Thursday, February 10, 2011

10 Things we LOVE about Rachel Murdock!

(aka Rae, Rae-shine)

From Naomi:

1. You are a nurturer. I remember as children, when things got tough, you would take us outside or to the basement and play make-believe games with us to help distract us from our problems. You were a second mom to all of us!

2. You are remarkably talented. There are so many things you can do, and you can do them well. Your musical and writing skills are enviable and even when you try your hand at sewing or crafts you do a fantastic job. It is as if you were born to make things more beautiful.

3. You are an incredible hostess. Whenever we have had the chance to stay in your home, everything is in order and well cleaned. You make us feel comfortable, keep us entertained, feed us in like we're at a 5 star restaurant, and make us feel loved and wanted.

4. You are strong in the face of adversity. No matter what comes your way, whether it be Cancer, migraines, financial setbacks, or personal struggles, you keep picking up your feet and moving forward. Not everyone can do that, or even wants to, but you do it, if not for yourself then for your family, and I respect that!

5. You are an actively engaged and organized mother. As a mother myself, I find those qualities to be even more exceptional. It is hard to find ways to keep your children learning and active, but you do it. You have organized schedules and routines and you stick to them. And at the same time, you manage to fill their lives with worthwhile adventures and experiences. I hope that one day I will be able to say the same thing about myself! Thank you for being my big sister, and a great example to me. I love you Rae!

From Kevin:

6. Rachel is very accepting and helped me to feel welcome into the family very early on in Naomi and my marriage.

7. Rachel has a very charitable personality and always seems to be willing to give. I can't count how many dinners, games nights, etc. that we've been to at her house. She was always hospitable with good food and fun games. To a poor starving college student it was heaven!

8. I remember very fondly some of the conversations that Rachel and I had when she was in the hospital with her cancer. I visited several times and remember her always wanting to talk about me: how school was going, how my job was going, what my latest run up squaw peak was like. She seemed so interested in me at a time when I imagine it would be hard to not to be introverted and think about your own struggles. Those conversations with that bald, chemo-ridden girl are some that I'll never forget!

9. Rachel let Naomi and I use her house as our base of operations as we prepared for the wedding. We spent hours addressing invitations, preparing food, loading in and loading out decorations. There must have been a hundred people in and out of her house doing odd jobs in the days before the wedding, and we were very grateful for the help!

10. She bought a trampoline and let me jump on it anytime I wanted to! And yes, trampoline skills (like being able to do 100 back-to-backs in a row) are absolutely vital to success in life as an adult...


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