FAMILY | Andersons

In all the world there is no heart for me like yours.

In all the world there is no love for you like mine.

-Maya Angelou

Back in 2005 when we moved to Tulsa from Seattle, we landed in a darling little neighborhood just blocks from Utica Square.  Around the corner from us was this family- the Andersons.   Tonya and I were pregnant at the same time and we started walking early mornings and occasionally having afternoon playdates.   She struck me as one of the most beautiful women I’d ever met.  She still does.

After moving a few miles away, babies were born, and busy months passed.  But in December 2007 a terrible ice storm hit the city and tens of thousands of people were without power for weeks.   Who called to check us?   Who invited us to live in their home for as long as we needed?   Who cooked meals for hours to stock the freezer to be ready to host a second family?   Who stayed up each night, watching movies, visiting, making us feel at home?   These people.   For nine days.

There are so many things I love about the Andersons.  First, they are just plain fun.  They host parties and dress up and laugh a lot.  They are warm and inviting, generous with what they have, sincere with compliments and even though our paths rarely cross now days, they always feel like family.  When I happen to drive through the old neighborhood, their house glows from the inside out.

Second, I admire their marriage and commitment to family.   Tonya has never said an unkind word about Kevin.  She honors him and adores him.   And, whoa.  I love how Kevin praises Tonya publicly and how he looks at her after all their years together.   He recently posted this:

“They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This one is worth ten thousand. I didn’t pick a woman who would love me at my best. I picked one who would love me at my worst. Look at me. Aged and mottled. Those wrinkles are not the evidence of a fight with the world, but a fight with myself. Yet no matter how good or bad it has been, this woman has never blinked, never doubted. Eyes and a smile that told me she had no question that the best in me would prevail. Somehow I find myself even now full of fight. Ready to do whatever it takes and pay whatever it costs to see my family thrive. That angel in the corner of my eye deserves most of the credit. Many thousands of words more could be written but this will suffice for now.”

I love this.  Marriage, parenting, work, family, life…. all stressful.   All worth it when you have someone who loves you, who is cheering for you, believing in you.   How lucky are these gorgeous daughters to see their daddy love their mama with so much humility and power.    I’m incredibly blessed and thankful for folks like this and their love story- a testimony that love wins and it’s worth the fight.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE you people.