Sweet Friends, Lot's Of Kids, And 1000 Memories

So we took a trip. And it was great.

We spent a handful of days swimming and boating and waiting. Waiting till the end of the week for the real party to start :).

Well over a year ago, I crossed paths with Jessica. Every time I would read her comments I thought, "seriously, this lady really gets me....not to mention the fact that she cracks me up!". I made my way to her corner of the blogesphere while my belly was still swollen with Lincoln and I was instantly hooked on their story. I found a friend...who was just like me in so many ways.

I saw a family that was on their own unique journey that led them to a busy season much like we were experiencing. I saw little kids as far as the eye could see, and a mom and dad trying to survive this sweet life full of kids whining, mountains of laundry, lost socks, and more snuggles than your heart can take. I saw that that she understood my madness, and I sensed that we shared a unique and necessary passion for laughter and sarcasm :).

And so a friendship was born.

Somewhere between then and now we decided to meet up and have a weekend together with all the kiddos. Yep, we decided to stay together for the weekend even though we had never met in real life before. We're risky like that.

And when they pulled up to the lake house and hopped out, it was like hugging an old friend from college.

For the following 2 days we took Tennessee by storm and made lot's of great memories. The kids immediately loved each other and Eric and I soaked up every minute of conversation we had with this sweet couple. And oh yea, Jess had me laughing so hard I was crying by Saturday night - that means she's a sister for life.

We talked about our days and our futures and things we love and fear. Eric and I went to bed both nights talking about how we were so encouraged and that this was clearly a meeting set up by the Lord.

The "big kids" had a sleepover one night and it was such a hit. They all lined up in sleeping bags, and we popped in a movie and then proceeded to listen to little giggles late into the night.

I can't tell you how blessed we were by the weekend and how thankful I am to have spent time with them. We were encouraged, challenged, and refreshed. Saying goodbye was rough, and knowing that they are leaving the country soon just made me want to hug them a little tighter. You see, Jessica and her crew are moving to Kenya soon to share Jesus with those who have never heard of Him - it's an amazing story.

I 'm thanking God for the gift that this friendship is, for the fact that He bridges relationships even across the miles, and for this big 'ol group...

I love how He uses this bloggy world to bring us mama's together :).

Hope you all are having a great week!