My sweet girlfriends here in Miles City gathered together last night for a good-bye 'party', using quotes on that b/c usually a party is all fun and games, and as dear as this time was to me there was enough emotion flowing to dampen, literally, with some precious, precious tears, the thing and re-name it a sweet get together. I am abundantly thankful for these friendships. I cherish these women. God has used them to bless and grow my heart and last night will always be a sweet memory.
I had friends in Boise before we moved. We got in on something neat at our church there, in the 90's there was a young marrieds boom and we were part of it. We had a crowd of friends that were all newly married and starting there little families. We were in Young Married's Sunday School and Parenting classes with this group. We were in the 'Cry Room' beside each other, swapping maternity clothes, next to each other in the nursery, holding each other's babies, taking meals to each other after babies were born, going to Women's Bible Study together, shouldering diaper bags, raising each other's children in their little(actually the classes were plenty full, 15 little 2 year olds is enough!) Sunday School classes, and Awana, etc. We were doing life next to each other. And there are bonds there, bonds of doing life together. One of my friends, Chris, called it the Mommy Trenches, she would sign her notes of encouragement to me that way, "beside you in the Mommy Trenches". My friend, Brenda, says those years are crazy years and that is why my friendships now are different. I guess if we hadn't moved those friendships would have a chance these last few years to get deeper, but since we moved I formed those relationships with new friends. Some of those women probably did develop a new level of friendship with each other, and I hope they did.
I know part of the reason for me was letting God work His wonders on my heart, bringing me to a place where I could hear His voice say, 'Reach out to her, make friends with her.' And I would actually do it. I must have missed a blessing (or a hundred) before. But my God is faithful and here in Miles City, all glory to Him, I didn't miss a few! My dear friend Brenda is a lot UNlike me and I almost missed the blessing! But, thankfully, God whispered and this time I heard and believed, and she has become one of my closest friends. And I just remembered another of my closest friends here, Jamie, God gave her to me too! Starting a prayer group for moms and people kept mentioning her name to me, so, completely out of character for me, I walked up to a woman I didn't know and invited her to the prayer group! Crazy, sweet, amazing, wild God I have beside me. And my friend Vicki was another one, the Lord just kept nudging and nudging me and we became close friends too!
Last night some of my dear, dear Miles City friends came together, and they blessed me. It must be something like what the Bible talks about being anointed with oil, they blessed my heart, over and over and over again. What a privilege to experience the love and tender prayers flowing along with bittersweet tears of these sweet sisters in the Lord. What a glorious, extravagant blessing the Lord has bestowed. His lovingkindness reaches to the heavens, which makes the expansive state of Montana easy ground for Him. These girlfriends of mine lifted prayers to our Lord on my behalf and I will always remember and cherish that event in my life. One of many wonderous things God did with us, for us, to us here in Miles City, MT. Middle of Nowhere, USA.
Jackie was there, we have been friends since before we were married to our husbands. We went to each other's weddings and our first borns played together as babies. She has always been an encouragement and the friend who edifies, her love for the Lord and desire to follow Him is who she is. Marcy was there, our friendship started in Boise in a small group Bible study, and has grown over moves and years. Holly, a sweet gal here with her husband as missionary in the Baptist church, and once again, I just thought she was fine as I do with most women. "She is fine, she has friends. Maybe she doesn't need/want a friendship with me. Besides I don't talk to the friends I have enough." Nope. Reach out and be blessed by another woman! Precious. And Amber... sweet Amber, we were in a small group with Brenda, Jana, and Beckie (two more dear friends that couldn't make it last night and also are precious blessings to me!!) and husbands from the time soon after we moved here. These couples quickly became good friends, as often happens, studying the Word binds you with people. Amber is a darling, she is tender-hearted and I love her as I do each of these other women. Amber gave me the blessing of getting to take care of her babies and her family is dear to us. Her kids feel like part of my kids' family.
So, now off we go, back to Boise. I think of it as 'home' but as we learned from our Daniel bible study, Heaven is Home and while we are here we are sojourners in a foreign land, no matter what part of the land we are in, with family around us or not. I have tasted the sweetness of the Lord in this land and I do not want to miss what He has for me ever again, anywhere!
My Miles City girlfriends, I will love you and pray for you, thanking God for you upon every remembrance. I hope to see you again someday on this earth, but if I don't I look forward to catching up with you again One Day when we are all Home. You are precious to me, thank you for the blessing of your friendship and prayers and love.
The girls and Penny.
And the girls in the tree that is in the front yard.
The beautiful Dogwood tree in our backyard.
View of our backyard from the deck, chainlink fenced area is garden spot, so excited about that! 
And we had so much fun getting together with friends that we have had for almost 20 years. The Smiths' hosted and we appreciated the time to reconnect with these families. Christiansons, Rices, Cobbs, Boockholdts, and Ostyns. 
This is only a fraction of the kids, the older group, some of these were in nursery together! Nate, far left, Ellie in front with back to camera, then Jacob with Emily behind him, Brandon, then Nicole, Brandon Cobb and Eric. I had to really peer into some of these faces to find the child that I remembered there to recognize them! One of the things that I have really loved about moving back is seeing Nate get back together with kids that he grew up with. If my count is right there were 19 kids there in all, for our 7 families.
Some of the sweet friends that I got to catch up with; Wendy, Heather, Heidi, Sheri, Stephanie, and Jen. I have some history with these ladies! Wendy and I were in the hospital just doors down from each other, and had our firstborn the same day! Sheri and I went to high school together. Heidi and I have been in small groups together and cooking groups too! Jen and I have served beside each other in Awana and cooked together as well! Stephanie and her husband had one of the first Superbowl parties that I remember going to as a young married couple in the group that found ourselves at TVBC in the mid-late 90's. Heather and all of these dear girls and I have been on women's retreats, Bible studies, baby showers, sat in the cry room next to each other, taught one another's little ones in Sunday school classes, small groups, potlucks, church functions and many other occasions with each other over the past almost 20 years!(Minus the last 5 when our family was absent in MT, of course) That is some precious stuff there and I have come to appreciate it much more deeply since we moved back. The saying that you don' t know what you have until its gone, proved itself to me while we were away. 
(my sister-in-law got us this guy and a lilac plant for house warming gifts and I am keeping my out for his perfect little home in the yard, isn't he so cute!)
