Celebration and bittersweet events...

  I'm up super early this morning getting ready to head to a conference in Birmingham for the day. For some reason it just breaks my heart to leave my baby early in the morning before he's awake. I started thinking about it and getting a tad bit emotional about it and that brought me to thinking about the upcoming week. I feel like it is a week/weekend of happy and bittersweet events ahead of me.

Tomorrow we go to one of our last small groups for the year. I can't say for certain but I have a feeling that this small group won't be the same next year. This may not even be the small group we're in next year. I already know of some people who will be moving around and I am so thankful for this group. In reality when we switched to this group I was not happy about it. We were in a group full of couples that could probably be our parents but loved every moment. It was like having 8 extra Mom's and 8 extra Dad's. I will forever be grateful to God for those people in our lives. Because of that group I came to know one of the most wonderful women I have ever known and now she is definitely like my adopted Momma! The group we have been in for the last two years has also been amazing. Our host and leader couple are definitely two people I would encourage any couple to learn under. Their knowledge is incredibly vast and they are so transparent about issues and I couldn't love them anymore. I'm so thankful for their spiritual wisdom and friendship over these last two years.

Then the most bittersweet event of all comes. Friday night we get together with a group of friends to have a send off party for our dear friends Brad and Rachel Goode. I could talk about this for days but I'll make it quick. God has blessed me with some amazing friends over my lifetime. Some of us have grown distant and I miss them and will always love them. Rachel is one of those friends that I already knew before Chris but dating Chris brought us even closer. I can honestly say I have never met anyone like her and she is one of the most amazing friends God could have blessed me with. She has so much wisdom, she is definitely a blast, so very stylish, beautiful inside and out, will cry with you, laugh with you, or be mad with you if that is what the situation calls for! But at the end of the day she also somehow always knows what to say. I am beyond thankful for our friendship and know that this is just a new step in it. I could write a whole blog about how much I love their whole family so maybe I'll do that after the party.

Saturday morning we head off to Huntingdon's graduation where I get to watch my sweet friend Luv graduate. Luv has become like a little sister to me. I honestly can't even tell you how we became close but now I can't imagine us not being close. She has such an amazing future ahead of her and I cannot wait to see what God does through her!

Saturday night comes some excitement as we head off to an engagement party to celebrate our friends Clay and Melissa. This is such a special night and I remember Chris and my own engagement party. What fun! It really kicks off all the wedding festivities! I can't wait to celebrate with this wonderful couple!

Sunday morning we will head to church to hear Brad's last sermon at St. James. I'm sure in typical Brad fashion he'll have his normal table up there to preach. Brad's been at St. James longer than most every staff person there and I know it will definitely be a bittersweet day for him. They are headed off to Mobile where I am so confident in the amazing things God has for them but still sad for us!

So there goes my preparation for the week ahead of me. I'll just pray that God gives me the energy to get through it all and a smile on my face for even the events that make me a little sad.