Weekend

I should be ashamed. I didn't take a single picture while Holly was here this weekend. Of course, she took plenty of pictures, so maybe she'll share. ;-) Evan studied most of the weekend, but Holly has a boyfriend here, so between him and Nathan I think she was pretty entertained. ;-) Nathan absolutely loved having her here, and I have begun to realize that the lesson about not always being the center of attention is needing to be taught. My son is a major show-off. Plain and simple.
On a sad note, a family friend passed away this weekend. Evan and I both grew up having her around, and it is weird to think that she is gone now. She was born (I think) with an upside-down, backwards heart that she lived with for quite a while. Probably five or six years ago the heart deteriorated to the point that she needed, and got, a transplant. She did really well, and we saw her last summer at my grandparents' 50th anniversary. However, several months ago her body rejected the heart, and she was put in the hospital on a pump to wait for another transplant. She had to be on her back in the bed all the time. Mom actually sent her a Nerf gun so she could vent some of her frustrations. ;-) Anyway, another heart that matched her became available on Saturday, and she got the transplant. I think the heart was acting a little strange from the beginning, and it completely stopped Sunday night. I am sure there was a lot more to it than that, but I don't know all the details. Mom had talked to her Saturday morning, and she was just excited to have another chance at getting out of bed and living life again. She will be greatly missed. She was definitely the rock in her family.
Evan and I were talking about how whenever someone who made a big impression on you dies a part of you (or your past) seems to be missing. We had both been in children's church under her and had both spent vacations at her family's house at the beach. When I was younger, my friend and I planned on marrying her boys (ten years older than us); a fact she reminded me of on my wedding day. :-) I am so thankful that I knew her. She was special.