The Winds of Change are a Blowin'

I've cried two times this weekend. That's a lot. I can't even remember the last time I cried before this? The first one was when our house went up for sale:) I know it's silly, but I've moved 22 times since I was 18. (I'm shocked to tally this up for the first time!) Having a home (let alone a brand new, clean one with a garden and more space than I knew what to do with) for 3 whole years has been such a blessing. We have had so much fun making it our own, and it has been such a haven for me. It was finished being built right after our honeymoon, so our whole married life has been spent here, and saying goodbye to it will be strange and sad. I feel so connected to it, and want someone to appreciate it as much as we have.

The second time I cried was tonight, saying goodbye to Nick and Lindsay, our dear friends who are moving to Malawi, Africa in about 4 hours (leaving their house at 3am). I've already written a blog about HOW amazing they are, and it is weird to think about them leaving us behind. We're the military people, we're supposed to leave them! It is way harder to be left behind. Almost every memory I have of our life in the Skagit Valley has them in it. They have been our best friends here, ever since the night Nick invited himself over for dinner to tell us about Young Life in the valley. We had only been here maybe a week or two, and hadn't even unpacked all the way! Driving home that night, Nick and Linds said they felt like they had "just gone on a really good date." We became instant friends after that, sharing:
1. B-E high school sports games (both here and at the State Championships)
2. Sakuma Bros. Market
3. Seeds- our favorite restaurant in La Conner
Lots and lots of:
4. Settlers-favorite board game
5. Hand and Foot- favorite card game
6. Riverside Athletic Club (the RAC)
7. Young Life campaigners and a week at Malibu Club in Canada
8. 3 years worth of good meals (including about a billion batches of Lindsay's brownies) and great conversations
9. Shuffleboard at the Edison
10. watching Lost and playing the Wii at their house
11. horseback riding in the Cascades from Nick's dad's house
12. Tulip Festival
13. Berry Dairy Days
14. When we got Burly, he and Allie (their Golden Retriever) fell in love.
15. Painting 3 rooms in our house
16. Playing Scrabble and singing along with iTunes:)

The list could go on and on. We've shared birthdays (we hosted a surprise party for Nick one summer, and they took me to bday dinner this year while Los was in the Middle East), holidays, family (we LOVE Lindsay's parents and Nick's grandparents), and Linds was at my graduation this summer. So much life has been shared together. They are so unpretentious, selfless, fun and wonderful, the kind of people you never get sick of hanging out with. I will miss being neighbors with them. I am so excited for their new adventure in Africa, and of course we plan to visit them, but life will never be the same as this sweet season of 3 years. When we left their house, I cried all the way home, half in sorrow, half in gratitude for the gift their friendship has been to me. The first two years we lived here, when Los was gone 1/2 the time, it was they who cared for me, and invited me over so as to assuage my grief and loneliness. They are great examples to me of the kind of friend I want to be to others. So to Nick and Lindsay I raise my champagne (of course) glass- may your future be as amazing as you are. We love you.