a tribute of sorts

i am kind of stealing this idea from ruth, as well as, stealing some photos from friends.. (thanks!) but i wanted to make a small tribute to those whom i love, cherish, and thank God for daily.

this is one half of my family; my step-father, adam, my mom, justin and sebastian. they are such an amazing support for me. we have had our trials, but we have stuck together.. i love and miss them dearly.

this is the other half of my family, my dad, my step-mother, rebecca, tanya (bulgaria) and monica (romania). again, they are my biggest supporters. they are always there when i need them.. whether it be for prayers, money or just a shoulder to cry on.. i have yet to meet tanya face-to-face and i am seriously so excited to meet her this summer!

this is brittany who has been referred to as my other half numerous times. she was such an answer to prayer last year when i landed in auckland, new zealand. we became best friends in an instant, and i thank God for her at least ten times a day.. what surprises me about britt is that she is such a mixture of other friends that i have... i have told her this many times, and i am just still in awe of the fact that God custom made our friendship, to the core. i love you and miss you desperately..

this is linda, dana and jessica.. or lin, dane and jess. these are the girls who became my life while i studied in australia almost two years ago. (these are also the girls who are little bits of brittany) they are each absolutely amazing women. each unique in their own ways.. we have shared many laughs, tears, hugs, and ridiculous moments. i cannot imagine my life without their friendships and our crazy adventures. i pray that each of them feel God's love for them and seek Him.. i love you girls, can't wait to finally all be together again!
this is heather. often referred to as my soul mate.. and it has been said, if i were a boy, we'd get married. (haha!) i have known heather since the beginning of time. we grew up together, going to the same school and same church. we went to high school together, college together and lived together for over three years. she is an amazing woman. she is one of the few people who actually understands me and i love how we can sit in a room, not talk, and be completely satisfied. her friendship has blessed my life immensely and i cannot thank God enough for her. she is one of those people that i will always remain close with.. even if we don't see one another, or talk that often, we share a special bond that i feel will never be broken. if i had a sister.. it would be her. i love you!

and this my friends, is anthony. or floyd as i like to call him. i met him in seventh grade when he moved into our school system. he was such a lost pup.. my circle of friends adopted him very quickly. anthony and i have had our ups and downs. there were times when were close, and times where we were on opposite sides of the world.. (literally and figuratively) anthony is an amazing, Godly man. he inspires me to no end and pushes me in a way that only he can. (sometimes unknowingly) i thank God for anthony taking me to his church small group two summers ago. that summer spent with anthony and people from his church lead me to finally take the leap of faith and seek God. he is currently living in spain, and has been for two years (?). i am looking forward to seeing him this summer while we're both back in the states for awhile. thank you for your friendship.. you are amazing.

next is brooks. i also met brooks in seventh grade. our friendship grew stronger with time. by the end of our high school days, i felt like he was one of my best friends and i could not imagine my life without him. brooks is also an inspiring, loving, Godly man. he has supported me in so many decisions i have made in the past few years. i value his opinion, support, and friendship so much. brooks has also been one to help me turn back to God. his patience and love have been exactly what i have needed. he is currently living in china. and he will be there for the next year. i hope that we will be able to meet up while we're both in asia.. that would be awesome! brooks, thank you for everything you have consciously and unconsciously done. i am proud to call you my friend.

this is susan. susan is canadian ;) i met susan through another canadian (jeff) in korea. i must admit, susan and i were not the best of friends when we first met. (i wasnt sure what to do with this woman!) as time went on, we became closer.. through church, hanging out, and doing random things in korea (and in thailand!). she is now such a dear friend. i love susan to death. i look up to her so much. she is absolutely amazing and encouraging; and she can make me laugh to no end. we spent a very special weekend together last summer at a place in korea called 'prayer mountain.' it was a time that sealed our friendship. i thank God that i have susan to talk to. i love you and i cannot wait for our 'road trips' this summer!

this is ruth and jody. they are engaged and plan to get married in august of this year. (i introduced them to each other!) i met ruth at church over a year ago. i knew the instant i met ruth that we were going to be friends. ruth is loving, gentle, kind, and ridiculous. she has been such a spiritual leader in my life. she has been there for me in times where i did not know what to do.. she has helped me through so much.. i cannot think of life without her. and then there's jody.. i also met jody at church (a different one) i felt the urge to reach out to him a bit.. and he ended up starting to hang out with us. jody is an amazing man of God. i have seen God working in him.. it is so incredible. i love jody for his love of youtube videos, his music sense, and his ridiculous gestures. put him with ruth and you have quite the pair! they are an amazing couple and i really respect their relationship. they are so devoted to God and following Him.. i really look up to them. i love you guys!

and the second canadian to make the list.. john. i met john through susan. we instantly became friends last august. it is hard to describe my friendship with john. we have a lot in common, whether it be music, watching college football at 4 a.m. or eating chocolate. God has used john in a lot of different ways in my life. mostly in ways that he's not even aware. john has been such a blessing and an inspiration. i stand in awe of john a lot. he is a man who is truly seeking God. i cherish our friendship and thoroughly enjoy our random chats. john challenges me, listens to me, and leads me. i thank God for our friendship all the time. i cannot imagine being here without you, john!

this is becky. we became friends my second year of college. she is now engaged to a guy whom i have known for most of my life. you cannot help but love becky. she is an amazing woman who is willing to follow her dreams and use the brilliant mind that God gave her. she has almost finished her masters degree in civil engineering at virginia tech. after i heard about what happened there this week, i was panicked that something happened to her. praise God that she was ok. unfortunately, she knew some of the victims. what i love about becky was her ability to hand over the situation to God. i love that she asked for prayers and turned to God when she needed Him the most. i love this girl and cannot wait to be in the same room with her again!

saving the best for last... jodi, another canadian, and brendan, the irish boy from belfast. we met in beijing (well, technically we met at gloria jeans in the incheon airport in korea). they are two of the coolest people i have ever met. brittany and i teamed up with them and formed 'team six'.. something that has kept us entertained for the duration of our time in korea. i feel very blessed to know both of them. they are amazing individuals and i love spending time with them. they make me blush, cry and laugh so hard that i hurt. i will forever cherish our times we've shared in asia... i am looking forward to brendan being in the states this summer.. and i'm hoping to spend some time with jodi in malaysia next fall.. these are two people worth meeting!
i just truly want to say thank you. this may be cheesy because it is on a blog.. but i genuinely mean the words above. my life is truly blessed because of those i have to share it with.

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival." ~ C.S. Lewis