Princess Fiona isn't the Only Fiery Redhead I Know

Despite all my whining and perpetually bad mood, my life is ridiculously blessed. I have faced very little adversity and my real challenges have been few. If I were to face a potentially life-changing situation, I can only hope I would handle it with the grace and positive spirit that I've seen in my friend Theresa. Until just yesterday, Theresa was in the difficult position of waiting. Waiting to hear whether she had a malignant breast tumor. This is not the kind of joyous waiting you think of at this time of year.

Theresa's amazingly upbeat and positive spirit in the face of adversity is completely typical of her. She's the kind of woman who handles everything with aplomb. As the mother of four boys under the age of 12, she should be a complete and total lunatic, but she's not. In fact she's probably more squared away than most of us. This crazy woman actually went back to school this year to start a nursing degree and is thoroughly enjoying kicking the butts of her younger classmates.

While I could go on ad nauseum about Theresa's fine qualities, I thought I'd let her fellow Freakin' Angels say a word or two about this fiery redhead:

Freakin' Angel Andria sends Theresa her love and says:

Theresa has the same 24 hours in a day that the rest of us have, and yet she packs in more than I can imagine doing in a week: maintaining her home, knitting at every opportunity, reading books at a crazy pace, attending and studying for classes, carting around four children, feeding a family of six, providing service as a deacon, providing all kinds of service outside of her work as a deacon, spending time with her friends--and maintaining grace and humor through all of the responsibilities and effort. If Theresa can maintain her grace and humor while raising four boys as successfully as she does, then I have the hope and inspiration I need to face raising my two kids!

Freakin' Angel Jen had this to say:

Theresa has an incredibly generous spirit! While my daughter was in the hospital last week, my two sons stayed over at her house one night. She had 6 boys in the house and was HAPPY to help! Not only does she give, she does so with such a cheerful spirit. She has a strong sense of character and humor! She is a treasure!!!!

Previously profiled Freakin' Angel Karen wrote:

Theresa is a gift! She can do anything and everything and make it look so "matter of fact." She is always aware of others' needs and just comes to your rescue as if it is the easiest thing to do. Theresa is a fine Christian, friend, mother and wife. She leads by example with no pretension, motives or need for praise. Theresa takes life in stride and is a personal example to me to "live in the moment" and to "not sweat the small stuff." Her faith in the Lord and her service to others is such a great example.

Our girl Cathie, who has faced more than her own fair share of challenges in the past couple years, had this to say about Theresa:

Theresa.....a friend who has stepped in when I've needed help in my own life.  She always seems to be so positive and energetic about everything.  Life seems to swirl around her, how could it not when being a mom to four boys, yet she just always seems to be able to move forward and get so much done....way more than humanly possible.  She has watched my girls on numerous occasions and always has them doing more than I could ever do with them...picking veggies in her garden, baking with them, craft projects, etc.  And all the while, knitting numerous items at the same time.  Love spending time with that girl.  She is solid in her faith, I've never seen her waver with her belief in her Heavenly Father. 

And finally, Kim G., being the writer she is, offered this lengthy deserving tribute to our girl Theresa:

Hmmm...what makes Theresa special? Let me think, what does she do that's so special? The thing about Theresa is what DOESN'T she do? She cooks healthy (and probably organic knowing her) dinners, raises 4 amazing boys while running a home based business, takes college-level Chemistry classes, serves as a deacon at church, teaches Sunday school, gives a new mom a personal breastfeeding consultation, brings a pitcher of a delicious cocktail to girls' night out...all while knitting a sweater. (Not one of those is an exageration and there's probably a ton more I don't know about!) What I like so much about Theresa is that I don't think it ever even crosses her brain that she might not be able to do something. Unlike myself who can doubt at every turn, I don't think Theresa ever does and yet she is still humble, approachable, sincere and fun. I have learned things from her, prayed with her, yelled at our kids together (and watched two of them be googly-eyed at each other) and laughed with her. She is a true friend and blessing and the quintessential Freakin' Angel.

Theresa, your friends are all thrilled that God heard our prayers and that you received an encouraging report. No matter what comes next, the Freakin' Angels will always be with you to both encourage you and to be encouraged by you. You're one in a million!