Social Media

If it suits your fancy to explore my other social media outlets, here they are- 

Instagram- instagram.com/LeitaVictory

Twitter - twitter.com/LeitaVictory

Vine- LeitaVictory 
Email

I am on facebook but I'm not giving that out. I only add people I know personally. 

Happy 50th Birthday Mum!!!

At the first of the month, this lovely lady reached half a century. What a champ.

I'm sad you’re on the other side of the world Mum, but when you return- we shall par-tay.

Handel's Messiah, Davies Symphony Hall, 2012

Back when I was nine up until I was about fifteen, I would hand-make birthday cards for my family. It included a heartfelt limerick, telling why I thought this person was special and expressing my thankfulness for their existence, and of course, merriment for their birthday. I don’t remember consciously saying to myself “I will no longer do this” but for some reason (getting older and being too busy), I stopped. Sad really. Because even though my poems were a little cheesy, it was meaningful. So I will consciously say now, “ I will start doing this again”. I will start writing more meaningful letters and cards and emails. (once soon coming your way...maybe...)

A few weeks ago, I attended a retreat in which we studied the Psalms and poetry. We were encouraged to write and share our poems. Even though my poem was terrible (not very poetic), the exercise rekindled my love and joy for writing poems. Here goes one for Mom's 50th Birthday...!!!

She Turned Fifty

She's the one I can always talk to

She's always has a second to spare

She jokes about being third wheel

Her four letter word is " I don't give a CARE"

She turned Fifty

That's pretty nifty

And quite the feat

Fighting hard, for so long

Never falling to defeat

She loves to bless others

When her cup overflows

And when it is not bountiful

Her thoughtfulness still shows

She turned Fifty

That's pretty nifty

And quite the feat

In the midst of  chaos

She's still calm and neat

She taught me to be straightforward

"No one wants to hear your excuses or complaints"

"Stand your ground, don't let people sway you"

For she was sure I would crumble and wane

"Get to the point" and "Have some class"

She would always say

Striving for truth and efficiency

In the most ladylike way

She turned Fifty

That's pretty nifty

And quite the feat

Teaching us lessons and hoped those mistakes 

We would never repeat

She knows how to have a good laugh

For hers is easy to distinguish

It is one that neither trial or pain

Can ever diminish

She turned Fifty

That's pretty nifty

And quite the feat

Always prepared for the obstacles

Along the road we might meet

She is humble and strong

She is bold yet tender

A shoulder to cry on

Her hug is truly a render

Despite criticism and gossip

She had courage to do what was right

At the foot of the cross, praying to Him 

For patience, wisdom, and might

She turned Fifty

That's pretty nifty

And quite the feat

We will soon properly celebrate

It will be quite the treat

I Love my Mum.

Cheers!

Weddings and Texas

Weddings and Texas.

“Mawiage is what bwings us here too-geda-  today”

If for some sad reason you are not able to reference that movie quote, I highly suggest you drop everything this minute and watch Princess Bride.

Nov 1, 2013, was a very special day for Hannah and Jordan Sillars, as they exchanged vows and pledged to be together “till death due us part”.

Pretend I took a pretty picture (insert here) of one of the most-good-looking couples of the year. Pretend because I was caught up in everything else and it all happened so fast, I never thought to. Pretend I’m not stupid. Click Me for an adorable picture of Jordan and Hannah

Now, I love weddings. I love marriages. I love it when a man and woman commit their lives to each other in holy matrimony. I love the wedding itself, the celebration, the party, the joy of such special union just makes me so happy. And yes, it’s because I’m a hopeless romantic and yes, it’s because I do believe in true love. (cynic starting now…) But this wedding was special. It wasn’t about the frills and trills of a wedding. It wasn’t about puppy love. Hannah and Jordan made it clear that their relationship was founded on Christ, that their love wasn’t limited to romance, but more…beyond all that, true sacrificial love. It was a joyous occasion to witness and I was so blessed and honoured to have been there. Yes, I do love love. And I love seeing love lived out in two beautiful human beings. 

some pictures during the wedding

(hands on hips galore)

   Mrs Cromer (my Texas Mom) and Glory                                  Glory and Hannah Fain

Mrs. Farver. such.a.sweet.lady o my goodness. love her. 

I adore this girl. 

One huge treat of attending this wedding was seeing Lindsay! Lindsay and I befriended one another 7 years ago at Summer Camp. It was her first and last camp and we just so happened to have stayed friends. At camp, we hung out, we took pictures together (as all camp kids do), and exchanged email address (way back in the day before facebook or even MySpace was a thing). I remember desperately trying to reach her over email but for some reason was “blocked” until she “accepted” my email address. (*cough* homeschooler email alert)  She never did. I cried. (jk. I didn’t)

Fast forward two years, I am in Texas and Hannah walked up to me at Sonlight (home-school co-op)and said something along the lines of “Do you know Lindsey in California?” I’m thinking, “There’s more than ONE Lindsey in California...” But as it turned out, I only knew ONE Lindsey and that’s the same Lindsey Hannah was asking about!

Stop right here. Think about this. I move to Texas, not knowing a soul, meet a girl who knows a girl from California that I once went to camp with. WEIRD. The odds of that happening? Zero. So yes, I believe it was God – appointed.

Lindsey and I were facebook friends, in every meaning of the word. We only talked to each other on facebook. I would see her every once in a while at a few speech and debate tournaments. We always chatted about life but always about how it was weird we knew the same people in Texas, a world so different from our California lives. Other than that, we were mainly facebook buddies.  

 just for kicks- us 2009

Fast forward 4 years after that.

I moved to live with my grandparents for a little bit and started church-hunting in that area. The very first church I visited had a good size college service, which I decided to aslo check out for the first time. I was introduced to one of the staff members. She wanted me to meet other girls too. As I turned around to grab my Bible (back in the day when I use to carry a physical Bible), the staff said to a group of girls “Have you met Leita?” A loud enthusiastic “ LLLEEEIIITTAAA????!?!!?!?!?!?!!!” followed immediately. I whirled around to find Lindsey right in front of me! The Lord has brought us together again after all these years!!! We screamed so loud, as girls do so well when they are beyond excited. We met for coffee a week later that turned out to a huge turning point for me. We talked for over three hours, sharing our lives, our struggles, and our walk with Christ. We ended up seeing each other almost every week, encouraging one another, and sharing many laughs. I was delighted to have such a dear friend so close to me at that time, particularly when I did feel very out of place.

I moved out of my grandparents back to the Bay Area and Lindsey and I still stayed in contact. A year later, she too moved to the same.exact.city (literally 5 minutes from my house). It was obvious God wanted us to be in close friendship.

It’s so easy to be Lindsey’s friend for SHE is an amazing friend. She is a great listener and offers great wisdom. She articulates herself in a gentle way, yet still very affirming and strong. (A character trait I have yet to master.) She has a wonderful sense of humour. She’ll laugh for hours upon end with you.  She is a friend you keep close to your heart because you know that she truly does love you. Her perspective on the world is fascinating and offers thought provoking insights. Her honesty and kindness is very attractive and entices one to be the same. I’m always baffled at how God orchestrates certain friendships, but this one takes the cake. We don’t have that much in common and the few things we do have in common (Texas etc) are honestly, weird things to relate on. None-the-less, we still have the best conversations and I have thoroughly enjoyed her company through and through. She took off to Michigan this year, leaving me to cry myself to sleep every night. (jk. I didn’t cry) So you can imagine the anticipation gripping us before the wedding. We took a few pictures after the wedding (because we were so busy doing other things at the venue.) The Farver’s backyard turned out to be a scenic backdrop.

we can't hold a serious face. 

finally, straight face.

ps- cows in their front yard. like-no-big-deal. #TEXAS

California Girls reunited in Texas

a few pictures of Lindsey. I made her hold still. Thanks for letting me boss you around! ;) 

please note the endless amount of land and sky. 

we have no idea why this is there. maybe someone can tell us. we both thought it looked like the altar where Aslan died. 

We spent two hours wandering around and enjoying the Texas landscape. Lindsey and I are secretly obsessed with Texas and we (not-so-secretly) plan on living in this good ole state one day. We’ll see. The Lord does work in mysterious ways.

ps. a couple more Texas – related entries coming your way… 

all pictures taken with the iPhone 5 and edited on phone using VSCO 

see Leita's VSCO GRID

Throwback Thursday Texas

 I LOVE TEXAS.

Like a lot.

#1 reason- the people. O.my.goodness. They are amazing human beings.

Here’s a picture in honour of throwback Thursday.

A picture taken at 2008 prom.

A picture taken Halloween 2013.

I don’t think I’ve seen Wesley SINCE Prom.

And I haven’t seen Jess in 5 years.

Yet, we were able to hang out and get along like nothing had ever changed.

Again. I love Texas. More pics to come!