The Gift Of Friendship

These following quotes on friendship reminded me of Myca:

"Friendship isn't a big thing-it's a million little things." (Author Unknown)

"I like her because she smiles at me and means it." (Anonymous)

"The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart." (Elisabeth Foley)

"You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another." (Prov. 27:17, The Message)

Myca and me

Let me introduce you to one of the most important gifts God has blessed my life with...my friend Myca. She is hands down the best friend I have ever had. We have been friends for over 20 years now. That means that I was around 16 when I started hanging around this precious family of 4. And that would have put Myca at the age of ??...(I was told to be nice here! :)

As I would walk by their house or ride my bike in our neighborhood, I would notice this cute little blonde-haired boy. And I would see this family that seemed so nice. I wanted to meet them. So I started coming around more and more. Before I knew it, The Randalls became my friends. It wasn't long after that, this cute little boy had an adorable little sister. Her name is Bethany. I still remember when they brought her home from the hospital. I then became their babysitter. We had a lot of fun together...memories I will cherish forever. Griff and Beth became like a little brother and sister to me.

Even though there are a few years in age between Myca and me, our friendship began to grow. I can't remember there being many days that I wasn't at their house. (At least my parents always knew where I was!) I always knew that someday I wanted to get married and have kids of my own, so having the opportunity to babysit really helped me in my parenting now. "Consistency"...that's what she always told me. And because I spent so much time with Myca, I learned more about Jesus from being with her. Myca is a faithful follower of Christ and modeled that daily. That came in handy in my teenage years! She also demonstated how to love her husband. They have been through a lot as a couple, heartaches that I never want to experience, yet their love and faithfulness remains strong. But I wasn't just a babysitter for her kids, or just a sister in Christ, but I was her friend...and still am to this day.

Let me share just some of the things she has done for me...

• trusted me with her kids (that's funny in itself! :)
• took time to talk to me during her busiest of days raising 2 kids
• fed me (paula deen has nothin' on myca's chicken 'n rice and fried squash!)
• picked me up and cleaned me up after a nasty bike wreck (how embarrassing)
• didn't laugh at me during my lanky legged, braces and glasses years (Seriously Andy, quit laughing!:)
• fed me
• included me in all the family parties (b-days, holidays)...or did I invite myself?
• showed up at Red Lobster on one of my dates to ease my nervousness (you are so sneaky!)
• painted me a tennis room when I left for college
• threw me a bridal shower
• fed me
• was the matron of honor in my wedding...thank you.
• prayed for me
• encouraged me (lots!)
• cried with me
• laughed with me
• and did I mention that she fed me? I wasn't sure...

Needless to say, I have many memories with my friend. It's not too often that you find a friend and remain best of friends for that many years. But even after I moved away for college and got married, our friendship remained strong. I visited them every chance I could when I would go back home. And yes, she even fed me then! Anytime you move away, changes in relationships can be expected. Sure, because of distance, I don't get to talk to Myca everyday like I used to. But to this day, Myca Randall is still my best friend. She is a friend to many...I'm just thankful that I am one of those friends on her list.

So Myca, thanks for over 20 years of friendship. You grow even more special to me every single day. I appreciate your trust and your faithful friendship. Thanks for always keeping in touch with me. I love that when we get together, we can literally pick up just where we left off. Thanks also to you guys for loving my husband and my girls. You guys are family to us. I know you hold us in your prayers. What a blessing to have you in my life. So thanks for smiling at me, because I know behind every smile, you actually mean it. God bless.

Love ya friend!

Jenn (a.k.a. J-flop)

P.S. Oh yeah, and thanks for letting me tell you "blonde jokes" and never getting mad about it. :)

Kids say the funniest things...

"Cornbread"

Last week, I was getting ready to put supper on the table and I asked our 6 year old to help set it for me. She agreed. We were having corn on the cob that night and so I asked her to put the "holders" (is there an official name for these?) for the corn on the cob at each plate. I already had a homemade bread roll on her sister's plate. So when I turned back around to bring more food to the table, this is what I found. I laughed as Rachel said, "Now it's cornbread"! :)

Down to 9 things...

Remember my post on "10 things you may not know about me" list? Well, it's down to only 9 now. Last Friday, I finally got a Starbucks. It was okay...I really wanted a french vanilla cappuccino, but had to settle for hazelnut. Bummer. Hey, at least I tried one, right? (So Nicki, you are off the hook. You don't have to buy one for me now.)

Random Stuff...

Just thought I'd post some more random pix from Indiana...

Cousins

My nephew Trey with his baseball trophies
(1st place for league and tournament champs!)

My nephew Michael and his girlfriend Katie

Hangin' out with Uncle Jon

At D.J.'s cabin ridin' 4-wheelers...the girls loved it!

DID YOU KNOW??

I thought this would be a fun post. The following are some things you just might not know about me. Here goes:

10 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT ME:

1. My birthmark is on my face.
2. I've never had a Starbucks...seriously.
3. I have a left shoulder injury from a car accident.
4. I hate math. Yes, I can do the simple math...you know, like 2 + 2 = 5, but that harder stuff...forget it!
5. I have been spelunking...with bats!
6. I was on a trip to Indianapolis to hang out with college friends and ended up in New Castle. Even saw signs for Richmond. After turning around, made my way home via Spencer. (check out Indiana map sometime)
7. I have seen Pete Sampras play tennis...in person.
8. Back in the day, I thought Scott Baio was "all that"! (those were some "Happy Days")
9. I was at the I.U. basketball game when Bob Knight threw the chair across the floor.
10. I am in a college tennis team picture that is on display in the Assembly Hall in Bloomington. (I've been told that there's also one in a Steak 'n Shake restaurant in B-town as well...have never seen it, just have heard about it.)

I know for those of you that are regulars at Starbucks are probably shocked that I've never had one. I always have good intentions. And someday, yes, I will get my french vanilla cappuccino. As far as #6 goes, let's just say that by the time the evening was over, my dad had called every cop and state trooper to send them out looking for me. Amazingly, as lost as I was, I found my way home. I still get teased about that to this day.

P.S. Matt, YOU are "all that"! Forget Scott Baio...(I'm glad you don't wear cross necklaces or red bandanas!)

"Cornhole...WHAT??"

THIS IS CORNHOLE!!!

My brothers Jeff and Jon

Matt and my dad

My sister-in-law Jamie (what you can't see is, she is playing in heels!)

Yeah, it's fun now, but not for long!!!

(As you can see, Jon's set of cornhole games is a basketball court. Michael's set is green with a duckhead on it...the little kids were playing on that one!)

My teammate Katie (and Michael's girlfriend)...I'm tellin' you, this game is serious!

Yes, I know...I step with the wrong foot, but it works!

Cornhole Champs...Dad and Michael

(yes, that is a can of corn on dad's head...that was the trophy!)

Yep, you read that right...CORNHOLE! Have you ever heard of it? If so, have you ever played it? Oh my goodness, it's my new favorite game...besides tennis of course and shootin' baskets.

The first time I ever heard of the game was last summer. The girls and I went to visit my parents in Indiana and while we are there, my mom always has a cookout to get all of the family together. My brothers announced that we were going to have a "cornhole tournament". "A what?" I asked. "Cornhole", they said. I was starting to get offended...I mean they've always had some "nicknames" for me, but never "cornhole". ("Mallory" sounded so much nicer!)

So we played...and I found that even though it was my first time playing, I wasn't too bad at it (which irritates my brothers...especially Jon!) I can't remember who was on my nephew Michael's team last year...probably my other nephew Matt...they are undefeated when they are on the same team together. Anyway, they won the tourney last year.

As soon as I got home last summer from my visit to Brazil, I told Matt, "I want you to build me a cornhole game." "A what?" he asked. "Cornhole", I said. He asked, "What did you just call me?" "No, it's a game...I want you to make me one." Well, he got to experience this fun just last week. I think he kinda likes it too. We're already talking about the design on our cornhole boxes that we want...one camoflauge one and one tennis court one. Pretty cool, huh?

Teams were randomly paired up this way:

Dad and Michael
Jeff and Matt
Jon and Jamie
Katie and me

(My mom chose not to play; Michelle and Kristen were busy working on college registration; and my nephew Matt couldn't make it...good thing, 'cuz he's pretty good! So it was just the 4 teams.)

I couldn't tell you what the scores were to all of the games...I just tried to put the corn bag in the hole. Well, and beat my brother Jon...which I did (with help from my teammate...thanks Katie!) Needless to say, I have a very competitive family. Anyway, Katie and I ended up in the final with my dad and Michael. Sadly, they won. But it was so much fun! Seriously, if you've never played "Cornhole", you really need to. I'm thinkin' that could be the next Wii game they come out with!!!

Down Memory Lane...

Carmen and me


Our girls with Cana and Harmony Bear (Cord and Carmen also have 2 sons...weren't home for the picture!)


Last week, my family and I headed back home to my hometown of Brazil, Indiana. On our way there, we made a pit stop in Wheeler, Illinois. This was the place of our first ministry. We wanted to show Macayla her first house she used to live in. Of course, she doesn't remember any of this because she was only 6 months old when we moved away from there. But going down memory lane can be fun sometimes, so we drove by our first church and our first house...actually, this was our 2nd parsonage, but the first for Macayla.

From there, we went to our friends' house, Cord and Carmen Bear. We had developed a very close bond with them during our time in Wheeler. They became some of our closest friends. In fact, they were both there when our daughter Macayla was born. Carmen is an o.b. nurse and it was her day off, but they spent the long emotional day with us anyway. We have kept in touch some over the years, but "life" gets in the way of that sometimes. It was refreshing to sit down and be able to talk with them and catch up. They remain very dear to our hearts.

We visited some other friends of ours too. It's so encouraging to go back years later and find that all of these people are still actively serving God and growing as families.

"Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints." Philemon 7