Among Friends

A year after we got married, Big Red and I moved to a medium-sized town smack-dab in the middle of our state. We bought a little tacky 70's ranch house and set about building a life together. That town and that little house were home for ten years, and we loved, laughed, raised babies, fought, gardened, painted, and worshiped there. We had the World's Best Neighbors, a church that nurtured and taught us, and good friends.

Then God called us to leave there.

Because God is all into leading us from things that are good for us to things that are best for us.

It's a long story.

Anyhoo, this week, we got to go back and visit sweet friends and even meet some new ones. While Big Red visited with old coaching buddies, I hung out with my best friend ever, Suzanne.

When I was a brand-new stay-at-home mommy in that ranch house, my phone rang one day and a cheerful voice offered me use of a baby swing. The rest was history. Suzanne and I have been BFF's for a long time. We have gabbed for hours, drunk gallons of coffee, pushed strollers a million miles, and shopped 'til we dropped. Even though we are quite different (everything about her is pink and girly and straight out an issue of Romantic Country magazine, and everything about me is, well, not), we have found in the other a kindred spirit.

For all of you who are pink and girly and fans of Romantic Country magazine, I should have taken pictures of her amazing home. Maybe next time. Today, I'll just share this rather unflattering picture of both of us when our families drove to the coast for the day.
She's looking cute and glamorous and I'm looking about 20 lbs heavier than I actually am thanks to the wind blowing up my shirt.

We look a bit more like ourselves here:
I love long friendships, don't you?

I love new friendships, too.

My old hometown is the newer hometown of blogging buddy Twinkle. It was so much fun to meet her in "real" life! Incidentally, she is also girly and straight out of Romantic Country; I must collect alter-egos. :)
( I have a picture, but it is rotated the wrong way on Blogger and I have no idea how to fix it. It looks correct everywhere else; can anyone explain this phenomenon ?)
(Have I mentioned that I really, really hate computers? Really, I do.)

Today is rainy and cool. I have oodles of laundry and tons of stuff to catch up on, but for now I am loving a quiet house and a quiet spirit, thanking God for His faithfulness across the seasons of my life.

Be blessed today,
Ginger