Day 51: Leeann Denham

Leeann Denham has been many things to me over the years I have known her. She has been the mom of my friends Kirk and Laurel, a friend and coworker of my mom's, the carpool mom, and most recently the floral designer for my wedding. Leeann is talented at an incredible amount of things! If it involves creativity and skill, she has mastered it!

Her help with my wedding was immeasurable. She was like my own personal David Tutera! (If you know me, you know my obsession with wedding designer David Tutera). Throughout the planning process I would email her different ideas of flower arrangements and bouquets that I liked. We discussed color pallets, types of flowers, and of course, budgets. Leeann performed miracles. Let me show you!

Can you believe she ordered all of these flowers online from Sam's Club??? She ordered them wholesale and arranged them for us! This saved us an incredible amount of money which was a huge blessing! When I saw the bouquets and boutonnieres on the wedding day I started crying because she created arrangements that were more beautiful than I ever imagined! My breath was literally taken away at how amazing they looked. I have yet to see flowers in a magazine or wedding show that I liked as much as my bouquet or my bridesmaids! 

Leeann is a blessing to so many people. She is so kind, sensitive, and sweet. She is creative, intelligent, and a great friend! She is a faithful follower of the Lord with a true servant's heart. 

Mrs. Denham,

Thank you for all that you have done for me and my family over the years. You are a blessing to my family, but especially to me. You were a huge part of my wedding dreams becoming a reality and I can never thank you enough for that. You are a beautiful woman on the inside and out. You have impacted my life in such a positive way. Thank you for all you do, but mostly for who you are.

Love,

Mary Beth 

This is Leeann with her 2 daughters who were also a huge help at the wedding! 

Day 50: Kelly Lang

Kelly Lang is the mother of one of my dearest friends Meg Lang. I have only been able to spend quality time with Momma Lang a handful of times, but I have had a blast each time!

Momma Lang is an inspiration to me in many ways. She is a great wife and mother. She and her husband seem so in love! I adore looking at pictures of the two of them together! They are so cute and look like they have a blast together! They are a couple that I sincerely look up to as a great example of marriage. Momma Lang home schools 2 of her kids (the other two are in college) and has a beautiful home! She fights for her children and is definitely their biggest fan! She is very maternal and I have always felt very comfortable with her. I include her on my list of "other mothers".

She is also hysterical. Seriously! This lady is so funny! She is quick and witty and it is no surprise that Meg has the same gifts! I love hanging out with the Lang family. They blessed so many of Meg's PBA friends with a trip to stay with them in Chi-town one season! That was the best trip! They were so hospitable and welcoming. I can't wait to go back and see them soon!

Momma Lang is also an inspiration to me because of the family she has now. She has an amazing husband and great children. She has dealt with life's pains and chosen the path of happiness. How many other women would have let pain in life disrupt God's plans for their future! Not Kelly! She fought for peace, love, and happiness and God has blessed her because of that! She was faithful to Him and He has been faithful to her. I hope to have an equally big and loving family!

Momma Lang,

Thank you for being another mother to me when ever you came to visit in Palm Beach! I always looked forward to your visits because of the life, energy, and joy you brought to all the people around! Thank you for being a great role-model for women. Thank you for setting a Godly example for your family and others. You are an inspiration to me in the way you have lived your life! Drew and I are still hoping to come see you Langs soon! Love you all!

Love,

MB

Day 49: Travis

Drew and I just finished watching Slumdog Millionaire for the first time tonight. Wow. What an amazing movie! I knew people were crazy about it when it first came out, but usually I ignore hype and watch things on my own time, like tonight. I loved the story though. The character of Jamal (the good kid) made me think of Travis, a kid from Belle Glade, FL.

For those of you who are not from FL or are unfamiliar with Belle Glade I need to explain it to you. This is a picture of what would be considered an average house in Belle Glade:

The homes in Belle Glade get much worse than this sadly. Belle Glade was known in the 1980s as the most AIDS infected area in our nation and in the early 2000s it had the 2nd highest crime rate in America. BG (Belle Glade) is heartbreaking. I never knew conditions like these existed in America, let alone 40 miles from Palm Beach, one of the wealthiest cities in America. I became involved with Revolution Ministries through Grace Fellowship Church in Royal Palm Beach, FL during my junior year of college. It completely changed my life. I worked with the drama team that went out on a specific day of the week and met with anywhere from 5-25 kids ages 4-15. We would do a Bible Study, homework help, drama games, a snack and then the kids would leave. The main thing was relationships. Most of these kids (most were boys) were living in below poverty situations without fathers. Most of the men in Belle Glade are in prison for gang related crimes. Sadly, many of our kid's mothers were involved in drugs or prostitution. It was so important to us to build relationships with these kids and teach them that through education they can have a different life. Anyway, now that you have a little bit of an understanding...

Travis is an amazing kid. He was one of the older boys who came to Revolution. When I first met Travis he was really quiet and rarely came to the program. Most of the time he would linger outside in the parking lot with a rough crowd. Travis grew up watching his brother kill his mom's boyfriend in her protection. His brother is in prison as is his father I believe. Travis was recruited by many gangs in adolescence and even became involved with one of them for his own protection from his mother's ex-boyfriend's gang who was out for revenge. We all saw Travis going down a very dark path. However, we started noticing a change in him during year 2 of my time with Revolution. He started coming to group more often. He slowly began participating in games and talking with the leaders. He even asked questions about God. He was getting it and it was incredibly obvious that God was pursuing his heart. It was a beautiful thing to watch Travis respond to God's calling. He became a leader among the kids and even tried to talk other kids out of gangs. He was a really intelligent guy, super protective, and had a kind heart. I never felt unsafe when Travis was around because of how protective he was. Thankfully, we never had to deal with a supremely scary incident. One of my favorite memories with Travis was when we discovered his "Mickey Mouse" voice. Here was this big guy, potential gang member, talking like a cartoon mouse. It was glorious! It was funny and humbling all at the same time. I got so much encouragement and hope from that mouse voice.

I hated leaving West Palm Beach because I knew my time with the kiddos in Belle Glade was over. My heart was so sad. I think of them all the time. I think of them when I see a slum. I think of them when I hear a success story. I think of them when I hear their favorite rap music. I miss them so much. I pray for them often. Will you join me in those prayers?

If I could say something to Travis I would say:

Travis,

You are such an intelligent guy. You are talented and kind. You have a really good heart. The Lord loves you and wants you to live your life for him. Get out of Belle Glade! Leave! Do well in high school so you can get a scholarship to college! Do well in college so you can come back and change Belle Glade. Change will only come from within this town and you have what is necessary to do it. I believe in you. I am praying for you. Thank you for teaching me about God's endless pursuit of humanity. Jer. 29:11.

I don't know what is going on with Travis right now, but I pray God is surrounding him.

-MB

Day 48: Carleen Newsome

My husband and I love watching Frasier. We watch the re-runs on TV nearly every night. If they are not on TV, we of course pop in our Frasier DVDs. Anyway, on tonight's episode Roz was crying to Frasier and he was giving her wise counsel. For some reason, my own therapy sessions with the fabulous Carleen Newsome popped into my head tonight. I am really thankful for all of the help she gave to me a few years ago!

In my early teen years my family made me go see a counselor as a part of "family counseling". I could not stand the person they made me see. She was rude, degrading, and judgmental, so I refused to even talk to her during our sessions. Yes, I am sure part of this was my own stubbornness, but she was also a horrible counselor. I developed a prejudice against counselors because of this experience and refused to see them in my later teen years when I could have most definitely benefited from counseling!

Needless to say 2 years ago when my father left, as much as I did not want to go to therapy, I knew I needed to deal with my emotions through counseling. I am so glad I was blessed with the amazing counsel of Carleen.

I knew I would like meeting with Carleen from the moment I met her! She is stylish, sassy, and compassionate. She was an amazing listener and asked me questions that made me think about my reactions and emotions. She saw my weaknesses and my strengths and taught me how to use those in life. She taught me stress-reducing strategies, which I still use. I tend to be a very anxious, stressed out person and she gave me many beneficial techniques to deal with my anxiety. I am sure I looked like the biggest train wreck, but she never made me feel that way. I loved going to sessions with her. I wish I lived closer to The Summit because I would probably still go once a week at least!

Carleen is so intelligent and talented. She is an amazing counselor and helped me in countless ways. She is an inspiration too! She has experienced pain in life and is easily able to relate to her clients which makes her very successful. I think she is simply fabulous in every way!

Carleen,

Thank you for taking the time to work with me when I needed it most! Thank you for seeing hope and potential in me when I felt overwhelmed and completely broken. You helped me get through the most difficult situation in my life. I cannot  thank you enough for that! You are an amazing person with great style, an awesome sense of humor, a kind heart, and a love for the Lord. Thank you for all the help you provide to people daily.

Love,

Mary Beth Darr

Day 47: Greg Karabensh

Gregory Karabensh.....Happy Birthday!

Greg is many things. Here are some of them:

-Funny
-Witty
-Anna's Husband
-Drew's former Roommate
-Musically Gifted
-An Evil Internet/Computer Genius
-A Spectacular Tour Guide
-Zaney
-A Cello Master
-A Gamer
-A Great Engagement Photographer

Greg has been a great companion to Drew through college. He and Anna were awesome "couple" friends of ours and we loved going out together or even staying in together! Some of my favorite couple date memories include:

-The night we re-arranged Greg and Anna's house until about 2am
-The night we made homemade Pina Coladas and Shark Nipples (I think that is what they were called?)
-Our infamous Safari-Venture to Vero Beach
-Going out for Irish Food
-And of course, our typical cookies and tea date at the Karabensh Cottage

Greg is a blast to hang out with! He and I agree that in many ways we are basically the same person. It is pretty weird! He and I agree on almost 100% of life and Anna and Drew agree on everything! Too funny!

Greg,

Thanks for being a great friend to Drew and me. Thank you for being a part of our wedding and our life! We love hanging out with you and Anna and I know Drew loves gaming with you! Thanks for all the laughs and fun memories over the year! We need another Safari-Venture soon! Maybe in Carbondale???

Love,

Mary Beth

I love this picture of Greg and Anna on their wedding day! So Beautiful!

Day 46: Scott Bowles

Allow me to introduce you to Scott Bowles:

Scott is my cousin Jessica's husband. I have known him now for over 5 years and I can say that he is spectacular! There are so many amazing things about Scott I simply cannot write about all of them, but let me at least write about a few!

Scott is stinking hilarious. Holy Cow he is funny! He has an amazing sense of wit and an awesome dry humor. Oh I love it! Drew, Hank and I all love hanging out with him because he keeps us in a constant roar of laughter.

Scott is also really intelligent. He is an engineer so he is great at things involving math and science which is definitely not my specialty. He has taught us so much about budgeting and how to handle money. He and Jessica are a huge inspiration to us in many ways, one of them being financially! Scott is super responsible and is a wonderful provider and husband for Jessica and an excellent daddy to Reagan.

If you have seen Scott and Reagan together there would be no denial that they are related. Reagan is the spitting image of Scott. It is adorable! Scott is such a good father. He is gentle, loving, protective, and fun. Reagan loves it when Scott comes home from work. She cries when he leaves the room. It broke my heart when I saw this happen! I started crying too! It was so sweet.

Scott has been an amazing cousin and family member to my family. He has helped us set up budgets, organize attics, repair household items and has filled the role of "the man of the house" in various situations! Some of which I am sure were most unpleasant! He was also a huge help during my wedding.

Scott,

You are such a great addition to our family! Hank, Drew, and I look at you as if you were our brother-in-law rather than a cousin. You are so kind and so much fun to be around. Your relationship with the Lord and your faith is a huge inspiration to all of us, but especially the men in our family. You are an amazing father and husband and I could not have hand picked someone better for Jessica and Reagan. You are a blessing to all of us and we love you very much! We hope to see you all soon! Thank you for everything you are to so many people!

Love,
Mary Beth

Day 45: Angel

This week I have been continuing my training at NeuroRestorative. I have worked with many different people, but one coworker has specifically stood out to me. Her name is Angel, and she is just as sweet as an Angel.

She has been incredibly helpful to me. She has made me feel welcomed and taken the time to get to know me. She is super friendly, nice, and open. She is one of those people who not only answers my questions about her, but also asks questions about me. I think that is refreshing and polite!

Angel is so sweet to all of the participants in our programs at work. Seriously, she treats them like they are family members. She hugs them, tells them she loves them, jokes with them, and is go gentle. I have never seen her lose her cool or be rough with a participant. Sadly, I have seen that from some other co-workers. She is an inspiration to me at work and I love it when I work with her. She is just so helpful and I want to treat other people the same way she treats them.

Angel,

Thank you for all of your help thus far! You have truly been a blessing in my life. You are so kind and have such a big heart. Your compassion for others is incredibly obvious. I hope for the best for you! Thank you for encouraging me and being an inspiration!

Sincerely,

Mary