Friends

After living here for 4 months....with only 4 weeks left, I FINALLY made my first Atlanta friend. I forgot how long it takes to get to know people and start up a friendship - especially as a stay-at-home mom. After running into each other multiple times while dropping off our kids at Mother's Morning Out, talking after church, and then running into each other at a park two days in a row....we made plans to hang out. It seems ironic to me now. How come it took us this long? To be honest, I think neither one of us could really remember each other's names and were embarrassed to admit it! Finally, I apologized for my lack of memory and our friendship has begun. It is just another reminder of how our pride gets in the way of so many things. I believe every friendship (no matter how short lived) has a purpose, so I am excited to see what happens.
Since I am thinking about friendships....I have also realized how often I assume everyone else is "too busy". You never know until you ask. Several times. Never take your friendships for granted and make the effort to keep in touch. It is so true that you never know how much you value something until it is not there. Thank you to all my friends and family that have called, emailed, sent me packages, and supported me over the past few months. I can't imagine my life without you!

Just a Quick Update

Earlier this week, the boys and I got back from spending a week in Texas with my family. Tim spent a lot of time with the different international folks while we were gone. Somehow not having demanding children and a wife around seems to give him some more time :). He had some really good conversations with one of his new Muslim friends. After much debating and talking through different theological issues, we are left with praying for God to open his heart before any change can happen. Tim is very excited about how open he was to their conversations, though. The other praise we have is that our Iraqi family bought a car this week and Khaled found a full-time job! Both of these will have a huge impact on their lives and acclimating to living in the U.S. They are such a wonderful family, and we are blessed to be part of their lives.