I just came out of the loveliest weekend!

Next to spending time with family is spending time with dear friends – and these two that flew all the way from Ohio to visit me are some of the very dearest!

Janelle and Dora and I met at a Bible School back in 2002. The three of us have kept up through the years since then. Sometimes long spaces go inbetween the times we see each other, but we have always been able to pick up where we left off as if it were yesterday. I just love friends like that!

They flew in Thursday, we ate lunch at the Cheesecake Factory (be still, my beating heart, how I love that restaurant), and headed home…

Friday we spent the day in Savannah. Lovely old city. I hadn’t been there for a little while, and it was just so fun to be there together!

In front of one of the many little parks along Abercorn – Dora, Janelle, Zoe, and Jackson.

There are SO MANY amazing places in Savannah. Imagine my deep agony when my camera battery died only a short time into the day! I was heartbroken!

Beautiful Janelle and her handsome little son.

Zoe, one of the few times she was in the stroller.

This was a more typical scene of her that day.

Well, I guess, what do you expect when you give them these photo-shoot lollipops?? Dora bought one for Zoe and Janelle one for Jackson.

I thought Zoe’s little skirt/shoes/outfit matched perfectly with the lollipop picture, even though it was not planned!

Wow, was she one *happy* little girl with this in her hands. :)

They got so messy, but oh, were they happy!

Saturday: we spent a little bit – not nearly long enough – of time at an antique shop in town, then quickly ran home for a Mary Kay party! Janelle is a consultant, and did a great job of making some of my friends from the area and myself feel so pampered! And it was so fun for me to have my friends meet each other – something that’s rare with how far south we live!And  I have been a fan of Mary Kay ever since my Aunt June introduced me to it when I turned 16 – she gave me some products for my birthday and I’ve been on them ever since! Love it!

Early morning airport run on Sunday, and I was left with the happiest of memories! I totally felt like a teenager again over the weekend – in a good sense of the word! Talking into the late hours of the night (something rare for me these days!) about life, about God, laughing until we could hardly breathe, being real and honest with each other, learning from each other, feeling carefree and young! Friendships are just good for the soul!

This is us! What a beautiful friendship we share. I love these beautiful ladies so much!

“Make new friends
And keep the old;
One is silver
And the other gold.”
-unknown

Indeed it was. How could it not be, the entire Barkman family together for almost a full week?

In a word, it was delightful.

Destination: Myrtle Beach, SC
Who: The Ervin J. Barkman family
Place: condo by the sea (well, by the ocean, but “by the sea” sounds better)
Time: October 31 – Nov. 5
Weather: perfect. warm during the day. cool for morning walks.

There are no words to describe how much I love my family.  I adore them.

There have been several deaths in the extended family within the past few years. I think that makes my family treasure each other all the more. Last Christmas when my immediate family was together, we spent a few moments of sad reflection on a relative who had passed not long before. Things like that are always shocking. So unfair. It could have been me.

So we remember that, and know that it one day it will be one of us that’s missing from the family circle.

That’s not morbid. That’s reality.

 And it helps us embrace the moments we have together with all of our hearts. To live with no regrets, because it will not always be this way. Painfully though, I know because of the closeness we share, that will make the parting so much harder. But in that way, the pain is really a gift…

But today – to LIVE,
                           to ENJOY,
                                     and not take life or one another for granted.

Showing affection today, because it may be our last chance.

And on to happier things.

The six siblings. They are just so great!
How come the oldest sister is the littlest of them all??

And the family picture was wait to be publicized. Mother wants it to be a surprise.
Therefore, sadly, I have no presentable pictures of mother to be shown (I’m going by her judgment, not mine ).

I adore this man too.

We even got to go out on a date to Starbucks one morning! Without children. Those times are rare.

After making fun of Claudia’s aviators all week, we got him to try them on. Then snuck a picture. Ha. He looks like he’s straight from the 80′s!!

Zoe received a lot of attention. So much so, in fact, that Aunt Claudia declared her spoiled (that’s another way of saying she wasn’t always super well behaved). Whoops.

And little Olivia was loved on too. She’s too little to be spoiled. Plus, she was born one day after Claudia’s birthday, which means she can do no wrong. )

This is a “celebrity shot” of Claudia.

Books for the ladies.

Smile. They’re really aren’t desperate. At all.

Bocci ball for the men. It is much too boring to simply lie on a beach towel on the sand.

Fishing. One very cold day. Fished all night and caught no fishes… Well, not all night. But no fishes.

These two are really too much.

Or make that three.

Got to wear Ervina’s super cool green shoes. How I love them. I hope they know I have a birthday coming up soon.

The last day, THEE last, we discovered an ANTHROPOLOGY store. Why, oh, why did we not know before? We spent a precious hour in there. I left without one purchase. There were simply too many wonderful things, I couldn’t decide where to spend my last remaining dollars. So I kept them.

Just to prove we were there.

They had these super cool rings in the clearance department. Marked down to $20 from $60?? But oh my goodness, they were huge!! A little overkill, maybe?

Sisters. Everyone should have at least one.

Or make that three. They are beauty personified.

There was a Worst of Times too. It was at the end. Saying goodbye.