Thank Goodness for Old Friends!

So a few weeks ago, I sent out  "We Moved" cards to everyone on our Christmas list.  The underlying purpose was to beat the rush and hope that none of our Christmas cards would get lost in the mail, but it also served the unexpected purpose of notifying old friends how to get a hold of us.  After sending them out, I had several old friends reach out to us.  Here is a recap of some of the connections we've made in the last few weeks.  💗 

A couple weeks ago, we went to dinner with the Lowes and the Bowens {old friends of ours from Virginia} and had a delightful evening catching up with some of the most wonderful people God ever put on the earth.  Seriously!  Take out those two middle people and you're looking at the best of the best! 

The next day, we attended the baptism of Eli Richards...our down the street neighbor in PA and one of the bright spots from our time in Pennsylvania. The Richards are the sweetest family and we felt so blessed to have been able to have been their neighbors for that year!

And then later that week, we had Riley and Olivia {and their families} over.  Riley and Olivia were sister missionaries serving in our ward when Cami left on her mission and they were my sanity during that time!    I missed Cami desperately {this was in the days before weekly phone calls} and they were missing their homes and families too.   So we formed a strong bond, like I never had with any other missionary before.   We received their packages from home, so they wouldn't have to wait for them to be delivered from the mission home. I sent messages/updates to their moms when something needed to be communicated on a non-P-day.  They'd stop in front of our house to "borrow" our internet {back when missionaries didn't have cell service}.   They were my surrogate daughters while Cami was gone and I liked to think I was a bit like a surrogate mom to them while they were far from their homes.

We ate dinner and played games, and just enjoyed being together again! 

 These were relationships that meant the world to me and seeing them again was just what I needed!   

Riley and her husband, Mitch, have a sweet baby girl named, Blake, that I very much enjoyed snuggling through the evening!  Doesn't a baby girl look natural in my arms?   {ONLY ONE MORE WEEK UNTIL I HAVE MY OWN GRANDBABY TO HOLD!!!}  😁

A few days later, I went to a wedding and got to see another bright light from Pennsylvania!   Amanda is a dear friend and helped me to feel loved and valued, especially after feeling so hurt in the other ward.   I will forever be grateful that Heavenly Father brought us to this other ward, and did not allow our time in PA to end on a negative note.  

Last but not least, the Palmers came to town!  Amy and I embarked into homeschooling at the same time and she was my sanity and savior many times over in that journey!   Our youngest three kids lined up in age and they are all as dear friends with each other as I am with Amy.   It was good for my heart and soul to sit down and have a chat with her again.   

In the end, I decided that I can be patient with Utah.   

I've got my book group all scheduled out for the new year and we start our new ward on Sunday.   Maybe we'll make some new good friends along the way...maybe we won't.   In the meantime, I'm going to embrace the old friends that always  seem to find their way to Utah.   

💓💓💓