More from Mary

Monday, May 12, 2014

The Best of Friends

I feel to blessed to have many long-time friends in my life. You know, those friends who really know you and you can totally be yourself around. In the past week and a half, two of those best friends came to visit me here in Portland.

At the beginning of May, Hannah came to visit me for the 5th time! She was really here for work (Baylor MBA had a great partnership project with Nike), but she added an extra day before and after her work trip to just hang out with me. This time she brought an extra little person with her: Baby VanDyke that will be born in just a few months! Hannah has done it all in Portland, so we were able to just hang out, enjoy some good meals, nice walks, and great conversation. Hannah and I have always said that we’re each other’s “special friend” – we just get each other. Hannah is one of the most devoted friends I have and I am so grateful and amazed at how we’ve been able to maintain such a close relationship even though we’re 2,000 miles apart. Thanks for coming to visit, Hannah! Can’t wait for Baby VanDyke to have his first real visit to Portland someday!

hanging out watching an exciting Blazers game

yummy brunch at Tasty n Sons

apparently we took more pictures of our delicious meals than we did of ourselves

This past weekend my friend Anne came to visit me for the 4th time! Anne is my longest-time friend – we went to elementary school together and have been close friends ever since. She now lives in Denver and she popped over to Portland for a weekend getaway. Anne has also done it all in Portland, but we somehow still found fun adventures to fill our weekend. We enjoyed great meals, went to the farmer’s market, hiked in the Columbia River Gorge, spent an afternoon in Hood River, went to the Trail Blazers vs. Spurs playoff game (the highlight of the weekend, even though the Blazers lost and I was surrounded by Spurs fans), went to church, kayaked on the Willamette and just enjoyed hanging out in the sun. We had wonderful conversations and being together felt like being home for both of us. Thanks for coming to visit, Anne! I’ll be out to Denver soon!

Anne enjoying the sights, smells and tastes of the

Portland Farmer's Market

hike to Horsetail Falls in the Gorge

GORGE-ous!

enjoying the sun and a taster tray at Full Sail in Hood River

#ripcity

such a fun game (besides the fact that the Blazers lost)

Sunday morning coffee date before church

Anne kayaking out on the Willamette - look at those arms!

Forever Friends

My family members will always be my closest relationships. We're related and kind of stuck with each other for life! But I am so grateful to have such amazing friends who are pretty much like family to me. The older I get, the more I realize how lucky I am to have such amazing friends in my life. I am truly blessed with friends who challenge me, speak honestly to me, give me their true opinion and value mine as well, get my sarcasm, like my quirks, encourage me and honestly make me a better person. And the best part is, since they are my forever friends our relationships can only get deeper and better!

Monday, April 28, 2014

Identity

Who would you say you are? How would you respond if someone said to you: “tell me about yourself."

Mary, tell me about yourself.

I am 28 years old. I’m from Texas. I live in SE Portland. I go to this church and I work at that organization. I drive this kind of car and I live in a little yellow house. I belong to this group and I’m part of that family.

I place so much of my identity in those statements. But I don’t think all of that makes up my identity; I think it tells about my circumstances.

What happens when all of a sudden those circumstances change? What happens especially when those circumstances change for the worse? What happens when you place your identity in your job, and all of a sudden you don’t have that job anymore… or you place your identity in that guy you were dating, and then you break up… or you place your identity in the car you drove, and suddenly the car has to be replaced… or you place your identity in your social group, but life changes and your group disperses.

I wouldn’t say I struggle with my identity. I am confident in the person that I am and my God-given potential. But sometimes I forget my true identity or I have a hard time expressing it.

True identity is found deep inside of you. It isn’t visible on your skin or in the letters that make up your name. Your true identity is always there, deep inside you; it doesn’t change or fade away. Throughout your life, your sense of identity will only grow stronger as you peel back the layers and gain a better understanding of the incredible person you are – the person God is refining you to be.

Oftentimes, your circumstances (good circumstances and even more so bad circumstances) give you a stronger sense of identity. Think of all of the times when you finally made it through life circumstances and came out on the other side saying “I really learned something during that time”… or “I gained a better understanding of who I am”… or “I’m stronger because of that experience."

It’s not possible to stand firm in your circumstances. They will change. But you can stand firm in your identity with confidence in the truth of who you are in the eyes of God.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Bonjour, France!

Spain was fun, but our time in France came out as the highlight of the trip. Our French holiday started in Nimes, which is in Southern French wine country. Absolutely beautiful! My cousin Madison (God bless him) connected us a wonderful French couple, Antoine and Georgina, who live in Nimes and they were generous enough to host us for two days at their chateau right outside of Nimes. These pictures will not do our time with them justice. We could have stayed there for our whole vacation (or forever).

Domaine de Montroche: turning down this drive to arrive at our chateau for the next two days was breathtaking.

Our chateau - a true French dream!

(notice the two beautiful yellow labs at the door)

The first night we were there, we visited Georgina's mother who lives next door. She had a fire going and served us sweet wine and French pastries. What a welcome!

That night we enjoyed a wonderful, long dinner with Antoine and Georgina. It took no time at all to warm up to each other. Our time with them was rich and meaningful from the minute we met them.

I wanted to soak up every minute of my time there, so I woke up early the next morning to go for a sunrise run. Unbelievably beautiful. And when I walked back in the house, Georgina had set out a delicious breakfast for us with local baguettes, homemade jam and fresh eggs from their chickens.

They drove us out to the small town of Tarascon where Martha, sister of Mary Magdalene and Lazarus, is buried. Such deep history in these areas!

We drove out to a quaint coast town by the Mediterranean Sea and walked around and had lunch.

Antoine took us to the facility where his wine is produced and we toured and tasted wine from the barrel!

Wine tasting in an international country is an item on my 30 Before 30 list (30 things I want to do before I turn 30 years old)... checked that one off!

That night, Georgina's friend Elizabeth (from America but has lived in France for the past 10 years) came over for dinner and to talk with us more about French politics and faith in the country.

Our last day there, we relaxed, walked the gardens, played tennis and soaked in our sunny time in Southern France.

our amazing hosts whom we will never forget: Antoine and Georgina

Although Antoine kept telling us to "take pictures with our memories, not our cameras", we convinced him to snap a few photos for us.

And now off to Paris!

We arrived there on Thursday night and had a wonderful dinner near our apartment in the 14th arrondissement.

The next morning, I went on a walking tour (free and with a guide who is a local Parisian) while Nicole and Samantha went to the Louvre (which I went to when I was in Paris with Baylor in 2006). I would highly recommend touring with Discover Walks when traveling in cities where they offer the free tours!

We walked around Paris, found a great lunch spot (Le Pain Quotidien), and enjoyed the amazing architecture that was around every corner.

We stopped in a small local bookstore (I think this guy out front was also from Portland).

Then admired the beauty of Notre Dame, which I have decided is the most beautiful structure I've ever seen.

This one's for you, Hannah VanD! (Get it, everybody?)

So many great memories of Baylor in Great Britain and our week in France in 2006.

Friday night, we took a scenic boat tour down the Seine and cruised by all of the famous sights of Paris.

We knew we had to eat some delicious beef bourguignon while in France, and this meal was wonderful!

They even had Bordeaux on tap! Oui, s'il vous plait!

The next morning, we visited the Paris Flea Market. Amazing (even though it was in a sketchy part of town).

We walked around and enjoyed the amazing weather we had.

Just hanging out in Paris, y'all!

Visited the Musee d'Orsee, even if only for an hour because we were so exhausted.

And my one wish for the last night of our trip was to have a picnic dinner under the Eiffel Tower. It was magical!

So that's our epic trip to Spain and France in a nutshell. I'm so glad that the three of us were able to get away from the "real world" for a while and just enjoy traveling through Europe and experiencing these cultures. Au revoir, Europe ("goodbye, for now")!

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Viva Espana!

I just returned from an amazing 10-day trip to Spain and France. My two friends, Nicole and Samantha, and I decided a few months ago that we needed a European vacation and we actually made it happen. This trip was a much-needed getaway for each of us. I'm so glad that we took the opportunity to escape reality for a bit and enjoyed exploring new countries and cultures.

I don't even know how to begin sharing our experience with you, so I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking...

(this post will be dedicated to the Spain portion of the trip. I'll post about France soon!)