Reunion with Friends!

Sometimes the unexpected and unplanned turns out the be the most fun! I was reading a friend's blog early last week (a friend whose family goes to the same church we went to in MD) and she posted that they were down in Florida, practically in our backyard, nationally speaking. So I emailed her and invited her family to stay with us if they had time to make the slight detour. Well, to my delight, she and her husband took us up on the offer and made the trek to our house with their five kids in tow!

Now you might recall that five plus three equals eight, and after thinking it through and adding in four adults, might come to the conclusion that I have lost my mind. Or you might think that we live in a mansion with more than four bedrooms and I am the hostess with the mostess. Neither of these is true. What is true is that friends are friends, and when God blesses you with the opportunity to show hospitality and enjoy the blessing of Christian fellowship, nothing stands in the way.

In fewer than 24 hours we had great fun watching the kids play in the pool, enjoy Katie Mei and Lily Kate getting to know one another, eating delicious Southwest Georgia barbeque, and catch up on each other's lives.


Jay grabbed a pile of barbeque from Meatslangers (good stuff!) and a couple boxes of ice cream sandwiches, and everyone was happy!

For those of you who don't know, Katie Mei and Lily Kate are nine days apart in age, were adopted through the same agency, and our families received referrals within a month of one another. But the story goes a little deeper than that. I won't go into all the detail here, but we saw Lily Kate's photo before we ever saw Katie Mei's, and I fell in love with her. It was with great joy that I found out Lily Kate was going to be adopted by a family in our own church. So Lily Kate holds a special place in my heart and I'm so glad she and Katie Mei could spend time together.

All the kids enjoyed getting to know one another again. They hadn't really spent much time together since Merrilee and Jacob stayed at their house when I took Katie Mei for a medical appointment after her release from the hospital last year. Merrilee looks up to Marla as a big sister and was so blessed to be able to spend time learning a song on the piano and have a sleep over with her. Jacob was about over the moon to have three boys to play with!

After everyone was tuckered out and about ready for bed, the older kids went upstairs to watch a movie, and the little girls stayed downstairs and colored and played at the table. I never would have known we had eight kids in the house. My three kids alone are much louder than Tracie and Dave's five! It was a wonderful evening of fellowship and conversation.

And by God's good Providence, I just happened to have a blueberry muffin mix, plenty of cereal and milk, and lots of fresh fruit on hand. So we enjoyed a beautiful morning of smiles and cheer and full bellies before our dear friends had to go on their way. It made worship on Sunday morning all the more blessed as I gave thanks for the impromptu visit and reunion with friends in Christ.

Tracie and Dave, thank you so much for taking the time to share your family with us! I look forward to being able to have you over again!