Kansas City and Kristin

Earlier this year I went to see my friend, Kristin, in Kansas City. I just now got around to uploading the photos. Here are the photos of our fun.

A few weeks ago, I made another trip down to spend time with her while Matt was in Scottsdale. Photos here.

It's always wonderful being with Kristin...she is a beautiful soul. We also love the exact same things. We are sisters.

We went to Lawrence. We ate Thai food. We drank tea. We went out for coffee. We talked about Jesus. We watched Miami Ink. We played on the Internet. We cooked. We laughed. We hugged. We rode around in the bus. We watched a movie...possibly one of my favorites. Can you guess what it was? Here is a hint:

"I like to look for things no one else catches. I hate the way drivers never look at the road in old movies."

We have the best time whenever we are together. This last time, I was there for 5 days. That's a long time to spend with anyone you aren't related to. I loved it though...because once you get past the first couple of days, you just get to live life together. Meals, emotions, bedtime, etc...the "daily-ness" of our lives. When you can be together in the mundane daily routine, and you still love each other, that is true friendship. One that will last a lifetime.

For the Love of Mail

I love mail. Real paper mail. Cards. Postcards. Packages and such. The problem is...we have lost the fine art of correspondence. Letters used to be the only way to "get word" to someone. Then came the telephone. Then came email. Oh the email. Don't get me wrong...I love email too, but there is just something cold, electronic, and impersonal about it. When I go to my mailbox and see a handwritten note, I am GIDDY with excitement. If that letter is 3 pages long with doodles, quotes, verses, a teabag, and such, I am ECSTATIC. You would think I won the lottery. I I know exactly when my mailman arrives everyday. I loooove having my mailbox right on my house so I can grab it quickly! Ninety percent of the time, I recieve junk mail or business mail, but I am blessed to have a few select friends in my life who appreciate the value of a handmade/handwritten note. I love them for that. Their letters need not contain deep thoughts...I just love to hear about the happenings in their daily lives.

When you send real meal, you are basically saying that the person on the other end is worthy of your time. You are putting your feelings onto paper...a permanent expression of your love for them. I have saved many letters over the years...from my dad, my grandma, my sister, my brother, my husband...and everytime I open that letter again, I am transported back to the first time I read those words.

So my challenge for everyone reading this...is to write ONE letter this week. Brighten someone's day, send photos, send goodies, send your love.

More thoughts on letter writing.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user "Living in Monrovia".

A Fun Day

Today, my friend Rebecca and her daughter Bianca came over and we had a garage sale. It wasn't wildly successful monetarily, but we did get rid of a lot of stuff and now the rest will be packed up and donated. So nice to purge. Bella and Bianca are about 6 months apart in age, and love to play together. Bella is learning how to share things...a hard lesson when you are two! We had a great time talking...I got to hear more about how she met her husband, Mauro, and their time in Brazil.

Rebecca wanted to go to Outlaw Ink and get her nose pierced today...so we met up there and watched her get stabbed with a needle. It was quite lovely. I think she looks adorable with it! Her friend Megan was in town...so she hung out with us for the rest of evening as well.

After that, we went for supper at Planet Sub (try their Pesto Bello!). While there I mentioned an independent video store that a friend had recommended and Rebecca said it was just down the street, so we went to check it out. It's called "Best Place Ever" and it's all independent films, hard to find films, and documentaries. I was in heaven! It's only $2.65 to rent there...I picked up City of God on Rebecca's recommendation (it's set in Brazil).

Then we headed to Valley Junction for Jazz in July and listened to some music for a bit. The girls were entertaining for all those around us...they each had a stroller (that I got on Freecycle) to walk their babies in. They loved dancing to the music.

It was a great day...so beautiful and sunny. Full of the warmth of new friendships and children's laughter. God is good.

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