my good friend becca the blogger

you know those people who randomly pop into your life and really make a difference by teaching you cool things? well, for me right now it's becca. so in this, my first ever blog post, i pay tribute to my good friend becca the blogger. (she's moving away tomorrow). where to begin?

the poor girl came to kenai on what was the coldest day of winter...i believe it was negative 20 degrees. she and her family pulled up to the church parking lot just seconds ahead of us so we walked up the sidewalk together. my first thought about becca was "she's either crazy or she's really tough!" (see, becca wasn't wearing anything to cover up her legs under her skirt- even in my thick tights, i thought my legs were just going to freeze and snap off! it almost made me cry, it was so cold.) i've learned over the past 8 months that it's the latter... she's tough - in a very good way, of course!

i learned early in our "neighborship" that i couldn't go to her door and ask for a top ramen when i was just too pooped to make lunch for my kids. when i did ask, she offered me noodles and chicken bullion! along this vein, becca taught me to grind my own wheat and make five loaves of whole wheat bread at a time... without a mixer! (i don't think i'll ever be able to walk into a grocery store and buy a 99 cent loaf of bread again!). she patiently taught me to crochet edges on baby blankets, pack a nutritious lunch instead of spend $5 on yucky hot dogs, win auctions on e-bay, entertain children without t.v., make my own play dough, let go of some of the constant guilt i put myself through and let the Atonement work for me in my mothering, and so much more. sounds kind of melodramatic, but she taught me to just relax and enjoy being a mother.

she says i helped her survive the long winter and her pregnancy... i say i'm a better person for having known her. for that i am grateful.

it has happened to me my entire life... i make a good friend and then one of us has to move away. sometimes we stay in touch - sometimes we don't. the difference this time is that one day before moving away, becca has taught me one more thing. she's convinced me that creating a blog is the way to keep connected. she wants to see my kids grow and one day i need to be able to tell my little ziya where the inspiration for her name came from (becca's daughter's name is zina). let's see if i can actually become a blogger! and let's see how many people i can stay connected to because of this cool thing becca taught me.

my best to you and your family, becca!