Thanksgiving with my Bestie.

 My Bestie; that is what I call my BFF. A very Best Bestie is the most wonderful gift. 

Family is also such a treasured gift.  Family understands you, knows where you are coming from, and shares your memories.  I am thankful for family.

I am also thankful to have the gift of a Best friend who sometimes knows more about yourself then you do is one of the most wonderful blessings to have.  So to share the day of thanks with one of the families that you are most thankful for was a wonderful reminder of all that we have been given. I also got to take some family pictures while they were here. Just one more reminder of how beautiful they are.

I am thankful for the Moes family because:

They are the closest family that we have here with just a 7 hour drive between us.  It makes it easy to travel for a visit.

I am thankful that we live just far enough away from each other that we get to have sleepovers.

I am thankful that Krysta and I share some of the same OCD tendencies like; keeping a garbage can in our car, wiping down our counter tops, and vacuuming.

I love that I don’t have to explain myself ever.  She understands why I do the things I do.

We parent much in the same way.

Our kids love each other so much.

Krysta married a wonderful man, whom I love like he was my own brother. 

Casey and Jonathan get along so well.  They share so many common interests.  One being the love of being a father and taking care of their wives. I think that is my favorite thing about both Jonathan and Casey.  I have so much respect for both of them.

When Casey is here he helps with my kids, my housework and projects.  Who does that?

Krysta fits right in with my routine, and just knows what is coming next.

Krysta has a way of helping me see the bigger picture.  She has the best advice.

I love that we can share clothes, jewelry, and shoes.

I love playing games as couples.  We have done this since we were first married; before children.

Krysta teaches me things like how to be a better mother and friend.  She is also willing to share her talents and help me perfect mine.

I love that I can do Kaylee’s hair and she can do Stella’s.

They always make an effort to a stay connected and part of our life.  Even when we lived thousands of miles a part.

They have the most beautiful children:

Kaylee was mine before I had my own.  I loved her like she was my little niece.  I watched her, bought and made things for her, and loved to play with her.  I remember the look in her eye when I had Jex and I couldn’t just sit and play with her anymore.  It broke my heart.  I still share a special bond with her.

Jake was so fun from the minute he was born.  I love watching him to see what he is going to do next.  One day when he was just little like 1 1/2, I was watching him in their home.  He was testing me.  He would stand at the top of the stairs with half of his feet hanging over the top stair and rock back and forth.  He looked at me with those eyes like I am going to do it, are you going to stop me.  He has been so fun to watch grow up.  He has such a love for life. 

Drew has been the light in his family since he was born.  He brought the sunshine.  He has such a funny personality, always making you laugh.  He is so animated.  Those big eyes are just enough to melt your heart.  I wasn’t around much when he was a little guy.  We lived in the Caribbean when he was in those toddler years, but I feel like have relived it with my own third child who is just as spunky as Drew.

Ady, has been a mover and a shaker since she was born.  You can see the wheels turning in her head.  She is always thinking and was from the minute she was born.  I have special feelings for this little girl as it has been revealed to me many times that both our baby girls were special gifts given to us as this time for a reason.  I also believe that because Tess and Ady were born just 9 days apart that they will share the special bond that her mother and I share.

Moes family, we love you.

Thank you for being such a huge part of our life, and sharing Thanksgiving with us.

I think I was reminded of the special connection that we share during this visit as we shared with our kids the  story of how we met.

I was reminded of it as Casey knelt with our family and shared family prayer one evening.  It reminded me that I knew Casey before he ever met Krysta.  Casey and I went to college together for one semester.  We lived in the same complex. 

As he shared the prayer, I was thinking to myself that back during those college days I never would have thought that Casey would be in my home offering the prayer and be one of my dearest friends.

Several years after those college days, we met again when Jonathan and Casey played on the same softball team in another college town.  That is when I met Krysta, and the rest is history.

As we recounted the story to our children, we started to share some of the memories from those first years as married friends.  Some of the memories I had forgotten and then remembered them as they shared them as some of their favorites.

Eleven years is a long time to remain such good friends.

11 years

8 children

7 moves to new homes

many vacations and time spent together

1,000’s of memories.

Read on to find out what we ate for Thanksgiving dinner.