Birthday Adventure

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

KATHY

Kathy loved to travel but didn't have enough opportunity to do so during her short stay here on Earth. Her last dream vacation was to go to New York City for her 60th birthday with her closest girlfriends.  They took that trip for her this past spring.  

When Erin, Kathy's daughter, was visiting this past summer she  wanted to pick out some fabric for a few new kathy's bags, so we slipped away to the fabric store for some shopping. That's when I spotted the New York City fabric and knew it needed to be made into a kathy's bag, to honor Kathy's birthday. 

  I believe Kathy's spirit is with us every time we have a kathy's bag on our shoulders.  That's why I love to receive all the wonderful pictures of the adventures you take your kathy's bags on. 

For Kathy's 61st birthday, I decided to take her on an adventure much the opposite of New York City.

 Our first stop was Seattle, for the Packer-Seahawks game, which turned out to be one of the most controversial NFL games ever played.

The outcome was shocking indeed.......

but it WAS just a game.  Since games are meant to be fun, that's what my husband Ike and I focused on: having fun with each other and our son, Zachary.

 After we left the craziness of Seattle we headed to the Olympic National Park on the westside of our beautiful state of Washington.  It's a very unique place to visit.  During the next four days we were able to experience the lushness of the rainforest, the rough coastline of the Pacific Ocean, the tranquility of some of the largest lakes in Washington and the majesty of the Olympic Mountain range.

If you find yourself in Washington, it's worth a visit.

We sure enjoyed our time there, and I put my New York City kathy's bag to good use.  Here are some images of our adventure:

Kathy, thinking of you today on your birthday and everyday,

because everyday I have a kathy's bag on my shoulder!

To See Faith, You Must Have Faith

A year and a half has passed since 
Kathy left us for a better world, 
and yet my sister continues to impact our lives .

I blogged about this earlier.  
Last September 30th, I attended 

a Women of Faith conference in Milwaukee, WI, with a group of my sisters BFF's.  That date also happened 
to be her birthday.

We had our kathy's bags on our shoulders where ever we went, along with bright orange bandanas, as orange was Kathy's favorite color.  (Even as a young girl, I can recall the bright orange bedspread we had on the bed that we shared).  The women who thronged the conference and nearby hotel often asked about our bags.  One of us would chime in and tell the kathy's bag story, and add that the conference coincided with her 60th Birthday.  

Now, this is where the story of faith begins.  I realize God puts us in community of others, and sometimes the small conversations with strangers seem like chatter, and then sometimes when we least expect it that chatter comes back full circle.

Last week I received an email from Kathy's daughter, Erin, that first gave me goose bumps, then brought me to tears.  Erin was at a new friend's house when the friend's stepmother came into the house.  As they were making conversation, the stepmom commented on Erin's bag.  Of course Erin chimed in and started to tell the stepmom the kathy's bag story.  Half way through the story the stepmom stops her and says, "WAIT! I've heard this before."  As they started to piece things together, it turns out that the stepmom was at the Women of Faith conference in Milwaukee, too.  She then recalled standing outside the Bradley Center when one of her friends asked one of us about the bags we were wearing.  She also told Erin she recalled we all had something bright that we had on that caught her attention...the orange bandanna!
Some may say coincidence, I say it's all part of God's perfect plan!
To see God's perfect plan you must believe in God's perfect plan.
BELIEVE!