Wow! It's Been A While

I can't believe I last posted something two months ago! And I can't believe how much we've packed into our lives during that time: a trip to the Lake of the Ozarks in April for one of John's conferences; a trip to the Smoky Mountains and Nashville in May; and a family visit (Larry, Colleen, and Robyn) in June. Mackenna has changed so much during that time! She continues to amaze me every day!

As I sit here tonight, I am thinking a lot about my friends. John and I had the opportunity to have dinner last night with friends in Jefferson City. Out of the group of eight of us, four have birthdays during the third week in June. For the last five years, we've been getting together to celebrate the occassion. As always it was great to catch up, and the donut holes weren't too bad either =). We hadn't seen some of them for almost a year. It is so hard to move and leave people you love behind! This was our greatest support system when we lived in Fulton. We miss them so much!

Today Mackenna and I went to a pool in Hannibal to celebrate my best friend's husband's birthday (his 30th). Richetta and I have known each other since kindergarten, and we've been friends ever since. Through high school, a time when we lived in two different states, marriages, and having children...we've stayed best friends. I always know that if I truly need something, she's always there. And I hope she knows that about me too. Last summer I had a wedding shower for Richetta and Omar. I asked everyone there to introduce themselves and tell us how they knew Richetta and/or Omar. When it was Richetta's mom's turn, she introduced herself and then she told me how thankful she was that Richetta had always had me for a friend, in the good and hard times. She cried, Richetta cried, my mom cried, and I cried. Just an example of the sisterhood of friendship. As I watched Richetta today hold Mackenna while she ate, splash in the pool with her, and just take good care of her I was so thankful for the friend I have in her!

When John and I went to Nashville in May, we stayed with Bill and Jody Todd. We had met them at Woodcrest, our church in Columbia, when we started attending there. Wow! That was almost five years ago. Bill and Jody were both on the staff, and Jody and I just had an instant friendship. They offered to keep Mackenna for us after I had her, telling us they would do anything for us that we needed. Last summer they moved to Nashville while we were moving up to New London. When Jody heard we going to the Smokies, she told us we must stay with them on the way home. Our night there was so much fun. And we felt so comfortable in their home! I can only hope we will continue to see them yearly, as we're really going to make the effort to make a yearly trip of going to the Smokies now that Mackenna is a year and a half.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that "your friends are the family you give yourself." Friends, the really great ones, will cry with you, laugh with you, pray with you, support you, and encourage you when you really need it. God commands each of us to love our neighbor as ourselves. The friendships we have with others is truly a gift He created. Even though there are times when people can let you down, true friends remain constant companions through thick and thin!