enjoying the process » loving the journey, not just the destination

So April and I have been friends for almost 9 years now. I can’t believe it’s been that long. The past 10 years of my life seem to have progressed at double speed compared to the previous ten.  And I’ve heard the speed quadruples in the next 10.  We’ll see.
We met in a Parenting Class at church that met in my home. Cade was just a few months old & April was still pregnant with Laurel.  Later April told me she had thought I ironed James’s t-shirts because one night he had a nice crease on the sleeves of his t-shirt.  I assured her that those creases did NOT come from an iron; most likely they came from being at the bottom of a LARGE pile of t-shirts my husband then possessed.  I still laugh about that because my iron sees the light of day VERY RARELY and usually it’s out only to iron the perler bead creations my kids so enjoy.  We have been friends ever since.  April is very similar to my husband. I think that’s part of the reason we are such great friends. We have very different interests, but we see eye-to-eye when it comes to raising our kids.  We’ve pretty much raised our children together. I can’t think of a time when my kids weren’t having playdates at the Harnishes.  I love it!  In fact, April was the one who first taught Cade to paint with water.  I have a photo of that somewhere- I’ll have to find it & scan it in (see- it’s been a long time. That was before we had our digital cameras!).  Well, last week April took the older kids (her 3 and my 3) and I took the younger ones (her 1 and my 2)- I think I got the easier part :).  She did a little Owl Pellet Science study with the kids. They were able to learn all about owls and they even dissected a real owl pellet! How fun! She is always doing fun things like that with the kids.  April- thanks so much for being such a fun and faithful friend. Everytime I’m with you I’m reminded of how much I actually LIKE to be outside and enjoy God’s creation. I’m so thankful our kids get to grow up together!!
Well, Keagan & Amber & I had fun, too.  We made a HUGE mountain of pillows and RAN down the hallway and jumped into our pile.  They kept saying, “fun” and “more.”  It was cute. Then we pretended to be animals and crawled through the house making animal noises.  Then we painted with water and sidewalk chalk outside.  Then we played with play-doh and made snakes and puppies (well, I made the animals and they smashed them).  I took them to the library and we read together. It was such a treat.  They reminded me a lot of  Cade and Laurel and simpler times.  April- do you remember what it was like to have just one?  Seems like a million years ago to me.
Wow. I’m chatty today.  I took some pictures of our fun day.  And as soon as I get photos from April, I’ll update this post.

Here’s a photo of Laurel and Cade when they were just about the same ages.

And… this is Keagan’s new smile. He wanted me to show everyone. He’s very proud of it.