Happy Birthday Dear Edie

I don't know if you have ever felt this way about another blogger or if Im just a wack-o, but Edie at Life in Grace is one of those bloggers that when her posts come up on your dashboard your heart gets jittery and you silently say "Yesss" in typical 4th grade boy fashion and click as fast as you can to see what she has to say.

I love reading her blog, I am so inspired by her every word.

But now its different.

Now I am hanging on her every word to know how they are doing since a fire destroyed all of her family's earthly possessions but where God's grace abounds {you can read about that here}.  I want to know how she is hanging in.  What I can do to help?  How I should pray?  What is the next step for them?  What can I do to help?  How should I pray?  How are the kids?  What  can I do to help?  How should I pray?

You see, Edie and  I go way back.  She was actually my first friend ever {in blogland} and believe it or not, I am pretty darn sure she has no idea who on earth I am.

But that's okay with me.  It was love at first sight on my end and I've got enough love for the both of us!

I had rabbit trailed all over the web searching for homeschool moms.
{believe this or not this was seriously before I ever knew blogs existed}

And there was Edie, just waiting to be my friend!!

She was exactly what I had been looking for, yearning for, hoping for.  She was the light at the end of my tunnel that there were homeschoolers out there that were like me.  People who only had 2 kids, people who loved house decorating, fashion, were obsessed with "redecorranging" and everything that I had never associated with homeschool moms.

It was like I had found my best friend in that post 2 years ago.

It was like she spoke right out of that blog and told me I could do it.  I could homeschool my 2 girls, and I could love it.

I couldn't get enough.  I had to know everything about her.  I clicked back to her very first post and started reading.  I forwarded her to everyone I knew.  I stalked every stage of that turquoise remodel and zoomed in on every square inch of that garage school room.  I printed her daily schedule and when I saw this I thought Christmas had come early for me.

She gave me so much comfort and encouragement through her posts as I began my homeschool journey.
And she continues to comfort and encourage me through her posts to this day.

She is so down to earth, so humble, so real, so faithful, so funny.


My heart is still excited every time I see her posts and I consider her a real friend, even though we have never spoken {unless you count facebook and post comments...do those count?}.

Today Edie is celebrating her birthday, just weeks after losing all of her earthly possessions.  Darcy has hacked into her computer and is giving all of her readers a chance to pay her a tribute for her birthday.  What a great idea!!

So this is my tribute to you Edie,

You, through your posts, gave me the confidence to homeschool my girls even though maybe I didn't fit the homeschooler mold.  You have ignited a fire within me that had been lost for many years.  A fire for creativity, classic literature, and C.S. Lewis.  I am so inspired by you and your family, your faithfulness, your dedication to your girls' education, and to the life that you provide for your kids.  Edie, I know that God has really put you to the test, and I believe that you will pass with flying colors because you know why we live, why we keep pressing on toward the prize. 


And you live it!

I will continue to pray for your family and your fast return to normalcy.  Happy Birthday!!!  Here is a song that I love that I think you will enjoy it too.