a celebration with friends & the flaming turtle.

There are days when life is in need of a good friend, or just plain LOVE, and this weekend was one of the best ones ever. Not because we went to The Melting Pot in Atlantic City to have such lovely friends treat us to a fabulous four course meal, not because we drove up to New England for the day (which I'll post tomorrow), but because it  was spent with friends who have loved us unconditionally since the day we met over one year ago.

This day was so special because Sierra's dear friend,Ali, received her young women recognition award, a.k.a. her medallion. Her mom wanted to do something special for her so she invited us for lunch to celebrate her daughter's grand accomplishment.

The day lasted well into the evening, and we ended up hanging out with them all day. It was so nice to have seen my daughter having so much fun, laughing, and smiling like she normally does. She really needed this time to be with a good friend.

Another reason why this day was so perfect was because I was spiritually fed earlier due to attending a Leadership meeting at our church. I had a double dose of spiritual and temporal love. The purpose of the meeting was focused on loving, caring, and ministering our sisters in the church.

The way Rachael and her daughter expressed their unconditional love, and acceptance towards both my daughter and I was a perfect example of reaching out in caring for a friend, and that brought a huge smile on my face!

We had this day planned for over a month and time flew! The timing could not have been better, and after the minor trials my daughter has endured since school started required some major uplifting, and on the 20th of October her friend Ali came to her rescue.

These photos don't do it justice. You really needed to see them in person to truly grasp and feel how meaningful their friendship is.

They have respect for each other, and I have never ever heard this beautiful young woman ever say anything negative about her, or anyone else! These two young women should seriously be reproduced into thousands of valiant young women in the world, but luckily they are strong in the life they lead as a valiant daughter of God. That is the purpose of the medallion, and I am grateful that both Sierra and I received it in our life.

Ok...I'm getting too mushy here, and don't want to get off track with this post. Let me add some fun photos of this wonderful delicious evening.

Dinner was exquisite, and everything was delicious! I could never be a vegetarian...sorry! 

I actually wanted the girls to take a picture with our waiter, Vince. He was a great server, and we all gave our input in sharing what being a mormon is all about! Hey...he asked, and I did bait him by telling him we were here to celebrate Ali's young women recognition award in which he asked, "What's that?" The rest is history. He may or may not convert, but we did plant that seed, and he seemed pleased!

Yes...with two crazy teenage daughters we do know how to have fun. 

The flaming turtle...yummy dessert! 

Who doesn't want to have a day like this!

It's days like this that always gives us hope. Hope to know that we can make and find good friends no matter where we live. I have found quite a few of them in New Jersey, and Rachael is one of them. With that being written I end this post with a huge thank you to another dear friend...

Rachael,

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for inviting Sierra and I in sharing this wonderful accomplishment with you and Ali. It truly was something that I needed, and you were my angel on this beautiful October day!  We need to do this again!

The hanging out part!

xo-

Rose