Thank you GOD for girlfriends!

You know the kind of GIRLfriend you have that you can talk to on the phone for HOURS?

the kind of GIRLfriend you can tell ANYTHING to?

the kind of GIRLfriend you can say something to...something you probably shouldn't say but you know they'll still love you and not judge you and still think you're a great person even though you said it?

the kind of GIRLfriend who loves you enough to be just a bit upset when you move across the country but STILL loves you even though you moved across the country?

the kind of GIRLfriend who can give you perspective in any & every situation?

the kind of GIRLfriend who can be friends with other people but you don't really get jealous because you TOTALLY know where you stand with them?

the kind of GIRLfriend that your children guess you're on the phone with?

the kind of GIRLfriend who teaches you how to text and then becomes one of your most frequent texting buddies?

the kind of GIRLfriend you can vent about your husband to and know that she knows that your heart still truly belongs to him and you still love him with all of it....you're just kind of upset at the moment?

the kind of GIRLfriend who is the first you want to call when you have good...or bad...news?

the kind of GIRLfriend who shares your values & faith?

the kind of GIRLfriend you would leave your children with in a heartbeat and completely trust they would be safe?

the kind of GIRLfriend who might laugh & poke fun at you a little bit...but only a little bit because they know you really don't like that too much?

the kind of GIRLfriend who is a pure blessing from GOD?

Well, Melissa & Mary Beth are 2 of those GIRLfriends to me! I love them!!!!!!! The above characteristics describe them. Some apply to just 1; some apply to both. I was friends with Melissa from church and met MB standing by the fence waiting for our little Kindergarten kiddos to come out at the end of the school day (now big 4th graders!) She got me through many "panic moments" that came along with my first baby going to school. Not sure how I would have made it through without her. Through me, Melissa & MB met (they'd gone to high school together but didn't really know each other) and now, THEY are good friends. We all 3 are. They just get to actually see each other in person a lot more often than I get to see either of them.

However, very few days pass that Melissa & I don't spend hours on the phone together. It's not like we just sit on the phone eating bon bons & talking. We can bathe children, fix lunch for children, wash dishes, fold laundry, teach kids, drive down I-10, all sorts of things while carrying on a conversation with each other.

Very few days pass that MB & I don't text. Sometimes it's very routine things. "Going out to eat!" "Sitting in carline!" "Picking up the girls!" Texts that wouldn't be interesting to others, but when you're such good friends, routine texts keep you connected in a way that you want...and need.

I miss MB the most when I'm picking up the girls from school. In Aiken, she & I would sit in carline and talk while Katie roamed all over her van or stand on the sidewalk to pick up the kids. I miss that time with her now that I'm picking up my girls in a different state.

I miss Melissa the most probably when I think about the l.a.z.y. days of Thursday playgroups. So many memories of those times spent watching our kids play...along with other friends. We thought our lives were tough back then. Wow. How our lives have gotten busier. I encourage ANY and EVERY young stay at home mom with small children (NONE in school) to find a similar friend and make a weekly 'date' to get together. Let the kids play. YOU visit. Make lunch for each other. Break up toddler fights. Swap advice about tantrums. Talk about how when your kids get older, you'll have it all figured out and won't make the mistakes of other people you see with older kids. You will make the mistakes, but you can fool yourselves and think you won't. Have that companionship. Cherish it. Savor the days of preschool aged children who ALL take naps. Attempt a Bible Study even if you only get 1 verse read b/c the kids are just too noisy that day. Don't worry if all the toys aren't picked up. Believe your husband when he says it's okay that dinner's not ready or even planned out when he gets home. Try to have it planned, but it's really okay if it's not ready from time to time. LOVE & APPRECIATE your husband for working so hard that you CAN stay home with your kids and have l.a.z.y. playgroup days. Days where you don't have to get up early and get a child to school or leave the house in the afternoon to pick up the kids or go to this practice or that practice. That time will come.

Of course, when your kids do get in school, you may find your Mary Beth......(see above)

ANYWAY....

Melissa & Mary Beth are two precious, special friends who love me for who I am and accept me but aren't afraid to "ahem" when I might need a reminder about how I should be acting. My friendship with Melissa has been developing since 2001. 9 years. My friendship with MB has been developing since 2005. 5 years. Some relationships just stick. They're placed into your lives for a reason. For God's reason. What a blessing.

Then sometimes you move. but you STILL keep those relationships, thankfully. also, NEW relationships start forming. Thankfully, God's plans are bigger than our own sometimes. God moves with us when we move across the country. He has people in our new town who are going to "stick." and sometimes your new friends might just become friends with your "already established" friends. and sometimes you make plans for a trip in the future. :) I mean, really???? Thank you, GOD for blessing me with girlfriends. Anyone who doesn't have Christian girlfriends should pray for one. I prayed specifically & fervently for 1 after moving to Houston. "Amazingly," about 2 days later, "circumstances" led a relationship to start developing deeper. Sometimes it only takes one. Sometimes you might have more than one. I do. I'm always open to making more. I crave more sometimes. I am always on the lookout for someone I can develop a deep, Christian friendship with. I think one of the things I think is so neat is that EACH friend can provide me with something different that God knows I NEED. and I hope I do the same for each of them.

So anyway.......my birthday was the 3rd. I knew Melissa & MB were going out to The Melting Pot that night for "Girls' Night Out." Little did I know that these precious friends were taking me with them! When they texted me a picture of what we call "Flat J," I started laughing and could hardly stop. I love them for taking the time to "make" me and for taking me with them. Just one more example of how much we are "stuck!"

These 2 crazy girls spent a lot of time laughing while "making" me!

Finished product!



They know I am strict about seatbelts!

The waitress even put a candle on the dessert since it was my birthday!

What fun I apparently had! So glad Kate & Heather could be with us, too!

Thank you God for the blessing of girlfriends!