Friends

The day after school got out and the day before we left for vacation, we were blessed with a visit from some of our nearest dearest friends, who live in Phoenix. We met the Wooldridges during the short time, 10 years ago, when we lived in Arizona. They lead the first small group bible study we ever participated in. At that time, Carlee was a little baby and the only child among us. In the past 10 years, we have gone on to have 3 girls each and until this past year we have managed to see each other about once each year. We have met on Disney Cruise, we go to Phoenix and they have come to see us in all 3 states since we left AZ. Visiting is more of a challenge since our move to Cincinnati...think PRICEY airfare and no non-stop flights. Thankfully Jaime was actually born here and still has family in the area. They had a family wedding and planned a trip to see us and their family. We had about 30 hours total with them before we had to leave on the beach vacation we already had booked when we found out about their trip. We made the best of the time.....the girls played and played, we talked and talked. We fed them loads of MARS Chocolate from our stash and we spent a day at King's Island. It amazes me that our girls have never lived in the same state and see each other only a few days visit, but they are instant buddies and have a great time. Ashley, Jaime, Tommy and I pick up right were we left off and it always feels like we have never move apart. We are so grateful for our time in Arizona, mainly because of these lifelong friendships God provided us there. We squeezed as much as we could into every second they were here. We went to sleep about 5 hours before we were scheduled to leave for the beach Saturday morning. We tiptoed out at 4am and left them all sleeping. They stayed on at our house for several more days after we left and of course left my house in better shape than I had. I talked so much I lost my voice, can't wait for next time!!!