Heather's Story
A couple weeks ago I blogged about Lisa, the mother of three who now has three tattoos. And after I got her story up, her daughters especially were interested in telling me the stories behind their ink. So now things have finally settled down with heading back to college and stuff that I get to tell you all Heather's tattoo stories.

Heather says that when she was younger she was not a huge fan of tattoos. But after seeing her friends and both siblings get them, she decided it was her turn.

The first tattoo she got was an Italian flag on her foot, because she is half Italian (on her dad's side). And when her maternal grandmother saw this tattoo she insisted Heather get something for the other side of her family, so she added the shamrock for her Irish roots. Not only is Heather's love for her biological family represented in her ink, but also her love for and acceptance of members of her distant family. She added the Slovakian flag into her foot tattoo for her mom's boyfriend's roots, because he has been a significant figure in her life for years. And after that, she added the Puerto Rican flag for her cousin's wife who is not accepted by some members of Heather's extended family.

 

After she finished her foot tattoo she got the Scripture reference for Isaiah 40:31 because she says she has been through a lot. This verse talks about how when believers in God are burdened they can go to the Lord, and He will renew their strength, so they may "run and not grow weary...walk and not faint" (in especially the spiritual sense). Heather says that this verse is so relevant to her life because she is very involved in sports, so she can definitely relate with  feeling worn down. So with that feeling in mind, she (and many others) find great encouragement in the analogy the author of the Scripture passage puts forth when he says that with our Lord we can carry on, even when this world's "logic" says we should be defeated; we can believe in something greater than ourselves, something more! (And is there any better expression of belief in that hope than getting it put in permanent ink on your body?!)

I hope you all have enjoyed hearing those stories behind the ink, and maybe this blog has worked to even challenge or encourage some of you out there. I would love to hear from you in the comments below! Thanks for reading. I'll be back here next week with some more edifying tattoos that have really impacted my way of looking at life. Have a great week, everyone!

Sara's Story
Sara, her sister Lindsey, my sister Stephanie, and I all grew up loving tattoos—and that is obvious with Sara having four, Lindsey (featured in my post on March 11) and I each having two, and Stephanie planning to get her first in a few months. So since I have already shared my and Lindsey’s stories, I figured it is now time to tell you Sara’s!

Though the four of us girls started drawing temporary tattoos on one another from an early age, Sara really knew she wanted a tattoo when she was in high school. She says a lot of this decision came from her exposure to tattoos with her brother and guys in the fire department she served in. But she knew she had to wait until she was out of the house and able to pay for her tattoos on her own.

So, while down in Pensacola, Florida, for training, she got her first tattoo, an extensive piece on her side with flowers representing each one of her family members. The first sitting for the tattoo took two and a half hours, then she went back the next day for color and shading which took another two and a half hours—hardcore for a first tattoo! She says that this tattoo means everything to her because it represents her family, so it is her favorite by far.

Her next tattoo was also related to her family, in that she got it with Lindsey when Lindsey visited Sara in Japan. The tattoo is of a cherry blossom, an 18 (because they are 18 months apart in age), and the Japanese symbols for “older sister” (whereas Lindsey’s says “younger sister”) on her hip.

Sara's hip tattoo...



...Lindsey's hip tattoo!

Likewise, her third tattoo is for another family member that had a significant influence on her—her grandmother. Sara’s grandmother gave her a cross necklace when she was younger. And after breaking the chain six or seven times, Sara decided to put the pendant on her dog tags. Then about a year ago, she put the replica of that cross in permanent ink! Along with the tattoo being special, Sara says that she also really enjoyed the experience of getting this tattoo; first, it was in her/our hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania, and, second, because the artist she went to had also served in the U.S. Navy in Japan, so they had lots to talk about.

Lastly, her fourth tattoo is also for someone—her fiancé, James. They decided that though they wanted tattoos together, they wanted to get something silly, not so serious yet. So, because they were stationed in Japan together at the time, they got Digimon characters, with Sara’s character being the mate of the one James has on his arm.

Along with the four she already has, Sara says she does have at least two tattoos in the works! One tattoo she is thinking of is a scorpion with swirled lines in the background, because James’ sign is Scorpio and Sara’s is Aquarius. Secondly, she is hoping to get her rate in the Navy—a pair of wings with a parachute coming up from it. As of now, all her tattoos have come from different tattoo shops, and she is thinking about continuing that trend because she says it is pretty cool.

I hope you all enjoyed those stories behind the ink. I would love to hear what you think in the comments below. Thanks for reading!