Farewell to our Friends

This post may end up being all over the place, so bear with me.

I started blogging a few years ago so that I could remember our days and be able to share them with our family.  I blog about the girls most of the time. What they are doing at school, with friends, and fun places we have been.  I usually don't blog about difficult times or long days when I have lost my patience with the girls or gotten into a disagreement with my husband . Trust me, we definetly have trials and tribulations at our house. And I rarely blog about myself, not sure if I have ever done that?  I try to write about the lighter and brighter events in our days.

Since this blog is a sort of "scrapbook" of our lives, I need to share about our friends. Our good friends-the Jones- are moving to Arizona today. Last night they came over to our house one last time for dinner. We sat and talked, while our girls ran around playing. Like we have done so many times. I knew they needed to leave around eight and I kept watching the clock, trying to will it to stop or at least slow down. I had been dreading this day since November when Ashley had told me they were moving to Arizona.

I believe that God sends us the people that we need in our lives. He makes it happen. We cross paths at the same time, end up sitting next to each other on the bus, start a new job the same day,etc... and we form friendships.  The Lord sent me Kayla Finn, in the seventh grade. I would not have survived junior high without her. In high school, Kristin and Gerri Ann became my BFFs and still are today. My first day of college, a beautiful blond girl kept knocking on my dorm room door, looking for my room mate. My room mate was out and about, so the blond girl asked me if I wanted to go to lunch with her. Christy and I were two peas in  a pod for the next two years and still keep in touch. I know that God blessed us with Jones family and we are better people because of their friendship.

                                                             Catie and Rachel
Rachel and I weren't supposed to be in playgroup with Catie and Ashley. Rachel was four years old, but because of her preschool schedule, she ended up being in the three year old playgroup. I remember when Ashley first joined our group. They had recently moved to Georgia and were settling in. We discovered that we had a lot in common- both of us had moved in Georgia from another state, our husbands both worked and traveled alot, we had daughters, we went to the same church, the floorplan of our houses were almost identical, we had very similar dark brown leather couches, we loved Beth Moore Bible studies, we liked shopping at consignment stores, and the list went on and on. I knew pretty quick we would be friends.

A few weeks before Easter, I decided to see if Ashley and her family wanted to join us for Easter dinner. I was a little nervous because our husbands hadn't met yet, but Raphael and Gregg hit it off and our first dinner was a success.

                                                            Gregg and Raphael

Since that first Easter dinner, we have had countless get togethers, BBQs, double dates, guys nights out, girls day at the spa. We celebrated birthdays, new babies, and holidays. We spent summer days at the waterpark and often sat together at church.

Catie, Rachel and Sydney

I am thankful for the friendship our daughters have with each other. Rachel,Catie and Sydney have spent lots of fun times together and I know Rachel will miss her friends.

Kate, Catie, Keely and Rachel

I watch a t.v. show called "Bethenny Ever After" and in a recent episode, Bethenny was talking with her therapist about her friend moving away. Her doctor said this about saying goodbyes--"that saying goodbye is a valuable thing to do well."

We have known for six months that moving day would arrive, but it was hard saying goodbye to our friends last night. I am glad we had one more chance to spend time together. A few tears were cried and lots of hugs for everyone. And promises made to visit Arizona soon.

Our families have made a lot of memories the past few years. And it has been a joy to have friends like the Jones. We are going to miss them very much. We love you Gregg, Ashley, Sydney and Catie!!