dear natalie.

dear natalie,

2009 was a great year. it was the year that i met you.

it was at Polishing the Pulpit--our favorite place ever.

that first meeting was the beginning of something great.

dear natalie,

i don't think we saw each other until the next PTP.

you and mem were tight. i was grateful that you both allowed me to spend time with the two of you. ;) we hung out almost every waking moment while there. pictures were taken on the green of the conference center and Bible lectures were heard as we enjoyed hanging out with "nat". after that week, mem and i both knew that we had a lifelong friendship that we would cherish forever.

christina, valerie, and your mom were there too. 

our times at PTP have become some of my fondest memories.

PTP 2010

dear natalie,

we kept in touch, and with great anticipation, looked forward to the 2011 PTP conference. you were there, mrs melanie, and valerie. again, every waking moment, mem and i were rushing to and from teen sessions with you. the three of us were also asked to be a part of the modesty fashion show organized by mrs cindy colley. after sessions one day, us girls (your mom, val, you, my mom, mem and i) loaded up and headed to downtown gatlinburg to walk around. the trip wasn't complete without a stop at mcdonald's too.

oh, and then packing in our sub to go bowling with the teens from PTP...yeah that was fun too. ;)

due to having to work, i had to leave early in the week. we left mem with you, your mom, and val and mom and i drove back home. even though i was not there, you and mem still kept me in the loop by texting me pictures of your continued adventures at the convention. straightening your hair--the blonde and the brunette...your matching sperry's...texting me play-by-play the games that you played on teen nights...

dear natalie,

PTP 2012 rolled around with the excitement of seeing you, mrs melanie and valarie again.

the week was filled with late night talks, bbq with friends, and recharging our batteries with God's word.

dear natalie,

i'll never forget when you texted me telling me about austin for the first time.

i was at lads to leaders in the hotel room. we were texting about random things and then got on the subject of your guy.

i could tell in your texts how excited and over-the-moon happy you were about y'all's relationship. 

every time you talk about him you blush-it's just so cute.

as you are in the hospital, he is right there with you. 

from the beginning, austin was at the hospital ready with answers for all the questions that we had after the accident. 

i cannot wait to see how God is going to use the two of y'all as you both serve the Lord together.

dear natalie,

remember when you invited us to go on a "girls only" trip in celebration of your graduation?

that trip will go down in my books as being one of the best weeks of my life.

...how your mom and my mom were the map readers and we rode bikes all over hilton head and got lost...you, mem, and i having just dance parties in the den of the condo after our moms and val had gone to bed....soaking in the hot tub until we could stand it no longer (totally broke the rule about the max time limit of staying in a hot tub)...hitting up the thrift stores...getting mani's and pedi's...

and then it was time to say our goodbyes.

your van heading back to ky and our sub heading to al. 

and remember we were all so miserable saying goodbye? not only because we weren't sure when we would see each other again, but we had all developed colds and runny noses.

i wouldn't trade that time spent with you, valerie, and your mom on that trip for the world.

(see more on instagram #handrbeachtrip)

dear natalie,

thanks to you, i watched the entire season xiii of american idol.

you have me hooked. although, we need to get you started on the voice.

mem got me hooked on that one.

dear natalie,

i love how you want to do a "silly face" picture when we take selfies.

some of those selfies are my favorite pictures of you, mem, and i.

we're looking forward to taking more "silly face" selfies with you.

dear natalie,

after i met doug (my boyfriend), low and behold, we celebrated the fact that he lived only 30 minutes away from you. i love how you shared our excitement in knowing that fact.

we were excited to know that when we would go visit doug, we were able to see some of our favorite people in the whole wide world--your family. 

on one of our visits, we headed on over to your high school graduation.

as mrs. melanie and mr. bruce handed you your diploma and as we watched your picture slide show, mem and i both had tears of joy in our eyes knowing that God has some amazing plans for your life.

that day has come to be a very cherished memory.

dear natalie,

remember when you, your mom and valerie traveled down for mem's wedding?

mem was so excited that you said "yes" to being part of her and andrew's wedding day.

y'all came to church with us wednesday night and then we headed over to our house to meet the other bridesmaids. for mem's "special shower" we ate ice cream with all the toppings and laughed until our stomachs hurt.

the next day, mem presented each of us (the bridesmaids) an initialed handbag with goodies in it and a monogrammed robe for the next day. remember how she had written each one of us a letter and we were all bawling by the end of the brunch?

for the wedding day, God stopped the rain and showered blessings on the entire day.

our make-up was done and we slipped on our dresses. you were beautiful. remember how we took pictures but promised not to post on instagram until after the wedding fearing andrew might see mem's dress before she walked down the isle? ;)

dear natalie,

i cannot pass a mcdonald's without thinking about you.

i think your love for mcdonald's surpasses my love for chick-fil-a (and that a WHOLE BUNCH).

soon after you are released from the hospital, you, mem, and i need to take a mcdonald's trip and get a BIIIIG mcflurry, okay?

dear natalie,

remember that time when thousands of people were praying for your recovery?

a whole facebook group was set up just for you for people to write notes of encouragement and pray for you.

you are LOVED and you are APPRECIATED.

my life has been beyond blessed with you in it. 

your beautiful smile is contagious.

i only hope that i have impacted as many people as you have with your Christian example.

natalie jo, we love you and need you to get well.

there are thousands of people praying for you and we are praising Him for your improvement. we are praying so hard that you continue on the road to recovery.

keep fighting, nat, we're here praying you on.

love you so much.

all my love,

marli.

(note: our dear friends, mrs melanie, natalie, valerie, their grandmother, aunt and little cousin were in a tragic car accident last sunday night (june 1st) that took the life of mrs. melanie and the grandmother. the rest of the passengers were air lifted to the nearest hospital. the little cousin and valerie have been released from the hospital but the aunt and natalie are still in the hospital. natalie is on a ventilator and sedated. BUT, God is hearing our prayers and she is improving and responding. the doctors are pleased with the progress that they see. she still has a very long road ahead of her to recovery but we praise God for His healing. the aunt is also healing. thank you for joining in and lifting up the hays family as they laid to rest a grandmother and a mother this past weekend and as they attend to natalie.)