"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up." -Ecclesiastes 4:10


    Thank-you Jesus, for friends.  I have made and lost friends over the years, and my experiences with different friends have taught me many things.  But most of all, they have taught me this:  They are often taken for granted.  You never realize quite how precious a friendship can be until it is lost.  Or how much of a gap it fills in your life until it is gone.  Or in the case of my friendships now, how much light they shine into your life, until you are too far away to see it.  


   My visit home was lovely in a lot of ways.  Having Jocelyn meet and spend time with my family is priceless to me.  I wanted to freeze the moments, savoring each one and locking it away in my memory forever.  There is something about having a child that makes my thought patterns a little morbid at times: I wonder when I'm with loved ones if perhaps it will be the last time I get to see them.  If that snapshot will be the last one I take.  If that kiss on Jocelyn's chubby little cheeks will be the last they get to give.  


  I'm not sure why I think this way; my family and friends are young.  But hey, we won't live forever.  


   Meeting for breakfast.  A cup of coffee.  Shopping in town.  A day at the pool.  Lunch.  These are simple things, not ground-breaking, newsworthy events, not paparazzi-filled moments.  But these were the moments I cherished on this trip, moments of connecting with dear friends.  Thank-you for those.

   No trip to Kalona is complete with a visit to the Bakery, of course!  We enjoyed a long, leisurely breakfast and solved most of the world's problems before we were through. 
 
Then it was on my way to indulge in coffee, conversation, and cherished fellowship! Cheesy? O.k.