The Blessings of Blogging

This week I had the priviledge of meeting two great friends - both of whom I had never actually "met" but only knew through the wonders of Bloggerland. Heather & Amber both happened to be visiting from Manitoba with their families and this week I had the chance to meet them!

I stumbled upon Heather's blog about a year ago when I discovered that we were both due with babies in the middle of November. It was really fun to have a "pregnancy buddy" :) We both ended up being overdue and in the end, James won the race and was born one day before Keziah. I love reading Heather's blog and I have been so encouraged by it - her openness and vulnerability and the way her faith is such an integral part of her motherhood. Heather, Ryan & baby James stopped in on Tuesday afternoon as they were passing through.

James brought a gift for Keziah - a rattle from Mexico. Keziah was thrilled with it. It's so light and easy to grip. I think Fisher-Price could get a few pointers from the Mexican rattle-maker... Here they are "playing" together:


Ryan willingly snapped a picture of us with our November babies:


Micah was pretty shy during their visit but he's been quick to remind me that Keziah's rattle came from James. So, he remembers you guys!

On Wednesday night we had the chance to meet Amber, Erik, Hailey & Jayda. I've followed Amber's blog for about a year as well. We seemed to have a lot in common with our kids being similar ages - not to mention our husbands sharing the same name, ha ha! I love reading Amber's posts. She's always got so many great pictures and stories. I love that she's so real and relate-able and she is another mother who has a faith that I can admire. Amber's blog is always one of my favourites to check!

Erik & Amber were staying in Mission at the Best Western so we decided to meet them there for some playtime in the pool. My Erik was such a good sport in going with me to meet people he has not a clue about. And just as I suspected, the "Eriks" got along great! We even had to play a bit of the Mennonite Game since Erik was sure he knew them from somewhere... :)

Erik & Erik took the "older" kids into the (very chilly) pool.


Micah & Hailey took a little while to warm up to each other, but it did happen eventually.


Hailey meeting Keziah...


Keziah was trying to squirm right out of the carseat and get into the pool too...


So, I undressed her and let Erik take her into the hot-tub, which was more like a warm bath :) She loved it!


Amber & I with our baby girls (I love Jayda's big yawn!)...


Micah and Hailey decided to perform some death-defying stunts outside...


Yay! I got a picture with both of them looking!


It was a lot of fun. It's kind of strange meeting someone for the first time that you feel such a connection to, but I can honestly say that both Heather & Amber have become good friends over the last year or so. I'm sure our husbands may all think we're a little weird for claiming to have such real relationships over the internet, but I think Erik understood it a bit better after last night. Heather & I were talking about it when they were here - how, as young moms, it's such a blessing to feel connected to each other. It's easy to feel alone when you're at home all the time with kids, but now we have a network of others who we can relate to.

Heather & Amber - I had a great time with you both and I'm so happy you took the time to fit me into your BC trips!