My Friday Fellowship guest is Sam Tarr. Sam and I somehow became internet friends - I think mostly through twitter. And then about 2.5 years ago, she moved to Bentonville. She was pregnant with her first daughter, Lily. Lily had Trisomy 18 and was stillborn. One of the biggest honors of my life was I was able to meet Lily right after birth and take pictures of her for Sam. She was beautiful. Last December, Sam and her husband Brandon were blessed twice over with twin girls. Sam has a twin brother and sister and twins run in her family so it has been fun for Sam to experience twice the fun! Sam and I go to church together and it's been fun getting to know her. I'm glad she could share with you today and she has a special fundraiser she is doing at the end that she would love for you to be apart of to honor Lily!
1. What is your favorite Food?
I love pretty much everything and I could give you a serious list (tacos, lasagna, a good salad with an unsweet tea, etc.), but I always come back to a cheeseburger and fries,more specifically the Speedway Special from Speedway Grille in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Seriously, go there. And now that I’m typing this, I have the urge to get in the car and drive to Muskogee!
2. What is your very favorite piece of clothing right now? (FASHION)
I have a few.
I stay home with my girls so I'm in workout clothes a lot. So first, I'd say Old Navy compression pants. I run and these are the best bang for your buck. I still wear the pair I ran my first half in and that was almost four years ago. Second, I've really got into the Lularoe craze and so I love the Julia dress I have. It's comfortable and I can dress it up for church, the courtroom, a date, or wear it around town for errands. Plus, I don’t wear the crazy patterns and because the material is pretty decent quality, this dress is a staple piece I can have for years to come if I play my cards right! Third, I’m obsessed with my chacos. I am pretty sad that fall is upon us for this reason alone, but that leads me to my favorite all-time outfit. Fourth, because it’s fall, my favorite outfit is jeans, a comfy t-shirt, a hoodie, and converse. Seriously, if I could wear this every day of the week, I would.
3. Tell us about your Family?
I am married to Brandon. We've been together for 11 years, married almost nine of those in December. We met at Falls Creek which is a camp in Oklahoma. It’s pretty famous there. Basically, 5-7 thousand campers come each week so it’s a small city but the population changes weekly. Brandon worked on the BCM Road Crew and I worked on the Courtesy Patrol and my job was literally to be the fashion police. There’s a dress code there and I had to enforce it. It was not fun, but God has a total sense of humor because I was busy falling in love otherwise that summer would have been terrible! We were engaged that Christmas and married almost two years later! If we had to pick a time of year that was ours, it’s the month of December. It’s truly magical for us.
We are momma and daddy to three girls, one in heaven named Lily who passed from Trisomy 13 and identical twin girls, Kylene and Eleanor. Lily would be two and our twin girls will be one in December. My oldest is a missionary and because of her, I came to Christ. I am actually writing a book about our journey with Lily right now. But I LOVE LOVE LOVE that her story continues to reach the masses and it is ALL for His glory.
That said, I have no idea what my girls will be, but I pray daily that they love Jesus and they follow His calling for their life. I can’t believe we are already at the point of planning a 1st birthday party, but we are!! We are doing a Somewhere Over the Rainbow theme!
We are momma and daddy to three girls, one in heaven named Lily who passed from Trisomy 13 and identical twin girls, Kylene and Eleanor. Lily would be two and our twin girls will be one in December. My oldest is a missionary and because of her, I came to Christ. I am actually writing a book about our journey with Lily right now. But I LOVE LOVE LOVE that her story continues to reach the masses and it is ALL for His glory.
That said, I have no idea what my girls will be, but I pray daily that they love Jesus and they follow His calling for their life. I can’t believe we are already at the point of planning a 1st birthday party, but we are!! We are doing a Somewhere Over the Rainbow theme!
4. What is the most important quality in your Friends? OR tell us something that a Friend has done for you that you can't forget.
Someone who is willing to get down in the trenches with me in tough times or fire up the car with a full tank of gas for a day or three of adventure! My two very best friends are both named Jessi(c/k)a. Jessica or Jessi is my actual sister and JessiKa has been friends with Jessi since the 1st grade! We call ourselves The Committee. The day iPhones released the capability to name your group texts, we were all so excited! Our families joke that it’s not real until The Committee has voted on the matter. These girls have been with me through my highest of highs and my lowest of lows and vice versa for me. They always point me back to Jesus and sometimes, when life just can’t seem to get any worse, we get in the car and we just go somewhere.
5. What's something you have learned recently in your Faith journey? And/or share your favorite scripture right now and why or your favorite Bible Study or book you have read recently.
This spring/summer I did Armor of God by Priscilla Shirer. I loved it and the biggest thing I learned is that I have to put on my armor DAILY, sometimes I need to put it on hourly, and others I have to go moment by moment. But the biggest thing is that because I am a child of the King, HIS armor is available to me. That is huge and makes me fearless.
My favorite verse is Romans 8:28!
My favorite verse is Romans 8:28!
6. What is your biggest Fear?
That I will have to bury another child. I used to think it was snakes, spiders, clowns, and tight spaces. And those things are still pretty big fears, but they pail in comparison to the loss of another child.
7. What are some of your Favorite things right now?
Sounds cheesy, but I love the start of a new Bible study. I just started Breaking Free with Beth Moore. I also am loving ultimate salad from Newk's. Breakfast on Saturday mornings with my little family after my run. Being close to needing a new planner because I've filled this one. I love cleaning while listening to a podcast. I'm also really enjoying coffee since I just started drinking it this year! The rare date night with my dude. And we are slowly re-purposing pieces in our house to make it brighter and happier! Think hippie meets farm house chic meets 1970s retro.
8. What has been your biggest Failure?
Not passing the bar...yet.
9. What do you do for Fun?
Run, read, crochet, write, binge watch Netflix. I know, I'm just sooooo cool. Also be with family! And while I’ve not been to one in almost three years, I LOVE a good college football game, specifically the Sooners!
10. Tell me about what animals you have? (Furry things)
We have two dogs a Frenchie named Paisley (we call her Pais) and a white boxer named Sugar Ann. Paisley is still mad that Sugar is still here and Sugar has been with us for four years now. She’s also about to be 8 so that crankiness is only going to get worse. So add that to the fact that she is now just a dog and not our baby anymore, her life has just been so so so hard lately. Sugar, on the other hand, LOVES the girls and always wants to know where they are and she follows us into the nursery at night to make sure we tuck them in the right way. I hope she has an opportunity to grow old with the girls. She loves them and they sure love her. Brandon and I do too, but since the girls have been here, we are chopped liver according to Sugar.
11. What is your favorite FILM? (movie)
The Wizard of Oz…hence the Somewhere Over the Rainbow theme for the girls birthday party! The girls are our double rainbow babies and add that this is my favorite movie and it was the perfect storm so to speak. It’s as if I’ve been waiting my whole life to have this party.
10. What is one Fact we might not know about you?
This is gross. I can't believe I'm typing this... but when I couldn't sleep when I was pregnant with the girls, I used to watch Dr. Pimple Popper videos. I only watched the ones where she popped zits. It was relaxing to me to see all the ground she covered and how much better the person's skin looked afterwards because of it. See? Told you it was gross. I'd watch two videos and be tired. If that didn't work, then I'd watch West Wing.
Another one is that I came to Christ AFTER the death of my oldest. I grew up in the church and you can read about it in the link posted right here. http://www.therubyturtlehippie.com/2015/01/that-time-i-asked-jesus-into-my-heart.html But I just LOVE LOVE LOVE that God in His sovereignty and as Lord of our lives will come get us like the Great Shepherd that He is!
Social Media: Instagram – therubyturtlehippie
Online Party October 15th to go towards the purchase of a Cuddle Cot in honor of Lily.
