"Make New Friends, But Keep the Old"

Today we had the honor of celebrating our godson's baptism with his parents, brother and other family members.  I suppose some might think the entire occasion isn't that big of a deal, but those who know me wouldn't be surprised to learn that I don't fall into that category. Standing up for Nicholas and his family is a great honor and we feel blessed to have even been asked.  

As I look at this picture tonight I'm filled with a lot of emotion.  (Again, you're probably not surprised!)  It really is worth a thousand words if not many more.  Erin and I started a friendship way back in elementary school and it's still going strong.  We were like twins growing up and always just enjoyed being in each other's company.  We shared bad hair-dos, the love of NKOTB music and BIG glasses that we thought were cool.  Our summers were spent camping and hoping that our dream men would finally move into small town Deer River that fall.  :)  We celebrated each other successes - Way to go Class of 95 salutatorian! - and were there for the bad moments as well - How could Joey not see me at his concert and want me to be his girlfriend? I'm sure we drove our parents crazy with constant long phone calls even when we had spent the whole day together as well as always needing to be dropped off/picked up at each other's houses.

  

How awesome that so many years have gone by and our friendship remains strong.  As I look at this picture I see where that original meeting in Girl Scouts has taken us.  We are now married, have children and continue to be a constant presence in each other's lives as well as our families.  Mark and Charlie started off as "Jack" buddies, but soon it blossomed into so much more.  They're good pals that enjoy sports and hanging out.  Then CJ came along!  It's been so much fun watching him grow into the cutie patootie that he is.  We love spending time with him and hearing his why questions endlessly!  Now Nicholas and Anthony have blessed us with their presence.  Even though they are 18 months apart they came into our lives within a month of one another.  

I look forward to the future and all it has to bring for Erin and I as well as our families.  Hopefully there will be more vacations in Mexico and time spent with a Leo; weekend getaways where we have a slumber party at each other's houses and outings to watch and cheer on the Minnesota Twins.  I'm looking forward to all of the birthday parties and other occasions when we celebrate our three boys and join our families together.

Thank you for your friendship, Erin, and the decision to make Mark and I Nicholas's godparents.  It's a role we will always treasure.  (Who could have known that a Girl Scout's song from our beginning would be the best song to describe our relationship?)