FAMILY OF FRIENDS

I didn’t think I could do it.  I didn’t think we could do it.  But we did.  We left our ‘family of friends’.  When you don’t live around family, you 'make do'.  We did more than make do.  We made a family of friends.   We surrounded ourselves with people who supported us, who respected us, who wanted the best for us.  We trusted our boy’s lives with these people, and THAT is saying A LOT.    They were the people we called upon when we needed a big ‘ole playset put together or a washer and dryer moved down a flight of stairs.  They were the people I called up to see if they had some corn starch, foil, sugar, whatever that I could borrow.  They were the people who would bring me goodies, cards, flowers when I had surgery or gave birth.  They were the ones I called upon when I needed someone to watch my boys when I had doctor appointments.  They were the ones who volunteered to store our things in their basement for us, to lay a bathroom floor with no payment expected, to install a desk in our RV.  They were the ladies I would sit with and chat about this and that with.  They were the men who would come to my rescue when the garage door would break and Henry would be out of town.  Some of these people I have known for only a year.  Some I have known for most of my life.  To say that we are blessed is an understatement.  There is no putting into words what these people mean to me and to all of us.   (Sadly, I didn’t get pictures of every single person that means something to us.  Just know that if you aren’t on here, it just means I didn’t have a camera ready when we were together).    

This is Lisa and Macy.  I worked with Lisa 

at church for a couple of years.  
She's one of those people who make you think, 
"How does she do it all?!"

This is Beth with my boys.  

Beth was MY babysitter when I was little!!

She still makes a great babysitter, but 

also a great friend!

This is Kelly.  

Can't believe it's been 20 years since we met!!

She was my cheerleading coach and 

algebra teacher in high school, 

I used to be her husband's secretary, 

and I used to babysit their kids. 

Now she is a super, awesome friend!!

This is Andrea and J.  

Andrea has been my bestest friend

since middle school.  

This is Jen.  

I met her shortly after moving into our 

house almost 6 years ago.

She was a neighbor.  

Now she is a lifelong friend.  

This is Sage with his buddy, Roddy.  

(Roddy is Jen's son).

They have been buddies since they were 3!

This is Tori.

We have been friends for 6 years! 

We met through a mom's group when 

our oldest were 2 and 3.  

This is Oliver and Tobey (Tori's boys)

with Scott and Sage

This is Scott with Ellis, our next door neighbor.

I didn't get a picture of his parents or sister.  :-(

The Kiruras:  Parfait, Jackson, Grace, and Kelly

Neighbors and Friends

This is Jackson, Jacob, and Scott (top bunk).

Ashleigh, Cole, and Sage (on the bottom)

Neighbor friends!

This is the Huckabys:  Kristen, Steve, and Will

Kristen is the one who made us the yummy cupcakes

before we left.  Steve is the one who built Henry

a desk in our RV so he could work from the road. 

(That desk will get it's own blog post!)

This is me with Audra.

She lived in our neighborhood

and we became fast friends.  

This is Ethan (Audra's son) with Sage.

This is Eli, Sage, Ethan, Ellie, Scott, and AJ

This is Lainey with Sage and Scott.

She was our neighbor and babysitter.

She starting babysitting them when she was 

just 12-years-old.  She's 15 now!

She was my 'lifesaver' soooo many times!

The boys adored her!  

Scott would say, "When's my Lainey coming to play?"

And this is the whole Donato family who

we adore and think highly of!

Melissa, Lainey, Jeff, Ellie, and AJ

(Can't wait to see them in September!!  :-)

This is Sage with his bestest buddy, AJ.

They have been best friends since the day they met.

They 'get' each other. 

This is Sage (after getting his buzz cut!)

 with his buddy, Nicholas.

He lived in our neighborhood too and 

was an awesome friend who Sage really

looked up to because Nic is a few months older.  :-)

This is Scott with one of his 

best buddies, Nathan (Nic's brother).
They got to be in the same preschool class
 this past year.

This is Scott (right) with his other best buddy, Jacob.

They have been friends since birth.

This is Nikki, me, and Jessica. 

(Jessica is Jacob's mommy, and she

is pregnant with Baby #2.  Can't wait

to 'meet' the little one!)

I remember when we first moved

into our house in the neighborhood, 

I hosted a Tastefully Simple party

3 weeks after moving in.  

I invited all of my new neighbors...which

back then wasn't a whole lot like there is today.

Nikki and Jessica came to my party!

We've been friends since.

This is Ashleigh aka Bat Girl.

She deserves to be in a picture all by herself.

She is Nikki's daughter.

This is Tim (helping Henry take our table apart

so it can be stored in Tim and Jessica's basement).

My nickname for him is 'Tim the Toolman' 

because he is a handy man for sure!  

This is the Bender family (neighbors); 

Jenn, Dan, Hannah, and Alyssa

We wish them well on their new

adventure coming up!

This is Kathy with Aidan and baby Amelia.

Kathy is my friend.  Aidan is Sage's friend.

They were our neighbors too.

This is Selene and Toro (as we called him.

Serap was not pictured :-(

They were our next door neighbors, 

and we adored them.

Scott loved playing with Selene!

There is a whole bunch more people that I didn't get pictures of.  Some of them are on the post Neighborhood Block Party.

Thank you to all of you for being such amazing friends!!!