With Love, For Eva

The world lost a beautiful light this weekend. Eva Dien Brine Markvoort passed away March 27th at 9:30am. While the world feels her loss, we are also reminded of the incredible legacy of love, light, and hope that she has left behind.

Eva was honored, the day before she passed away with the Summerhayes Award for her work on behalf of Cystic Fibrosis. Quite a legacy for such a young life. You can view the beautiful video of Eva receiving this award here.

As you may know, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is near & dear to my heart and has been since I was about 12 years old when I first read a book about a family battling CF.  Eva's life illustrates why it is a cause that remains dear to me.


We found out, when my sister was pregnant, that she is a carrier of the CF gene~most likely passed to her from our mother. We had no idea. Fortunately her husband isn't a carrier & we didn't have to worry about Teag. We were "lucky."


I, for one, look foward to the day when "CF" stands for "Cure Found" and no child will have to fight the battle against this killer disease with the pretty nickname (65 Roses).


Please join me in praying for Eva's family & friends as they grieve her loss. Perhaps visit her blog & leave them a message. To learn more about Cystic Fibrosis & how you can help in the search for a cure, please visit this site.

Love, love, love

Butterflies

First, I forgot to mention yesterday that Teag has a couple of new words:

1) She's been saying "Dadda" & "Mama" for quite some time now...

2) She points and does a big side-to-side head shake and says "No, no, no, no, no..." to a variety of items now: cat food, fireplaces, her cousin Van--I think cuz he is always telling her "No!" and pushing her away. (Van is a wee bit jealous of Teag, because when she was born, he lost his Tiffy, since Teag's mama could no longer be his full-time nanny once Teag came). Anyway, it's pretty funny.

3) She has 2 baby dolls that she likes to "carry" around with her (one is so large, that it is mostly just dragged behind her). She calls them each "bebe."

4) As of last Friday night, when we were decorating for her party, she began saying "babafla" for butterfly and "Pa" for her Pooh bear.

Needless to say, we find her brilliant!

Speaking of Butterflies...please continue to pray for the comfort and strength of Eva as she continues to fight for her life. She is an amazing & inspiring young woman. She is also now the proud recipient of her BA in Theatre. Her life brings light to this world. I picture her, as a butterfly bringing light to every place she alights.

                                             

Perspective Check...updated

What a lovely young woman Eva is; a spirited writer, and a beautiful spirit. She and her "pack" are so brave. I wish I could be more like her. She has an inspiring zest for life even as it slips away from her. Amazing.

Perspective Check

Today has been a difficult day for me for a variety of reasons...from pain to interpersonal relations, but then someone sends you a simple link and your whole perspective on life changes in an instant. I have it easy in many regards...

Should you wish to meet a very brave young woman, who has been blessed to love and be loved in return, the greatest of all gifts, click here. If you are as moved by Eva as I was, please leave her a message of love~quickly

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has been close to my heart for more years than this sweet young woman has been alive. I get their updates regularly in the mail. I support them as often as I can. But sometimes we tend to forget why we do what we do. It becomes routine. We forget the passion behind it all. Eva's story reminded me why they do what they do and why it is so important to help them/her in their fight.

Thank you Eva for sharing your life with us.