9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:

10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

 Friendship…it’s a funny, evolving, ever-changing thing throughout our lives; each one of them treasured, but not always maintained throughout time and distance.

I would love for everyone who reads this blog to comment how long we’ve been friends and where we met.  It will be really fun to see how God’s hand leads and guides us into each others’ lives over time.

The featured picture on this blog is one of my favorite photos ever!  It was taken at Emily’s 7th birthday party.  She had her girlfriends over to our house for a Rock Star Slumber Party.  I was a small group leader for a group of our oldest daughter’s high school friends.  They all came over to help me with the party and did hair and nails, and basically just made the Rock Star Party ROCK!  I’m not sure if the little friends or the high school friends had more fun.  🙂  I know it was a really cool thing to watch!  I love every one of those girls!

As a child, and even through my teenage years, I had friends whom I have sleep-overs with, went to school and/or church with, and talked on the phone with for hours on end.  We played together, collected rocks, giggled at slumber parties, and spent hours fixing each other’s hair and watching movies. If you were a part of my life at that time, you can probably think of some good stories right now!  Ha!  Most of my friends at that age were all my “best friends”.  We did life together.  Do I spend time with them today?  Well, no.  Not really.  Occasionally, I bump into one of them and hug their neck, which brings back a long set of heart-warming memories.  Occassionally, I come across something on Facebook that reminds me of one of them and I tag them on it.  Occassionally, someone posts an old picture that brings me right back to that place and time, and those precious people.  I treasure each one of those friendships for the way it fills my heart to think of the memories we shared.

This photo was posted on Facebook just today, and so much joy, laughter, and fun times come to mind when I look at it.  This photo is probably almost 20 years old (we were rocking 1990 something), and I don’t see these girls very often anymore (except my sister), but they are each one near and dear to my heart to this day.

I now watch my children with their friends.  I really wondered what life on the road would do for their friendships and friend making.  It’s definitely a lot easier in this day and age to keep in touch with friends.  They have gotten to spend tons of time with cousins, which coincidentally make great friends as well!  Emily, our 12-year-old, texts her friends from back home on a regular basis.  She’s a little shy and is an old soul, so making friends with other kids around camp hasn’t really been her thing.  She is her mama’s child and is perfectly happy curled up with a good book on any given day.  She loves to interact with adults though, and is quick to offer her help when she feels it might be needed.  Tyler, our 7-year-old, on the other hand, is the life of the party.  He makes friends with everyone!  He doesn’t mind befriending younger kids, he can hang with the big kids, and he never meets a stranger.  It’s rare that we leave a place and he doesn’t swap email addresses, phone numbers, or an address with his new friends.  He, too, has the advantage of modern-day technology.  I was so surprised the other day when I walked in and he was Facetiming with a friend he met last summer.  They were catching up on all kinds of things, comparing new bikes, and just so excited to be talking to each other.  It was great!

Today, as an adult, friendships look different from how they did in my younger years.  It gets harder and harder, with a family, to give of yourself to your friends on a regular basis.  It doesn’t mean I don’t think about them regularly and pray for them and their families.  It just looks different.  I am forever grateful to each of them for pouring into my life, and being a part of my story.

A friend to me now is someone whom I may or may not see or talk to regularly, but when I do see them or talk to them, we can pick back up where we left off regardless of how long it’s been.  It’s someone who has invested in a piece of my life…a piece of my heart.  It might be someone I grew up with.  It might be someone who entered my life in adulthood.  It might be someone I worked with.  It might be someone who reached out to me in a time of need.  It might be someone whom I met recently and connected with.  It might even be someone I lived in the same house with for the first 20ish years of my life.  My siblings have become some of my very best friends.

 The fact remains that you can never have too many friends.  I love to share our story and connect with people, although admittedly, I’m not very good at initiating such things.  I also love reconnecting with old friends.  That has probably been one of my favorite things about our travels so far.  We have made some incredible friends on the road, with whom we continue to stay in touch with.  We have also reconnected with friends that quite honestly, we never thought we’d cross paths with again…on this side of eternity.  The high that comes after a visit with a good friend is about one of the best feelings in the world.

Whether I’ve seen you in person and hugged your neck, commented on your Facebook status, texted you recently, or even if I haven’t, know that your friendship and the time we have spent together is a piece of me.  Every memory, moment, laugh, tear, embrace, or prayer is treasured in my heart.  When God does bring you to mind, my heart smiles because you own a piece of it, dear friend.  Thank you for being a part of my life!

I’m also a very blessed girl to be married to the best friend a girl can ask for.  He’s just as crazy as I am, and we have the most fun together.  So glad he puts up with me.  🙂

Philippians 1:3-4

“Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy.”