friends, family, birthdays and communion.

it sure has been a wild, wonderful weekend.
starting on thursday when my sweet friend kimberlee visited me.
we had the MOST wonderful day together!
and i miss her so much.
it's crazy really because i feel like she is so much more than a friend...a long distance bloggy friend at that.

you know how sometimes you just connect with someone on a such a deep level that you just skip all that weird, just being nice and polite stuff, and just get right into the meat, the raw, deep down hard stuff of life, the stuff that forever friendships are about?
that's us, kimberlee and me.
she gets me.
and i get her.
and together, it's pretty darn comfy cozy and meaningful.
love her.
so thursday was our day of fun.
we ate.
we shopped.

we people watched.
we ate again.
we went sight-seeing.

and then we hugged goodbye and i watched her drive away and i felt super sad.
she's so awesome and it's not fair that we live something like 978 miles away from each other.
then on thursday night, my in laws drove down to visit.
and our house was full and loud and busy busy.

friday we celebrated joshy boy's 10th birthday.
double digits.
my baby is now double digits!
give me a box of tissues.
pronto.

he is happy and funny and a snuggler and helpful (on most days).
gosh, i love him so.
and now he's 10.
big, deep, gut-bustin', heart a-breakin', sigh.

saturday was another big day.
anna jean made her first holy communion.
she promised to believe in God, in Jesus and in the Holy Spirit.
she stood in front of our church family along with her little friends and promised to have FAITH in Him.
it was very moving.
i felt so much LOVE in that church, watching other mommas' wipe their wet eyes and all the daddies smiling really big and proud.
it was a special moment for us and for anna.

having her as my daughter has been nothing short of a dream come true and i was so wonderfully reminded of that during her communion. (thanks, dad, for taking the pictures!)

sunday the boys went fishing and the girls fixed supper and we spent the day hanging out together.
we feasted on grilled chicken and tuna steaks, corn on the cob, salad, homemade mac n cheese, and apple blueberry dump cake.
we ate until we couldn't eat anymore and then we sat around and gabbed.
the women hung out at the kitchen table and the men watched hunting shows and the house was loud and pulsing.
it was...nice.

and now this afternoon, i'm sitting at my computer while all the kids play outside and there is something swimming around me i haven't felt in quite a while: peace and quiet.

there is no noise, no commotion, no sound at all--a reminder that everyone has their own lives and their own things to do.
and even after days and days of togetherness, everyone needs to return to the routine and those special times, like this past weekend, are to return to our memories.

my friend is reunited with her family, my oldest son is ten years old, my daughter is allowed to receive communion at church, my in laws are driving to their next destination, my husband is driving home from work...

life is full-speed ahead, a constant and dynamic force, a gift, a memory.