LIVE GOOD

Last weekend while visiting my parents, my mom gave me the most thoughtful gift. It was a little quote book with all sorts of inspirational sayings. The title of the book is LIVE GOOD. My mom knows me so well because she knew I would just love something like this. Well of course. . .it inspired me to blog. You may see many of these wonderful quotes popping up in my posts.

The first quote that really hit home was "Be There When You're There". This is in relation to living in the moment. Even before reading this, I have been pushing myself to enjoy each day for what it is. I often find myself looking ahead to the next thing on the to do list or even adding more things to the to do list when I'm not even able to accomplish everything on the list in the first place. And sometimes, as crazy as it sounds, I find myself planning something fun for a future weekend when I'm still the midst of enjoying a perfectly good weekend that is presently happening.

Sometimes it takes a conscious mental effort on my part to be 100 percent involved in what I am doing and relax and enjoy it. I think this a good way to live. Cherish what is happening today not what will happen tomorrow. I think "being there when you're there" means loving life and savoring each moment good or bad. It means being present and paying attention to the people and events happening right in front of you, right now.

"Right now a moment of time is passing by! We must become that moment."

-Paul Cezanne

Savoring

The pictures I chose are of recent memories where I felt like the passing moments were truly savored!

The one of my dad and I is after we accomplished our half marathon last weekend. It was a life goal of ours and it felt awesome to cross the finish line hand-in-hand.

The other pictures are with our dear friends the VanderVeen's when they came to visit over Labor day weekend. We had an amazing time with them as they are a very special family near-and-dear to our hearts. The picture of Pete with Ellie and Kloe- is when he dared them to run through the fountain for a dollar at the Farmer's Market in their clothes...those braves souls took the dare and each got a dollar! Also when they were here, we ate a delicious breakfast at The Waffle Window and I cherished every bite of my waffle. :)

Taylor Haworth. . .You will be missed!

On September first, I said goodbye to one of my dearest friends Taylor. She moved to Iowa to start her nursing career and live by her boyfriend Daniel (who just started Med school there).

Taylor and I met in nursing school exactly two years ago, but it feels like I have known her forever. We've encouraged each, studied together, quizzed each other, laughed and cried at crazy nursing school experiences, and shared the same passion for helping babies. She is truly an amazing person and if any of you live in the midwest. . .you will have one awesome nurse working for you there. :) Taylor is always positive, she has one of the best laughs I've ever heard, and she always sees the good in people and situations. I miss you already Taylor!

We had a goodbye dinner together with our other dear friend-Maria- at Olive Garden. (I could also write a book about how special Maria is). We ate lots of breadsticks and talked about all our good times. The three of us truly just "get" each other and never tire talking about nursing. When I started nursing school, I didn't think I would have time to make close friends, but I was wrong. Nobody can get through nursing school without the support and love of the ones walking beside you in your journey. Not only did I make two wonderful friends, but I made a life long bond as we will always share and be connected by nursing. I'm so blessed by them both!

Now I just have to post my favorite poem here as it is so fitting for this goodbye. . .

Bits and pieces.

Bits and pieces.

People. People important to you, people unimportant to you cross your life, touch it with love and carelessness and move on. There are people who leave you and you breathe a sigh of relief and wonder why you ever came into contact with them. There are people who leave you and you breathe a sigh of remorse and wonder why they had to go away and leave such a gaping hole. Children leave parents; friends leave friends. Aquaintances move on. People change homes. People grow apart. Enemies hate and move on. Friends love and move on. You think on the many who have moved into your hazy memory. You look on those present and wonder.

I believe in God's master plan in lives. He moves people in and out of each other's lives, and each leaves his mark on the other. You find you are made up of bits and pieces of all who ever touched your life, and you are more because of it, and you would be less if they had not touched you.

Pray God that you accept the bits and pieces in humility and wonder, and never question,

and never regret.

Bits and pieces.

Bits and pieces.

Bliss at Camano Island

On Saturday August 28th, Pete's dad Scott married Julie Harris at his house on Camano Island, WA. It was a beautiful wedding and a touching evening all around. Scott and Julie's love for each other was truly heart warming and was very evident when they read their own vows to each other. Pete, his sister Molly, and myself stood up for Scott. While Julie's two children, Kate and Casey, stood up for her. It was a special night as we blended our families and look forward to good times!

Headed to Haiti

Dear Family and Friends,

We are emailing to tell you all about an amazing opportunity that we have decided to journey on. We will both be going to Haiti this January for 7 days (Dec. 31-Jan. 7) for a mission 's trip with our church (Solid Rock). We are very excited about this trip as we have been looking into doing a mission trip for quite some time. When our church announced that they would be sending a group once a month for a year to Haiti (they started in July 2010), we felt like this was something God was calling us to be part of.

Our church is partnering with Forward Edge to help in Haiti. Forward Edge is a long-term disaster relief organization out of Vancouver, WA. In Haiti, we will be working at Grace Village, which is an orphanage and church refuge center right outside of Port-au-Prince. Right now there are 25,000 people, who are homeless from the earthquake, living on 10 acres of land at Grace Village. These families live in tents, sometimes up to 10-12 people in a 2-4 man tent. Grace village strives to provide a faith environment for the people, provides facilities such as showers and toilets, and has set up a feeding program for the children. When our group comes we will be working on maintenance of the village (sanitizing and keeping toilets/showers running), helping in the feeding program (sometimes feeding up to 600 children a day), and helping with construction projects. The goal is to move the people out of tents and into more permanent living facilities in case disaster strikes again. I (Maggie) will also be helping medically (as a nurse) as these people desperately need healthcare. Our group will be staying at the girl's orphanage on Grace Village and we will also be spending time with these girls and traveling to the boy's orphanage to spend time there as well. *We have two group meetings coming up and we will keep you all updated as we continue to find out more about this trip.

Our group leader informed us that this will be a life changing experience. It is heart breaking to see the poverty that these people, especially children, are living in. We are asking for your support as we prepare our hearts and minds to serve these people and we ask you to pray for our team (so far there is 22 of us going)...Specifically for safety, courage, and flexibility as we strive to make the most of our time there and really reach the needs of the people at Grace village. We also ask you pray for a revival among this nation so they can know, love, and accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior.

Lastly, the next four months we will be fundraising for this trip. The cost is $1,200 per person making our total cost $2,400. If you can give financially we would truly appreciate it! If you are able to give at this time, please make out checks to Solid Rock Church and mail directly to us at:

Pete and Maggie Moormeier

633 NW Newstead Terrace

Beaverton, OR 97006

Thank-you very much for your prayers and support as we get ready for this mission!

We would like to leave you with our group verse for this trip: Colossians 3:23-24 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

Sincerely and With Love,

Pete and Maggie Moormeier