So we are waiting, waiting, waiting for our new computer to come....we ordered a new iMac...yay!!! and I just keep waiting for it to arrive, so I can get on the ball with updating pictures and our lives and all...this silly computer is so slow and sad...but good things come to she who waits, right? Anyway, a quick update...we are doing well...I just had a wonderful friend come to visit for a couple of days...all the way from San Fran!! Bristol, thanks for making the trek...it was such a joy to catch up with you....we have been close friends since high-school...we ran cross country together (see cool starting-line pic below--such intensity:)sang in choir together, went on missions trips together, cried about boys together, analyzed life, God, relationships, justice, religion, and yes, even politics together:), backpacked in Utah together... (see pic below:)shared life's dreams, disappointments and joys....she has been a huge encourager for me in my faith...always willing to challenge me to look at things differently and think about God in a bigger way---it is good for the soul to have such a sister!! I thank God for these times with friends as our lives are changing and moving in different directions....true friends that stick by your side are hard to find....
And, speaking of good friends... hearkening back to a couple of weekends ago, I also had the joy of spending quality time with another dear friend, Stephanie...we met in Des Moines for the weekend and shared quality girl-time...shopping, eating, more shopping and eating, swimming and laughing our heads off...and we even had a moment--one like many we have shared as two blonds who for the majority of their lives shared the same last name---our waiter at Cheesecake Factory thought we had to be sisters and then when we said we weren't, he said, "Well then you guys must spend way too much time together because you look exactly alike!!" Ha! We don't get to spend time together like we used to...we talk on the phone weekly, but that is about all except for the occasional visits. We used to growing up...and we got told that we looked like sisters all the time...as we often bought the same shirt in different colors, wore the same swimsuits at camp, and seemed to be the only ones that found our jokes funny... so it was fun to have his comment bring us back a few years...(speaking of years...check out these pics...oh the days of dress-up and dances:)Oh Steph, I can say it a true complement to have someone say we look alike:) Love you!
Praise the Lord for Good friends...the kind that are irreplaceable...the ones that highlight the good in you and seem to somehow sharpen and refine your heart and your thoughts...I can honestly say that He has used you both, Steph and Bristol, in my life in countless ways to bless me, teach me, and show me His goodness over our years of friendship!