Dear CRYSTAL,

Good Afternoon Dearest Crystal!

I'm a bit behind on the surprise...it has been your birthday now for over 11 hours, and I hope you'll forgive me for hijacking your blog.....and this in no way tops what you did for me on my 30th...but all I can do is try. ;)

Hi! Happy, Happy, Happy 30th Birthday! I am so glad that your mama gave birth to YOU on this very special day.

God breathed his miracle of life into a little baby girl on February 13, 1978, and he knew from the start that she was very special. She would change many lives along her journey: she would become a wife, a mother, a teacher, and a best friend. She is a constant reminder of the love and grace of Jesus Christ. She is deeply fervent about life and the place she holds in it.

I wish I knew her further back than 6 years (is that only how long it's been? I feel like I have known her a lifetime.) I can imagine what she was like as a little girl. I'm sure she was sweet, happy, cute-blondness, and maybe sometimes a little naughty (weren't we all?) And as a teenager, she was still sweet, yet flirty and precocious. She was wise to the world beyond her years, and I'm sure she had some fabulous times with wonderful experiences and growth. She also has some times of sadness and confusion, but she always held on to her joy.

I wish I could have been there when Emily was born. I wish I could have been there at her wedding - cheering her and Scott on; I would have told them that they were going to beat all odds against them. I would have told them that they were going to make it...that they will hang in there though the speed bumps, and Jesus would be all over them like a drier sheet and a staticy sock.

They have made it...and they've created a beautiful family. Crystal loves her husband with so much devotion and honor. I really want to emphasize the honor part. She loves him with ever fiber of her being, and she respects his integrity with unfaltering devotion. It's sincerely quite amazing to watch. Crystal will fight fiercely for her children. She protects them, she protects their hearts, and she guards their minds. She protects them by educating them. She teaches her children about freedom and liberty, and she teaches them about grace and Love.

I met Crystal at my women's small group, and we were instantly connected. Do you know that feeling of being so connected with someone else in heart and mind that you absolutely know that it was completely God willed? (And Stephanie willed;) .) It's great and wonderful when you feel that with your spouse or significant other, but I think God created women to really need each other. Just look at Ruth and Naomi (from the Bible, in case you didn't know) or Anne and Diana (Anne of Green Gables). It's a wonderful thing when God allows a few of those women in your life. Friends that you know that will be there with you till the end, with you when you screw up, when you cry, or when you heart breaks, or when you have so much joy in your heart and you want to share it with only them. That's the power of a God given friendship.

I've been able to travel with Crystal along her journey, and she with me for about 6 fantastic years. I thank God for every minute of it. We've laughed so long and hard that I'm sure one of us has tinkled a bit in our pants, and we cried those deep sobs where you can barely catch your breath.

Our most important journey this far has been heartbreaking, but Crystal has most gracefully endured. No matter the pain in her heart and how desperate she is to give up , she always wonderfully-with wonder and awe-perseveres. I was reminded again today of God's miracles. Looking back through some photos of Emily, I began to weep. This part of her journey wasn't just a gravel road; it was a mud covered, pot-holed two track, and they drove through with a mini-van that's almost out of gas. We are still on that road, but I think we've hit some sort of pavement...and miraculously the tank is full of gas again. God is really good. He holds our hearts ever so gently. And Crystal has allowed him to wrap his arms around her with the many people who love her dear family.


I am so privileged to be a traveler with you on this journey of life. It's amazing isn't it?

Happy 30th Birthday, my friend. Happy, Happy Birthday.

(P.S. I tried to add pictures, but blogger is being fickle, and my 3 year old is sitting on me grabbing my face saying "I want some-ting to eat!" So, hopefully pictures will be on here soon, maybe.)