Life is fragile, handle with care.........

This Saturday afternoon Richie & I went to his school's football game in Rocky Mount, NC. It was a typical Eastern North Carolina summer day, hot with high humidity. Though it was hot and at times quite uncomfortable, I was thoroughly enjoying the upbeat music. You could tell from the very beginning that this was getting all of the fans ready for the game. This was the NC Wesleyan Bishops first conference game of the season and they desperately wanted a win as last year they went 9-0 within their conference. We definitely wanted to get off to a good start this season after such an incredible strong 2007 season! From the start of the game you could tell that the Bishops were hungry and ready to play some good football. This allowed the fans to get even louder and gave us a lot to cheer about. Not only did the defense start strong but then when the offense got out on the field they went to work and they too got it done.

In the midst of yelling NCW cheers and clapping till our hands were about to go numb, tragedy struck the Methodist Monarchs with only 6 seconds left of the 2nd quarter. All of our hearts stopped as the Monarchs kicker fell to the turf after being hit hard by a Bishops player. As his body laid montionless the crowd gasped for air....... We all waited and waited to see if he was going to recover and walk off the field as many do after a hard hit in football. He was compltely unable to move and the atheletic trainers rushed onto the field to administer support. After awhile it was clear that they were in need of further medical assistance from local paramedics on site. As the ambulance rushed onto the side of the field they were able to put the severely injured Monarch player on the gurney and inside the vehicle. As they drove away the crowd began clapping and praying immediately. The game resumed and a short 6 seconds later it was halftime. Everyone was still at awe of what had happened and there was a silence that had come over many people at the game.

I sat there and I too began to replay what just happened with the Monarch player. I couldn't get the image of this young man's Mother and Father standing over his motionless body out of my mind. This forced me to think about how fragile life is and how each day truly is a gift. It's times like these where you realize it's best not to sweat the small stuff. Not long before the football game I was freaking out over the floors being dirty, the trash needing emptied, and the laundry basket being full. After seeing what happened in the game I realized that the stuff I had to do earlier in the day was not as important as a serious life altering injury. It made me realize how life can change suddenly. We can make plans but then never know what can happen or how they may be changed beyond our control. I pray that my outlook changes with each passing day. I want to live each day as if it could be the last and live my life to the fullest. My prayer is that we all learn to appreciate what we have and that we remember just how fragile life is and that we handle with care, for life is a precious gift.

~LF

The first week of fall is finally here

If any of you are like me you look forward to (in my opinion) what is the best season, fall. I absolutely love the fall weather and I always have. Growing up whenever it cooled down some I was so much more comfortable and content. I guess I'm just one of those people who gets hot easily and tends to sweat more at times. To me there is nothing like taking a nice brisk walk outside in the beautiful fall weather especially in some of the gorgeous surroundings in North Carolina.

When I first moved to Asheville North Carolina back in 1993 the first thing I noticed was the vibrant colors, cooler weather and gorgeous mountains. I had never ventured far from Southern California at that point except for several mission trips to Mexico every year. As you can see from the picture below driving through parts of the Great Smoky Mountains are just incredible. At times it can actually take your breath away it is so beautiful.

It was at that point that I developed a deeper love for the fall season and every year I welcomed it even more. I guess a good analogy for me that I have always been able to relate the fall season to is the season in our lives when we actually fall in love with that special someone. Many individuals like myself wait every year for the fall season to come around and I myself waited for the love of my life to come one day who would in fact become my soulmate.

That day came many years ago and now as I reflect I feel so happy, content, complete and like my every wish came true. Unlike falling in love, the fall season will come every year whether we want it to or not. With falling in love only a handful of people in the world will ever truly find out what it is like to fall in love with their soulmates and experience a love that lasts a lifetime. If you enjoy the fall season as I do and you've been blessed by finding your soulmate then perhaps you can understand what I've been talking about. Even if fall isn't your favorite season and you may not be in your ideal relationship, there are other opportunities that will come your way just like seasons do. Perhaps all we can do is make the best out of what God has given us in life.

Here's to a beautiful fall season. May you all enjoy this time of the year as much as I do and may all your hopes, dreams, and wishes come true this fall of 2008. May God bless you and yours!

~LF

Chargers get their first win of the season, YESSS!!

Much like the Chargers' first two games of the season, Monday night's contest against the New York Jets came down to the final minutes, but fortunately for the Bolts, they made enough plays early in the game that the Jets just could not recover from a bad case of gang green. The Chargers built a 17-point lead at halftime and held off a late surge by the Jets to pull out a 48-29 win over Brett Favre and company for the Bolts' first win of the season and what a win it was!!
"It was a fun night," Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said. "Anytime you're playing against a Brett Favre-led team, the game is never over as we saw. It was never too comfortable there until the end but it was fun. It was good to get a win and it was amazing to play against someone I admired for so many years."
After falling behind in each of their first two games, the Chargers gave up just 84 yards to the Jets in the first half and forced three turnovers to take a 31-14 halftime lead and dictate the pace of Monday's contest.
"I thought the key to the game was our defense set a tempo in the first half," Head Coach Norv Turner said. "I thought we got back to playing the way we play."
The Chargers scored on five of their first six drives as Rivers tossed three touchdown passes on 19-of-25 passing for 250 yards and a passer rating of 130.0. Rivers didn't make many mistakes Monday night, but his first throw of the game didn't turn out well. Jets cornerback David Barrett intercepted Rivers on the Bolts' first offensive drive and returned the ball 25 yards for a touchdown to give New York a 7-0 just three minutes into the game. This caused concern for the Chargers fans wondering if the entire game was going to wind up like the other first 2 games of the season.......but have no fear this was Rivers only mistake of the game and they came back to play the way many people know that they can.

"It obviously didn't start too good with the interception for a touchdown on the first throw," Rivers said. "But guys made a lot of plays and we got things going."
Rivers rebounded and drove the Bolts 53 yards on their next drive to set up a 36-yard Nate Kaeding field goal to close the gap to 7-3.

"I think you saw what this team can do," Rivers said. "We didn't play a perfect game. We had some things not so good in all three phases but it's good to win a game. We needed to win a game. We'll still go in there and look at all the mistakes we made but having won the game certainly helps."

The San Diego Chargers are expected to be a Super Bowl contender within the AFC and after their play Monday night against the NY Jets it's easy to see why. Even with some players out and injured they are definitely playing like they want it now more than ever. With the first two losses of the season behind them look for the Chargers to continue to surge in the AFC and give many teams within the NFL a tough time! Go Chargers!!! ~LF

Wonderful time in Myrtle Beach, SC

Richie and I are back and after being away for 5 days in Myrtle Beach, SC and are finding it difficult to maneuver back into the demands of every day life. Since being back, I fell because my right ankle that I had surgery on gave out as I was trying to go up our back steps, Hoagie, our little dachshund broke out into hives after getting his yearly check-up and several shots and was not acting like his old self and about worried us to death, I've had non-stop migrane headaches for 3 days now, Richie is once again juggling school, work, and the new internship program he is working with school, and we both just feel rather stretched and pressed for time a lot. I know I know, that's life but sometimes you just wish you were back on that beach where the every day life wasn't weighing on you so heavily and where time and watches were a thing of the past if even for those few days away on vacation. But anyways back to the real life, lol!

Some of my favorite things that we got to do while on vacation was go to Alligator Adventure where I made sure all of my limbs were always close to my body as many alligators were quite hungry al the time. They also had turtles, reptiles, river otters, and many exotic birds on site. The surroundings were also beautiful and as the sun went down it felt even nicer as it was one hot day out there. Another thing that was really cool was that we got to see the last Alligator feeding for the day at 5:00 pm. The alligators are fed chicken parts and you should hear their jaws clamp down when they get the food, yikes!



I would have to say that my most favorite place to go while on vacation was to the Ripley's Aquarium. It was sooo awesome! I definitely think it was the best aquarium that I have ever been to because they had so many displays and they had so much room between everything and that made for easy access to get to see them all. There was tons and tons of aquariums with many different kinds of tropical fish, seahorses, jellyfish, horseshoe crabs, stingrays, sharks, and many different kinds of sealife. It was an awesome experience and we got to do that on our anniversary so that made it even more special. I would definitely go back if ever in the area again!

Blessings,

~LF

Celebrating our anniversary at Myrtle Beach, SC

Today I am so thrilled because my husband and I are going to head out of town for a much needed vacation!! We have been looking forward to this trip now for many months. The fact that we can get caught up on some R&R excites me as I type this. Sure we are going to miss our pups who to us are our children but they too will get a nice little time away and can play to their hearts content. This year for our anniversary trip we have decided to go to Myrtle Beach, SC which is only about 4 hours from where we live. I have always wanted to go to Myrtle Beach and am looking forward to seeing yet another beach on the east coast. For those of you who don't know I am a beach bum at heart and absolutely love going to just about any beach so I am thrilled! Hopefully we will get some nice weather and can actually continue to work on our tan. Yeah right, my husband burns like a lobster but me on the other hand just turns a nice brown, which I think infuriates him, lol. I'll fill ya in when we get back and can't wait to share some nice snapshots.

Peace and may you all have a blessed weekend...

~LF

A Healthy Marriage

Being that I'm a graduate student in the field of psychology, I'm often asked one question in particular, "What do you think it takes to make a marriage work"? I truly wish I had all of the answers because at times this would make life so much easier but I don't. What I do know is that marriage takes a lot of work and sometimes it can be extremely difficult when the two of you disagree to the point of a complete battle getting ready to launch! Now I know I have only been married two years but Richie & I have been through a lot in these two years, perhaps more than some couples go through in ten or twelve years of marriage.

I would definitely have to say that the biggest thing to making a marriage work is to make sure you always have God in the middle. For us He is our true foundation and with a lot of prayer He gets us through each and every day. Another key to a healthy marriage is allowing the other person to be who they are. So many individuals are trying to try their mates a lot and thats not what marriage is all about. One thing I learned while going through marriage counseling is that your similiarities brought you together but your differences are what keeps you together. It's accepting the other person for who they are and loving them no matter what. Now changing to become a better person is an entirely different story. I believe God wants us to be the best that we can be but that's not what I'm talking about here. I'd have to say that another key to marraige is understanding. Sometimes just listening when someone had a bad day can really help especially when it's listening to your mate and being there for them. I think today with the hussle and bustle people forget to stop and really listen to their mate and that can cause hurt feelings and definitely not contribute to a happy healthy marriage. Anyways, heres to happy healthy marriages, may you find lasting love and happiness for many years to come. Also here's to a great couple of years with my hubby and many more to come. May God bless you all and may you take time to enjoy the special times!

~LF

The move to NC...

Why did we move many of you have asked me? We both felt God leading us to move back to NC to the eastern side where his Mother's side of the family lives so that Richie could work for the family business while attending college. Richie always wanted to go back to school but it was impossible in CA because he had to work two jobs to pay the bills because everything was so high there. This would allow us to live in one his Mom's rental houses for next to nothing and he would work for his Mom while she paid for his continuing education. That meant almost no rent, good job, and NO student loans for him! It was a huge sacrifice but well worth it! So when we got to NC our house wasn't ready. Okay I was freaking out and bigtime. We just drove for 3 1/2 days across country with 2 10 month old puppies and were dead tired and our house was not ready, grr! We also had a huge moving truck filled with everything that we owned and nowhere to put it since our house was not done. I mean to tell ya this would put any marriage in a whirlwind. We were both freaking out and wondering if making the move was the right decision or if we just made one huge mistake. It was definitely a nightmare! Through a lot of prayer and having his family here with a lot of resources we figured it out and got through it all.

Richie is plugging away at school and he is getting all A's and has made the President's List every single term and I couldn't be prouder of him. He also just started an internship program at his school with the football organization and so far he truly loves it and I enjoy seeing him act like a little kid every time he gets to help work the games. He is getting his degree in Sports Management & Marketing and prays to get on with a professional team once school is completed. Our prayer is for God to lead us where He wants us. This can be scary at times but I know God will always take care of us like He always has. He is the one who brought us back together after being apart for 7 years.

This past June we had yet another setback when I found out I needed major surgery on my right ankle. This would require a lot of help from my husband around the house, helping getting me in a wheelchair, help showering, and even the basic stuff like getting dressed, this all meant that I would have to become quite dependent on him for months!! It was one of the scariest times in my life and it was not easy leaning on someone as much as I had to the past several months. Thankfully my Mom came out for a week in June and was here for my surgery and helped with many things as well as made sure we had hot meals and she even cooked some things that could be frozen so when she was gone we were able to get by for at least another week. It was really awesome having her here because I had never been through anything major like that before without having my Mom around. Mom saved the day, whew! Through it all I have learned that it is okay to allow someone to help you and it's okay to ask for help. I had never really asked and or needed so much help as I have these past few months but I am so grateful to my husband for always being there and for doing a wonderful job around the house and I am also glad that my Mom was able to get us through some too. God will continue to be our light and guide us along the way. We pray that life settles down a bit and we can just enjoy life's little blessings each and every day. May you all be blessed as well and may God shine the light upon your lives. Till next time, take care...... ~LF

The visit that changed our lives......

That day came and Richie flew out to CA from NC and fell in love with everything about it for the most part, except the traffic, lol! Richie moved to CA and we began dating once again and 5 months later Richie proposed to me and this time I said yes yes yes! He said, "I don't want to let you get away a second time.

We got married in Newport Beach, CA with just our family and a handful of close friends and it was just what we wanted! The day was perfect and the best part about it was we finally got a second chance at love and we realized that we didn't have to ever be alone again because I too am not letting this man get away, not ever! So we got married September 2006 and no more than than 7 months later wound up packing and moving to NC. It was time to begin yet another chapter of our lives and to go where God was leading us. I was now Mrs. Fender and was standing by my man just like God called me to do. Sure we were both scared to death but we knew that as long as we followed God's will for our lives we would be just fine. Are you where God wants you? Are you doing what God wants for your life? Sometimes it is so difficult to be sure and to recognize God's will for your life but if you seek Him He will direct your paths. May God bless you and keep your eyes fixed upon Him always!

~LF

In the beginning...

Richie & I met back in 1996 in the Asheville, NC area. It was actually a small town right outside of Asheville called Fairview. My Mother and I had rented videos from his family's video store for many months and I had seen Richie several times before but never really looked up if you know what I mean. Sometimes we can get so busy in the every day life that we never truly stop and take a minute or sometimes even a second to look up. So one day I was on the internet in a local chat room and lo and behold there was Richie in that room. We began talking back and forth and when I realized that he worked at the video store I was renting videos from I was baffled. As time went on we officially met in person and had our first date. Literally from that moment on we were completely inseparable. I had finally found somebody who loved going to movies, heading to the batting cages, playing miniature golf, going to the bookstore for hours, and just enjoying life. I was so excited to have a best friend and later boyfriend to just spend most of my time with that later when Richie told me that he was signed up to go to college in Raleigh almost 5 hours away my heart sank. I thought how could this happen?! The time finally came for him to relocate and God had called my Mom and I back to Southern Cali to take care of my Granny who was not doing very good at all. Richie and I stayed in touch with emails, phone calls when we could afford it, and instant message through aol at the time. I still couldn't understand what God was doing and why this happened but we both eventually went on with our lives and wound up dating other people off and on. It was later that I went through a horrific marriage and divorce and he went through a nasty breakup with someone he thought he may want to marry one day. Here we were yet again single and alone. We could not figure out how we both kept winding up alone. I remember many conversations where we were talking about this and we just felt like maybe we were either losers or just meant to be alone. But through it all we always remained good friends and we talked about one day meeting up again for a visit. Hmm I wondered would that day truly ever come? Your talking meeting back up somehow with a guy who lived on the opposite coast. I myself wasn't sure that that day would ever come.

~LF