ceyda & celeste.

When I received a message from Ceyda in mid August about planning to visit me for my birthday I was  so excited. I hadn't seen her since I left Utah in 2008. Seven years isn't too long when you keep in touch via facebook and talking on the phone every now and then, but still...seven years is still a long time when you're longing to see a familiar face. 

I would love to go back to visit Utah someday, but these days it's almost impossible for a family of six to fly across the country. I have been blessed beyond measure with friends who take the time out of their busy schedule to make me and my family a priority in their lives. I hope to go back to visit all of my wonderful friends that I left behind. 

Since Ceyda's arrival we've talked, laughed, and cried happy tears throughout our conversations. We mostly talk about our children, and their well being as well as how we see them (or how we'd like to see them) in their future. 

We see our little ones growing up way too quickly in a world that is different when we were their age. They are speaking in clearer sentences, talking among each other like small adults in a language that is their own, and playing with iPhones as if they've been using them their entire lives. It's pretty scary yet exciting at the same to think what they will be exposed to next when they are in their teens. Every day they learn something new, and their intelligence continues to enhance. 

Being that Ceyda is from Honduras and having moved to Utah when she was 18 has never had the privilege of venturing out to the east coast, and so far she loves it!

She loved Ocean City & the boardwalk...

Eating good food (and boy did we do a lot of that today), Shake Shack burgers, polish water ice, and having a Philly cheese steak sandwich at Johnny Rockets was among her favorites. 

The fact that we're together brings us a solace that we have been longing for seven years! Seeing our children meeting for the first time and warming up to each other right away with hugs and smiles was a breath of fresh air. Makes me wonder why we as adults can't be like that with other adults when small children do it instantly without regard. 

They are a reminder to me that life is beautiful, and what a blessing it is to witness it through their innocent eyes. 

Every friend that has visited me from afar is my solace and I'm so grateful to have kept them for all these years!

These are the joys of life in friendships, and no matter where they live... they are the precious gems to my everyday living.