A Bittersweet Visit.

It has been awhile... Summers are always crazy at the Harborth House.. Thus I purposely try not to "work" as summers are filled with vacation, visiting old friends, the occasional wedding, and of course baby pigs.

Our summer started with Shay doing two tours of Duty that includes climbing roofs and counting hail damage, good-times!

So by the middle of June I was over playing "Single Mom that misses her Hot Husband" So I packed up Piper, called the dog sitter and headed to Dallas.

This was a trip I have been waiting for a long time. Not only did Piper get to see her Daddy, but I  was able to visit with some very dear friends that I haven't seen in almost ten years.

Thirteen years ago I moved to Dallas to "LIVE" and during my three year sabbatical from reality, I shared many life lessons with some amazing people. Two of which still live north of the Pedernales.

Ashley and Kim were drawn to each other like magnets from day one. 

They are both BEAUTIFUL, charismatic, free spirits, that play the cards they have been dealt with a care free whimsy admired by all that know them.

You can not help but want to be near them. So naturally I was drawn into a friendship that I cherish and miss. 

I say miss because one can not help but grow up a little bit in that frame of time. Life happens, babies happen, mortgages, college, etc. Ergo I have been forced to grow up just a little. 

I guess what I mean is that I miss how easy it was to just "HANG OUT" on a daily basis with out having to worry about laundry, life, and what to cook for supper. 

Needless to say seeing old girlfriends is like riding a bike, I feel like Ashley, Kim, and I  (they still see each other on a regular basis) just picked up where we left off. 

Or more precisely where I left off... moving back home two months before my lease was up to be closer to Shay (which worked out quite well for me *wink*).

I mentioned before that Life happens, and I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason.. But sometimes I cant help but question certain events....

KIM:

I do not know how to tell her story beginning to end, so here is an excerpt.

Kim became a Mommy to Keleb while I was living in Dallas. What a Beautiful Boy Just like his Mother. Kim and Kaleb's father separated and Kim (like the strong person she is) picked up  the pieces and became the Mother that all single Mothers become. She got stronger and decided that her love was worth millions:  she had faith knowing her night in shining armor would sweep her off her feet. She just needed to be patient.

Then she met Larry... The man that worked hard everyday to provide the kind of  life  Kim and Keleb deserved.

In May of this year Larry suddenly became very ill and passed away, he was 32 years old, and awaiting the arrival of their new baby. Kim at the time was due in 2 months with a baby boy.

I prepared myself for a sad visit, I mean life in your thirties is about new babies, new houses, watching our children and 401ks' growing.... not planning a funeral for the Man that you have been waiting for for a lifetime. 

It was bitter sweet, seeing Kim in all her Beautiful Pregnant Glory (Kim does Pregnant like Gisele Bundchen), but she was the Kim I knew and loved. We talked about the old days, our children, and our Husbands. 

I learned from Kim that we all have it in us to be strong. We are Mothers, we pick up the pieces and look to our future, all the while holding precious memories of the past. 

I was so Happy that I brought my camera on a day when we all sat around the pool chatting and tanning, while our kids splashed all the water out of the pool.

That was a good day. 

I love how confidant and Beautiful she is....... These picture make me smile.

Kim is now Mommy to Keleb and Karter. Karter was born July 2011.

I also was able to get some pics of Ashley and Aiden.. I didn't take many pics because I was so happy to see old friends the last thing I wanted to do was hide behind my camera... 

Aiden is the most Handsome boy, he looks just like Troy and Ashley... In the words of Kim "Aiden has Ashley's cheese".