Whatever We Want....The Last One

I can't remember where we went. I can't remember the last post. I just know that there are still pictures from our fantabulous weekend that I haven't posted and now that we are in the thick of the springtime hustle-bustle boogie it would be nice to glance back at simpler times. Times when our sides were splitting with laughter and too much food. Good times.

Here's Dusty making the bunkbeds. She's a pro.






















This is a creepy old house on the property. It was used during the Civil War. There are headstones on the grounds as well. This alone would be enough to fascinate my oldest child for months. This alone would be enough to send me screaming into the night from fear. It's a good thing for my roommates that I didn't see this landmark until the day we left.



































Here we are at the edge of the James River. Spring had not sprung just yet, so I can't wait to go back when everything is in bloom. Can ya'll see the *yawn* tiredness on our faces?





















Hans & Judy...our gracious hosts



















As we drove home I continued to have the urge to leap from the car and snap photos of barns and landscape that struck my fancy. This one really struck my fancy.

















When I look back over all the years of my life, I cannot say that I have ever been more richly blessed in the area of friendships....Godly friendships. I have a couple of friends who have been with me through the majority of my marriage and motherhood. I have several more who I met once I moved here to Virginia. They are not superficial. They are not always easy. They are filled with years of standing in the gap, carrying burdens and prayerful petitions. There is not always agreement with one another but always accountability before God. A true friend speaks in the place of your husband or your children when you feel full of resentment and frustration. Trust, commitment, forgiveness, accountability....honesty. Whoo-whee! Honesty? Let's be honest and say that hands-down, honesty is the hardest part. I have probably driven away more potential friends than I care to admit because of my "honesty". The ones left standing (and standing up to me) are my truest friends.

Proverbs 27:5-6 says that, "Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

I would welcome the correction and "calling out" from any of my friends over the shallow pretentious ways of fake relationships. I don't have time and they don't honor God. What's the point?

I have been given sisters. Family that I don't have and could not have dreamed for. It is a gift that I dare not take for granted. I am prayerful that I honor Him in the way that I nurture these friendships.

Thank you God.