Friends are Friends Forever

Well, it's been about a month since our friends, Ryan and Alycia, moved away. They were in town this weekend taking care of some things and we got to visit with Alycia and Alex at church on Sunday. It's been different not having them here. Yet, how we met in the first place is different too.

Some of you may know this already so indulge me. Here's how we met. Alycia and I were pregnant with our boys at the same time, and ended up in the same childbirth class. I'll never forget that day. We were at the very first class, and everyone in the room had to give their "stats"...due date, what you were having, what you did as a job, etc. Alycia and I both said the same thing...."I'm due January 5th, I'm having a boy, and I'm a teacher." As soon as we had a break, we made a bee-line for each other and started talking. We all sat together the rest of the class, and for the rest of the sessions. We also took a hospital tour together, which was the last class. I remember telling Buddy on the way home, "They sure are a nice couple...too bad we'll never see them again." Little did I know.

Fast-forward to March 2008. My maternity leave was over and I was taking Quinn to daycare for the first time. I remember looking around the room and seeing other babies there, but one baby seemed "familiar" to me. How can a tiny baby that I've never seen before seem familiar? A few days later I got my answer. As I was getting into my car after dropping Quinn off, I saw a man get out of his car and I thought, is that the guy from childbirth class? That afternoon, I pointed to a cute little redheaded baby and asked the teachers what is mother did for a living. When they said she was a teacher, I knew. I left a note for Alycia in Alex's diaper bag with my phone number, and the rest is history.

We spent that summer getting to know each other better and for the boys to have play dates. I invited them to our church, and they eventually became members. Quinn and Alex got to play together almost every single day of the week, between daycare and nursery at church. You never saw one without the other. Then the twosome became three, when Alex's brother Joseph was born last April. Quinn also got to go play with Alex on Monday nights since their house was right down the street from our fire station.

This past fall, Ryan was offered a great opportunity with his job that has moved them about three-four hours away. We all miss each other so much, but they have moved to the same area as Buddy's sister, so we will still get to see each other...just not as much. I am so happy for the opportunities the Lord is giving our friends, especially Alycia, who now gets to be a stay-at-home momma!

Here are a few pictures of Quinn, Alex and Joseph.

This was October 2008...the first trip to the pumpkin patch.



This was April 2009...Easter Egg Hunt at our Pastor's house. Joseph was just a few days away from making his entrance.



April 2009....Quinn meets Joseph! Alex was with his grandparents this night.



Halloween 2009....SuperMan and a Super Saint Bernard! On a funny note, do you remember when I wrote about Quinn outgrowing his Halloween costume? Well, Joseph wore the dragon costume this year! He outgrew his original costume too!

And throughout this post, I'm reminded of lyrics from a song made famous by Michael W.Smith.

Friends are friends forever

If the Lord's the Lord of them

and a friend will not say never

because the welcome will not end.

Though it's hard to let you go,

in the Father's hands we know

that a lifetime's not too long....to live as friends!

What I Did On My 30th Birthday

Yesterday was a wonderful day. First of all, I have to comment on the weather. If you live in my town, you know how beautiful it was yesterday. For those of you who don't live near me, let me just say it has rained off and on for about two weeks or so. Yesterday, the sun came out and it was a clear, blue sky with hardly a cloud in the sky. I think the Lord knew I needed to see a pretty day. Someone at church told me I should have a birthday every day, if that's the kind of weather we will have!

The day started off with Buddy and Quinn giving me cards, each with a sweet message written inside. I guess Quinn told Daddy what to write down! Then my two favorite guys took me to breakfast, since Buddy was not able to take me out for supper. We came home and I did some things around the house and then Quinn and I did our usual Saturday morning trips to the grocery stores.

While Quinn napped in the afternoon, I debated cutting the grass, since it was dry (finally) and a nice day. I decided not to, saying, "I will NOT cut the grass on my birthday." I should not have listened to myself and cut the grass anyway, since today, it rained hard early in the morning, causing the grass to be too wet to cut.

Some friends at church found out that, due to certain circumstances, I would be spending my big birthday evening by myself, so they got together and took me out. One friend, Kim, who is my pastor's wife, and her sister Jenn, even arranged for Quinn to stay with their mom and Kim's daughter Claire. So not only was I getting to go out with girl-friends, but I didn't have to be a mommy!

We met at Olive Garden, which is one of my favorite places to eat. My friend Alycia, who's son Alex is Quinn's best friend, also came, along with two other girls from church, Kelly, and Elizabeth.

This balloon was on the table. It was big enough that I think the whole restaurant could see it, and big enough that when I got it home, my dog Tillman was scared of it. (He's only 10 pounds and the balloon is bigger than him).

We all ordered our meals and we had lots of "girl talk" at dinner. Did you know you can order the "lunch portion" during dinner hours at Olive Garden? The portion is much smaller, and a few dollars cheaper, yet is enough to fill you up. After we finished, all the waiters and waitresses came to the table to do the typical sing-happy-birthday-and-embarrass-you-in-front-of-everyone thing that most restaurants will do. But our waitress took it one step further and ANNOUNCED to the restaurant that "Kimberly is turning 30 today. Raise your hand Kimberly so we can all see who you are!" I about died! But after that we got to eat this yummy cake!

It was decorated in orange, since I am such a huge Clemson fan. I love the flower, too. Here I am with the cake.

The girls had all signed a card for me. The individual messages were all very sweet, but it was the verse on the card that really hit home. It just further impressed on me my new take on becoming 30. The card said "Some birthdays are more meaningful than others because they remind us of where we've been, what we've learned, and where we've yet to go...." I know that my 20s brought so many good things into my life. I am excited about what the 30s will bring.

We had originally talked about going to PF Chang's, a Chinese bistro restaurant, that Kim has talked about so many times. Buddy really wanted to go there too, so I decided to wait and go when he could come too. When I opened my gift, it was a gift card to....PF Changs!! I already know when we will be using this....for our anniversary coming up in June.

Kim, Jenn, Kelly, Alycia, and Elizabeth: I had such a wonderful night! Thank you all for such a fun, friendship-filled evening. If I couldn't be with my husband or other family on my birthday, I can't think of 5 other people I would have rather spent the time with! You girls are AWESOME!! I am so thankful that the Lord has brought each one of you into my life. While I love my husband and am thankful for his friendship as well, there's just nothing like having good friends!

(L to R: Kelly, me, Kim, Elizabeth, Jenn, and Alycia)

Have You Pampered Your Chef Lately??

I went to my first Pampered Chef party this past Saturday. My friend, Alycia, was having one so we all went. Quinn and Buddy went upstairs to play with Alex, who is Quinn's BFF (best friend forever) and Ryan.

I had all intentions of taking pictures of all the Pampered Chef fun, but I was having too much fun to stop and take pictures.

The coordinator did her little talk about why she sells the product and why we should too. Then we got to do the fun stuff. She used some sort of roasting dish that can be used in the microwave to cook a whole chicken in 30 minutes (in the microwave). Then she baked a devil's food cake in a non-stick skillet in the oven.

While the chicken was roasting and the cake was baking, we participants got to "play" with all the cool utensils. (sorry in advance, but I don't remember all the names.) I used some sort of slicer to slice up bell peppers. We all got to take our aggressions out with the food chopper. I was really impressed with this garlic press, that diced up a garlic, while keeping the garlic skin inside!

Oh, and since I'm sure you'll ask this, I might as well tell you what I ordered. I ordered 3 different sets of bamboo spoons and spatulas. I've got one bamboo spoon that came free with a wok we bought several years ago. I love using it and the spoon sets were decently priced, so I got some more. Can't wait for them to get here.

Now the question is this....do I want to host my own party???

In case you were wondering why....

Why did I decide to start a blog?? I have a friend at church, Pam, and when I was home on maternity leave with Quinn, she sent me an email checking on me. She also mentioned that she had a blog and I might want to check it out while the baby was napping.

My first thought was, "She has a blog? What in the world is a blog?" So being Curious Kim, I had to click and see. And I kept coming back to see what was new in Pam's world.

After looking at her's, and others, I decided to write one of my own.

We recently went to Pam's house after church. She showed me how to make homemade pizzas, with dough from scratch!

They turned out great, and tasted better than anything you can get in a restaurant! I think they were even ready in 30 minutes or less....hee hee!

After lunch we went out in their backyard to see their chickens. They live out in the country and have two hens and four roosters. They were pretty vocal while we were out there, and the hens are even laying eggs now.

Since Pam was one of my inspirations for starting a blog, I want to put in a couple of plugs. Click here for her main blog, and if you are in the area and in the mood for something that is "Tis So Sweet", click here!

Prayer Needed

I found out tonight that my neighbor's daughter was diagnosed this week with breast cancer. My neighbor, Cookie, has several children, but Stacey is her youngest daughter. Stacey also has a young son that is about 4 or 5 years old.

According to her CaringBridge website, "On September 22nd, 2008, Stacey was diagnosed with “Invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). IDC accounts for about 70 percent of all breast cancers. The cancer cells form in the lining of your milk duct, then break through the ductal wall and invade nearby breast tissue. The cancer cells may remain localized (staying near the site of origin) or spread (metastasize) throughout your body, carried by your bloodstream or lymphatic system.”

I've met Stacey several times when she has come up to visit with her mom and she is always so nice to talk with. Please add Stacey to your prayers.

Please click here to visit her CaringBridge site and see her story.