This weekend I'm looking forward to seeing family and friends that are coming to town. It's an odd thing for Brandon and me to have grown up in Abilene, gone to college here, and now work here. We've never left, but the people around us have moved and changed, so it's always exciting when they come back to town!
My sister and I have always had a close relationship--more like friends even when we were little than like sisters who would argue or fight. She used to design and decorate houses for my Barbie dolls and then I would spend hours playing with them. I also remember occasions when we both had friends over to spend the night. Sometimes my friend and I could talk Summer and her friend into making a scavenger hunt for us in exchange for us bringing them breakfast in the morning and giving them back massages. So, I'm very thankful that my sister and the sweet husband she married are coming to town this weekend and bringing the newest blessing to our family--their 5-month old daughter, Ava Grace.
When we came back from Ft. Worth just after she was born, I remember telling my mother-in-law I don't know how I can love someone so much when she's not even my child. And it was obvious after being around her for only a few days that I was hooked. Here was this tiny little person that could barely even keep her eyes open for very long, and all I wanted to do was hold her and stare at her. Now each time I see her she's gotten more and more expressive. She likes to hear the sound of her voice, so she often squeals and makes noises just to hear herself. And she smiles a lot now...I love it when her nose scrunches up and she breaks into a big playful smile as if she's just played a joke on you and you don't know it yet.
I'm also looking forward to having lunch on Saturday with about a dozen of my closest girlfriends. It sounds strange to have that many close girlfriends, and it is strange, but it's a unique compilation of groups of friends that formed our senior year in college, and we have continued to plan trips where we all get together a few times a year. We are in different stages of life and doing different things...some single and working or ministering with youth, some married and in school or starting new jobs, some now with babies of their own. It is such a blessing to get together with these girls and catch up on the things going on in their lives. Our last girl trip was in January. We mostly just talked, ate, watched movies, ate, played games, ate, and talked some more, but it was such a refreshing break to get together with these women and act like we were all still in college living in dorms without schedules we had to keep. It's also nice to know that these girls are constantly there for each other, and that through joyful and trying times, these women will be praying, loving, and supporting one another.
Thank you God for the family and friends you've put in my life who are examples to me of your incredible love!
