I want to congratulate our daughter, “C.” She had to take her oral exam for her master’s degree this past week, and she passed. (We knew she would!)

This semester has been an extremely hectic one for her. Besides working at her job, she took one class for her degree the first six weeks of this semester and her very last class this last six weeks of the semester. Plus, they moved in February and had boxes galore to unpack! PLUS they have an eight month old baby, who just happens to be our precious grandbaby, “Baby J,” that I refer to from time to time.

So with all that going on since January, she has managed to spend quality time with her husband and their baby. She’s blessed that she can bring Baby J to her office several times during the week, that her friend can babysit, and that she has such a wonderful, helpful, supportive husband. All of that really helped!

Now, we look forward to graduation in May!

I’m so excited about this next weekend! Our daughter, s-i-l, and Baby J are coming for Easter weekend. It will have been five weeks since we’ve seen them, but it seems a lot longer than that. I’m sure there are grandmas out there who understand exactly what I mean, especially “Mamaw.” It will be so neat to see all the things Baby J can do now that he couldn’t do a month ago. He’s seven months old now, so he’s pushing up with his arms when he’s on his tummy and it won’t be long until he’s crawling and getting into things. I can’t wait to hold him, feed him, and rock him to sleep. He’s so precious and adorable!

Our daughter and I will have to get in some time shopping, and that will be fun! We used to shop a lot together when she was in high school and college, and I always enjoy our time together. She’s such a sweet daughter! Our dear son and dear s-i-l will get in some good video game time, knowing the two of them. And my husband and I will be enjoying every minute of having family home for the holidays.  We’ll also get to be with Baby J’s other grandma, “Mamaw” and Aunt L.   So, my Easter weekend plans are to be with all my family, and I feel truly blessed!

Tomorrow is moving day for our daughter and son-in-law, and we’re going to help them move. They are buying their first house, a cute, older house with three bedrooms, two baths, and a two car garage…the typical, average house. Only it’s not going to be just a house, because it will be a home filled with love from the moment they move in it. It’s a home they are thankful for because they prayed about making the right decision in their move. So on their first night in their new home, they will be all cozy with their new baby (well, he’s six months old so that’s still kinda new), their dog, and their two cats. And I am very thankful for how blessed they are!

I wrote a couple of days ago about when a friend moves away and contact is lost with that friend.  Now, I want to write about the opposite, where both friends move away and yet neither time nor distance diminishes that friendship…and that’s the friendship I have with Beth.   We’ve been friends forever…in fact, for 45 years! Wow! That’s a true friend! We went to each other’s birthday parties in elementary school, we were even baptized on the same night (and that was not planned), and eventually became best friends in high school. She moved to Hawaii and I went away to college, and even though we were separated by time and distance, we stayed in touch, and later she was a bridesmaid in our wedding.  We have always lived far away from each other since then.  But through the years, we have always kept in touch first by cards & letters and then by cards & emails.  We sent pictures through the years as well.  Even when her husband was stationed in Germany and they lived there several years, we kept in touch.  We are sisters, maybe not by blood, but in spirit…we are “Forever Friends.”

I have more to write about Beth and me, but that will have to be in another post. 🙂

I’ve had a couple of friends move away in the past, and slowly through the years we’ve lost contact with each other. I’ve tried to make contact this past year, but I guess they’re too busy with their jobs and kids. Friends are too valuable to let that happen.

This morning I was listening to 94.9 KLTY, and Dr. Bill had some great ideas for when a close friend moves away. Don’t lose contact! Nowadays, we can IM each other for free. Maybe have a time when both friends decide to sit down and have a cup of coffee together…only not in person but while IMing each other. I think that’s such a cool idea. Another idea is cell phones. A lot of people have unlimited minutes so that’s another way to talk for free. Be sure and send pictures whether through email or regular mail. Keep up with each other’s kids and families as well. And maybe send “care packages” every once in a while with something simple that you know your friend really likes. It’s worth the effort so that the closeness of that friendship doesn’t fade away!

Last week, we took a day trip on Monday, which was Martin Luther King’s holiday, and we went to see our daughter (C), s-i-l, and Baby J. We had a wonderful time and packed so much into that one day. We all got to eat lunch together, and then after our s-i-l headed back to work, we went up to see our daughter’s new office, met with the realtor to see inside our daughter and s-i-l’s house they are in the process of buying, and then we headed to Target. (C and I love to go to Target and there doesn’t have to be any specific reason to go there.) Later, we went and had Mexican food for supper…a must! 🙂

The highlight of the trip was getting to see Baby J laugh. Those of you who have been around babies know how precious it is when a baby gets to the stage where he laughs at anything he thinks is funny. Well, Baby J thought it was so funny when I sang “Doo te doo” with his little songs on the CD. As you can tell, it doesn’t take much to entertain us. LOL