Saturday, April 13, 2013

Spring Brings Friends

I have mentioned before that I am very blessed in the friend department.  
Today I was able to spend a little time with 8 of them. 
Some have known me since birth, some since high school,
 and some in between, and a couple new ones.

 Yep! I'm one lucky lady, check out these fabulous people!


Thank you friends for allowing me to share this photo and for being in the sun and the several takes it took to get it!
I am going to treasure it FOREVER!
When I went to make the invitation list, I had to keep it to a certain number of individuals. 
If I had it my way I would have invited all my gal pals, church ladies, 
oh who am I kidding, I would have invited every lady I'd ever crossed paths with probably! 
 I just love having people over to our home!
But for various reasons I contained my invite list to 13, and 8 were available to make it! 
That's pretty awesome numbers I think!

I LOVE BEING WITH MY FRIENDS!
(Have I said that?)

The connection brings this level of happiness that just can't be contained!
I will be good for many days with this many of them in one room!

( I'm not being a gender snob, there's just something about my women friends! :) 

I sent out this cute little Spring invitation that I made on Smilebox.com.

  I decided to ask my guests to bring donations for our local food bank. 
I'm SO proud of my friends!
 Check it out! 
Only 8 people made this MUCH of a difference in one afternoon!
Please consider giving to your local food bank or donating to a good cause!
It's just a wonderful feeling!

And at the last minute I made it into a friendly competition!
I sent out a text & facebook message telling them there was  
homemade prize for the person that bought the most number of items!

My sister Tammy won the apron that my middle daughter Kassidy made for the event!
Isn't that Springy? !!!

I decorated the table with spring colors!
The flower bouquets were arranged by my other sister Elizabeth.

The plates & napkins were from Dollar Tree - I love that store.  
It's my new favorite store!

I tried all new recipes!

The menu consisted of:
Fruit Salad
Lemonade/Water



And of course we couldn't have a gathering without visiting the baby Chicks!
Lots of Chicks!
And if you have read my blog for very long, you know that I like to give "little bits of love" when the guests leave.  
This time I put together a basket of flowers, jam, and seeds.

Basket- Dollar General, Flowers made with my Cricut machine,
and Seed packets were free printables I found on Pinterest!
To My Guests:

The flowers are not real, so you can continue to enjoy them day after day 
& remember our time spent together on this lovely spring day! 

The Peach jam is a little bit of sweet from me to you, for you have given me so 
much sweetness I wanted to return the favor!

The seeds are for you to plant and see beautiful flowers this spring. 
 I hope our friendship continues to grows, just as those seeds will. 
I look forward to our next interaction my friend.



All of these ladies have seen me laugh, some have held my hand while weeping, and some have stood beside me in silence, hugged me tightly or just enough to get me through.  These ladies mean a great deal to me, each and every one has a special place in my heart.
I am thankful for them and I pray their lives are as wonderful as their friendship is to me.

Readers, I once again challenge you to make a connection.  Whether it be with a friend or family member, reach out and share the love that is within your heart.  Because I'm pretty sure once you make that "connection", there's not stopping the amount of love to grow.


Thank you all for being my friends.

To all my readers, thank you for allowing me to share 
my family, feelings, faith, and now my friends.

Julie








7 comments:

  1. LOVE!! I had such a good time! Thanks so much!!

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  2. I'm still on a natural high from the girlfriends luncheon yesterday!!!! Thank you again!!!!!!

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  3. What fun you all had! Thanks for sharing your ladies day with us.

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  4. I debated whether or not to post this publically, but think I will...
    We learned quite sadly with our experiences in our vicarage congregation and at the congregation I taught at and Seth did his field work at in St. Louis, that many people do not want to get close to the pastor's family. This is not universally true of course, but most people hold pastors' families at arms length. I could give you a list of reasons why I think this is the case, (and the blame is not all on the shoulders of the parishoners, but on the pastors' families as well,) but that doesn't really matter.
    What does matter is this...I am so thankful for the invitaion into your home and into the lives of your friends which gives a window to who you are. The food, the conversation, and the company was delightful!
    And, next time I'm bringing a case of food, because that apron is just awesome!

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    Replies
    1. Heather,
      I'm glad you felt you could post that. I too admit I probably kept a distance, but not now sister! Just wait, you will be sick of me! I will be hanging out on your front porch, inviting myself over for dinner, and stalking your blog.. oh wait, I already do the last one! :) I am thankful for you as a friend and plan to be one forever. I'm glad you had a good time, and I must admit, the apron was pretty awesome! :)

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