Friends.

We had some friends over for dinner tonight.    Great friends.

They're the kind of friends that you almost can NEVER spend enough time with.

Even if we get to hang out an entire weekend; it's not enough time.  They live out of state.  Like?  One state away.  2 1/2 hours.  Not far.   We don't get to see them enough, though.

They have 2 boys (age 4 and almost 2) and of course- our 3 girls.  It's always LOUD when we get together.  Really-really-LOUD.  But it's always awesome, too.

We get each other.

No other way to explain it.  We have some things in common- some... not so much.  We're different, but similar.

We get each other.

There's a family-like comfort when we get together.

It's like having my sister and brother, and nephews over.  I don't feel like I need to 'host' anything.  It's free-for-all.  Grab what ya need, throw the baby on the couch and change the diaper cause we ain't got no changing pad  (....As a matter of fact- I was changing the stinkiest diaper on planet earth mid conversation this evening.  No discomfort.  No "Ohh- sorry about this."  We were taking- the 2 year old 'shoo-shooed'.  No big deal.

You do what you gotta do to.

Us mom's listen to the kids screaming below us in the play room and continue our chat with out a flinch.....  We've learned to tune out the 'unimportant' screams of playtime.  We know if it was a 'mad' or a 'hurt' cry.  We let it go.  Our ears are fine tuned, us mom's.  The dad's... eh... they'll learn to cope (eventually).

Nope.  It wasn't enough time.  It was close to 4 hours that we got to spend with our friends.  But if felt like just a few minutes.

And I always get that lump in my throat when it's time to say goodbye.  You know the lump?  That "sad- little kid that has to leave Grandma's house"- lump.  "I'm not gonna cry- but I could"-lump.  You know the one I'm talking about?

Ya.  I've got that one.  And if I write anymore about it- I will cry.  And it's the strangest feeling.  I'm always slightly depressed for the next few hours.  What is up with that???  Don't get me wrong.  I perk up.  I do.  I don't stay mopey and sad forever.  Just for a bit.

And we don't talk on the phone that much.  We just don't have the time.  Thank God for Facebook, right?  Right!

So.  Here's to our amazing friends.

The ones that we use to 'hang out with' every Thursday for Bible Study.
The ones we think of every time we have a fire in our fire pit, or talk about camping.
 The ones that God totally hooked us up with- for no reason at all- other than the fact that He knew we needed each other in our lives. (I'll have to remember to post 'the story' one day)
The ones that (some-how) became our 'family-members' over the past 5 years that we've known them.


I can't wait til next time.