) yesterday so i could focus on baby keller and be with my friends so today she finally got to meet her new man. first thing she said when she got up (after barely sleeping. horrible night. sound asleep so i moved her right from her car seat to the pack n play and did not change her diaper. fail. she woke up at midnight scared. rocked her. still failed to change her diaper...lazy and exhausted. 2am i can hear her moving around and mumbling...no, no, no. i pick her up and she is soaked. like clothes. sheet. everything. not only is her diaper flooded she is freezing. mommy failure. clean her up and put on the dress she is wearing because i did not plan on staying overnight so i had nothing packed. warmed her up and put her in bed with me. first time ever. not because i am opposed to it necessarily...she just wont do it. so after 3 hours. yup i said 3 hours of on and off movement until we both fell asleep. moral of this story: change your child's diaper.) back to what matters...she asked all morning about baby keller and asked over and over if he would be wearing sparkle shoes like her...first thing she checked when she saw him...no sparkles. disappointed..but not by baby keller. she did not stop talking about him the entire drive home. is it love? we hope so.

 

mostly she liked playing in the cupboard.

  

going.

 

going.

 gone.

 waiting patiently to hold baby keller...but when the time came she got nervous so i stepped in.

 

 

 proud to walk through life with this new mama. can't wait to do this together...even at a distance. we are in this with you. for life.

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to celebrate motherhood...mamalode magazine is giving away a subscription to one random commenter. winner will be announced friday. the piece i wrote is in the latest issue!