Blessing of Good Friends

I would take a moment to talk about how blessed I have with good friends. I am astonished with how blessed I am with friends. Actually many times I am surprised that I have friends but that is a different story. I figured that we would move and that no one, except maybe family, would notice we were gone. And then the Lord humbled me.

Blessing One:
I love to surprise people with parties. I LOVE it! But I can only remember it happening to me once, I think. I have been putting long days into work and my poor husband and children have been supportive but two weeks ago Landon put his foot down and said we were having a family day on Saturday June 12th. I agreed but then I got a call from my mom. She said that my dad was really stressed and she wanted to take him to the beach on the 12th (two days later) and have him hang out with his grandkids. I told her I'd have to talk to Landon. Landon said that we could drop by but we weren't going to stay long. So Saturday morning came along and we packed up 12 boxes and got the van all sorted out. It was 3pm and we started heading to the beach. I had to help out with Grad that night and so I wasn't planning on showering until right before it. On went a hat and I was heading out the door in grubby capris and ratty t-shirt. Landon asked if I would get changed because we were going to be heading out on a walk and I looked a mess. :) (He did say it nicer than that.) So I grumbling changed into different shorts and a t-shirt. Landon brought me some perfume to put on and asked if I wanted to put on make-up. I declined. We arrived at the beach to find my parents, and the Coe family. I sat down and started chatting. To my surprise the Norris' and my brother's family pulled up. Sheryl than explained that she and her daughters wanted to throw me a surprise going away party. And Landon had known all week! He just grinned. I'm so glad that I at least changed my clothes. I even wish I had brought my bathing suit because it turned out to be hot! We had a wonderful time eating and visiting for three hours until I had to run home and get changed to go out. It was so wonderful. The Coe's have been wonderful family friends and I will miss them dearly. My kids will miss them even more!

Blessing Two:
I started at the high school in September. I've been there for one year. I have been blessed with a great supportive group to work with. There are 11 Student Support Assistants and they have been fantastic. I have learned a lot and we've had a lot of fun. I had one SSA retire in January and two more this June. As we planned the retirement party for the last two the staff asked if they could include me as a going away party. I was really touched. It was very nice of them. We had a beautiful light supper out at Herondell Bed and Breakfast and a fantastic tuxedo cake. The owners of Herondell (Alex and Nancy) have been family friends for years. They taught both Matt and Naomi voice lessons. It was nice to have time to chat with them as well. The staff surprised me with a beautiful gift. They had noticed that I wear little no jewelry and what I wear is very simple. So they bought a beautiful heart necklace and bracelet that says "Life is the greatest treasure..." The incredible thing is that I have wanted the bracelet for years but had never purchased it! I couldn't believe that they were able to purchase such a perfect gift for me. I will miss them all so much! I have worn the necklace every day and have found that when I am nervous it brings me courage.

Blessing Three:
I have many good acquaintances here and a few good friends. I always wished that I had some good girlfriends. I miss girl night out and just having fun and feeling accepted for who I was. I worried a lot that the few people I considered friends really only saw me as a nice person but not a friend. I really only knew people through work and never socialized outside of work. But I've discovered I was wrong. Two wonderful ladies, Norma Lazaroff and Robyn Scoville, emailed and asked if they could put together a small group of people to have a goodbye dinner for me. My friend Glynis Romanica offered her boat for the dinner and we decided to a potluck. The dinner was last night and all I can say is Wow! I came home for about a half an hour after work and then headed out to the dinner so my husband was a little stressed about me going out. But he knew how much it meant to me so he let me go. Jody wasn't able to come but it was a nice cozy dinner with the four of us. I had so much fun. When we realized it was dark outside we couldn't believe it. It gets dark here around 10pm. We had been chatting for over 3 hours. The food was wonderful but the friendship even better. These three ladies plus Jody (and a few others) are the reason I have made it through the last seven years sane. They have supported me, taught me, inspired me and been there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on. Thank-you girls for the wonderful night!


Blessing Four:
Emily is so excited for Mondays when we go to Strongstart (the free parent/child preschool). She excitedly says, "Cynthia, toys!" Cynthia is the wonderful woman who has been running it this year. She has helped me so much with my parenting. She has taught me a loving (not yelling) way to get Emily's attention and to get her to follow directions! Hallelujah! She has taught me to be positive and that it is possible to put a positive spin on everything. Ie: When Collin started yelling at the top of his lungs for fun she looked at me, smiled, and said, "Collin has found his voice." We just love and adore her. She is moving away the same time as us and my dad is sad because she has done such a fantastic job with one of his pet projects, the ORCA bus. (A travelling preschool.) We will miss her! The singing, dancing, positivity, smiling and love she gives everyone that meets her.