Roxanna and Sophia

Here is my good friend Roxanna and her sweet baby Sophia. Rox and I went to high school and college together (she was a year ahead of me). She moved to Japan to teach English as a foreign language for a year and ended up staying for almost 4. When Rox was home last fall she informed everyone that she was pregnant. It was a quite a shock, I admit, but also so very exciting! If anyone would be a great mom it was going to be Roxanna. She has the sweetest and most adventerous spirit of anyone I know, such a great combo. Well, little Sophia Mae was born on February 27th in Japan and those of us back in the states had to settle with checking Rox's blog to see just how mom and baby were doing. It was fun to see these two together in pctures the last few months but it was nothing compared to finally seeing both of them in person a few weeks ago when Rox and Sophia stopped in Portland for a few days on their way back to Montana (oh, how I wish they were living here, but Montana is a whole lot closer than Japan).

My parents love Roxanna as much if not more than I do so when ever she comes to town she makes it a point to come over and have dinner with us and this visit was no exception. As you can see, now my parents love Sophia just as much. I think she likes them too.
Apparently this is the only way I know how to smile when I have a baby in my arms. I don't really know why, just chalk it up to my weirdness about not being camera shy and loving the little ones. :)
And last but not least, here are Rox and me. It's so weird to look at this photo and think about how much we have changed and how much we haven't, where we are in our lives now and where we've been. I'm flouded with so many memories of hanging out with this wonderful friend over the years. She's been there for me to talk to about anything, someone I knew I could always go to when I needed to get away who wouldn't judge me but just listen. She made it known that her door was always open for people to stop by and hang out. And she was either planning a party or going to one. As my friend Kristin would say, she is definitely a "Go girl." She did my hair for several banquets, stayed up til wee hours of the morning for late night chats, made several covert hot tubbing trips (even when I had curfew, hehehe), and we were even bullfighters and teeth together (good ol' Spring Sing). She even listened to me talk about a guy that I liked even though she secretly had a crush on him. She was and still is great at taking my mind off of the bad and focusing on the good and the fun. She is sweet, spontanious, gentle, full of joy and loves the Lord with every fiber of her being. She has and will always be a great example of a Christian woman and I thank her so much for that and also for her friendship over these last 10 years. Wow...I han't thought about that, 10 years. Thats a long time. Okay, this ode has gone on long enough and I am getting too sentimental. I must stop before the waterworks start. Roxanna, you are a fabulous friend and I hope we never lose touch! I hope I have done an okay job of getting my thoughts out on here, although I'm sure I forgot to say something but oh well. I'm no writer, just a blogger. :) Anyway, I will be praying for you, dear friend, and your sweet little Sophia! Love you!

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