Old Friends

There are some things I love about our life in the Air Force. Okay, there are a lot of things I love. There are a few things I don't love, but the loves far outweigh the don't loves. Tonight we had the great blessing of having a very old friend over for dinner. He isn't very old, but the guys started their careers together as casual 2nd Lieutenants together in Tucson ten years ago. We remember seeing him a week or so before we met him. We rolled into town on the 3rd of July and went to the 4th of July party the base was holding. While hanging out, Bill and I saw the most adorable little girl. A blond headed three year old all things adorable. While we don't remember Mike from that day, we did connect the dots when we met him. The guys moved to the same pilot training base in Texas where they were both students and then FAIPed together, but in different squadrons. Mike was a single dad at this point and we had the opportunity to visit with his daughter when she was in town. He moved on to fly the F-15 and ended up in Japan. We lost touch, as tends to happen, but he will always have a special place in our hearts and we think of him often. A couple of months ago we ran into him here in the food court at Osan. He was on his way back to Japan that day or the next, but was coming back and we made plans to get together. Tonight was the night. Turns out, our dear friend met a great gal while stationed in Japan and was married last year. We couldn't be happier for him and can't wait to meet his new wife. They are on their way to Hawaii this summer, so I am sure we will meet her soon!

Also while stationed in Texas, we had the opportunity to get to know a really great family. I taught their youngest daughter (of five kids) in first grade and her older sister was Kaitlyn's first babysitter. When we first got here we decided to give a boy babysitter a shot. Our best babysitter ever was a boy, the oldest brother of this family, and I speak of him often. While we were still in Del Rio, Jeffrey graduated from High School and left for West Point. Thank God for facebook, because Dani, the youngest daughter friended me and on her status wrote that her brother was coming home for a few days before leaving for Korea. I immediately asked which one (the two oldest boys are twins and both went into the military) and discovered that Jeff was going to be stationed at an Army base about 20 minutes away. We were thrilled! Jeff came over for dinner last weekend and we had a great visit. We are looking forward to sharing the next year with him the kids absolutely loved having him around!

The Air Force is a very small community and the F-16 community is even smaller. We have been so blessed to have been reunited with many close friends at both this base and others. I had the blessing of holding a dear friend's new baby today. We were stationed in Arizona together 4 years ago. I have the honor of cohosting a baby shower here for another dear friend from South Carolina. She found out she was pregnant with her daughter just before we had Ryan (she cared for Kaitlyn while we were in the hospital having Ryan) and is having a little boy in June. Another set of dear friends from South Carolina arrive here in the next week or two and we can't wait to see them as well. While I absolutely hate saying goodbye, I love that we have dear friends all over the world. I hate feeling like my heart is going to break when I watch the u-hauls drive away or when I see my friends in the rearview mirror, but it is worth all the sorrow to know that these people are friends for life and the joy that fills my heart when the Lord reunites us! To all of our friends, both in the military and out, please know that even if we don't talk to you or write you often, you have a very special place in our hearts and we can't wait to experience the joy when our paths cross again! MUCH LOVE!!!