Brax, Brody and Everleigh

Sorry, everyone... This is the only photo that I have for the week. Brax was hiding from Josh and me yesterday, thinking that if he couldn't see us, then we couldn't see him :) Josh was in Canada for the whole week, and the camera was with him. My mom was here to help me out and keep me company. She probably has an entire photo-album worth of pictures on her camera, but they aren't on my computer :)

I'd like to take a minute to deviate from the "Brax-only" format of this blog, and say something that I've been thinking about this weekend. My dad was making fun of my mom the other day for calling her friend and saying, "Hey, girl!" He laughed that fifty year old women still call each other "girl!" It made me think, though, about how our girlfriends still make us giggle and feel like we're little girls. About this particular friend, my mom joked, "I want to be like her when I grow up.. She's got really cool hair and I love the way she decorates!" While I know that was a joke, I also know that I do have many friends that I want "to be like when I grow up." Then at Life Group last night, we hashed out some very tough things that apply to our friendships. It made me think about those who I call true friends and who really do "stick closer than a brother." I got to spend a whole week with my very first and oldest friend- My Mom. We had so much fun together! While I am sad that she doesn't live closer, I don't think that we would ever spend a whole week together if we lived in the same town. I guess that may be one of the few advantages of living seven hours apart. I also got to spend a little time with "Ab-ba" (as Brax calls her), my second friend in life. She's the one who has shared it all with me- from the games of childhood to the dramas of boyfriends to the joys of marriage and all that comes in between. What a gift God gives us in a sister- a ready-made friend for life! From the friends of my childhood, to high school friends, college friends, work friends, mommy friends, and all of those who blur the lines between each of those categories (or fall into none :), I have been blessed with many "girlfriends" who have walked through this life with me. From the laugh-until-you-cry moments, to the crying-so-hard-I'm-making-the-ugly-face moments, through the fun times and the heart-wrenching times, I have been blessed! Thank you to those of you who have shared the special moments with me, encouraged me, and loved me enough to shoot it to me straight. Thank you, friends, for knowing me well enough to meet my needs before I even ask. Thank you for holding our silly memories as close to your hearts as I do to mine. Thank you for entrusting me, and giving me reason to entrust you, with all of the good, the bad, and the ugly of life. You have "doubled my joy and halved my pain" (as the old, cheesy saying goes :) I pray that I can show myself a better friend each and every day and that I can be the encouragement to you that you have been to me. You are all beautiful women, and to each and every one of you, for very unique reasons, "I want to be like you when I grow up."