When the Husband Is Away.....

"For everything there is a season" so the Good Book says and so I believe! When Keith told me he was going to be away for a week in June I decided it was the "season" for girls week. My good friend Cindy and her daughter Joanna, along with Joanna's friend Lydia, traveled from PA to NC to spend the week and enjoy some time off.

Cindy and I go back a long time. I returned home after college to a new town where my folks had moved and so really knew no one. Cindy was a wonderful answer to my Mother's prayer for a good friend for me. We've known each other for about 32 years if I count correctly. Our friendship preceeds husbands, kids, missions and professions and includes all the ups and downs of life. She is a constant reminder to me of how God answers prayer (personally, I think a mother's prayers are especially close to God's heart) and provides for our every need.

We met in a retail store working in the craft department together and our faith and "craftiness" continue to define our relationship. Cindy showed me how and helped me hand knot my first quilt while she was here. I had sewn the top and we worked together to add the batting and backing and then knot them together. 

Cindy and I take over the kitchen table to knot my quilt.

Joanna and Lydia enjoyed some shopping near by on one of the days they were here and then came home and cooked supper for us all. What a joy it was to be served in that way and delicious too! They cooked a very healthy style of vegetable alfredo. Keith was glad there were some leftovers when he got home!

Joanna, Lydia and Cindy ready to serve dinner.

Joanna and Lydia are turning sweet 16 this summer so we decided to take a field trip and tour the campus of the University of North Carolina. We had such a fun day walking the campus with its beautiful old trees and buildings, stopping on campus at a unique little place for lunch, and then something special at the sweet shop. We all enjoyed the campus which I had not visited before either, and the girls got their first look and feel of a beautiful, and very large, venerable old campus. It was fun to be part of their first college "look-see".

Joanna and Lydia take a first look at college together.

Good friends are a treasure and a blessing from the Lord and I do not take that for granted. It's refreshing to spend some "down time" with those who have been through the thick and thin of life with you while never letting go.

So, while Keith was away and Cindy's husband and son (Duane and Josiah) stayed in PA to work and hold down the fort, we had girls week out right here in Graham, NC.

Friends for 32 years and counting.