one is silver and the other's gold.

friendship is such a blessing. as i grow older and have seen many seasons of my life come and go, this i know and have experienced.

treasure friendship.

there are some things that cannot be replaced in life, and this is one of those things. as my life has changed throughout the years, there are friends that have walked through life with me since those awkward adolescent years. friendships that were maintained through letters in the mail and trips to see each other every few years. friends that i met in college dorms and others i met throughout my life in dallas. and others i am meeting now, or have yet to meet. we giggled as we passed notes to each other in high school, sneaking when the teachers weren't looking. we stayed up late at night talking about what boys we thought were cute. we said tearful goodbyes as we parted ways for college. we grew up in college, and sprouted our wings. we saw each other move into (and in some cases shared) first apartments, landed first jobs. we cried with each other through break ups, grieving deaths, and other various hardships. we rejoiced with each other when we met our husbands, and celebrated the birth of our babies. and even if we didn't talk all the time, these friendships are always savored and held dear.

i've been reminded of this lately as i am on the endeavor once again to make new friends in this new phase of my life. and this past week as bella and i spent three days with two of my best friends from high school and their little ones. it reminded me that although life changes, some things just stay the same. and sometimes those things are the gift of rare friendship. those friendships that stay the same even though so much has changed. the ones where your heart feels at home.

i *love* that.

last week, farrah, kellie and i watched our little ones play together, had big meals at their kitchen table including us three adults, and five little munchkins, took a trip to ikea with four kids in tow, went to the beach, and even found time to have an adult-girls-only-night-out :)

it was such a refreshing time and one i had been looking forward to all summer long.

the kids playing in the backyard

farrah, kellie and me at dinner

our girls! eli, olivia and bella

there is a little tune we sang when i was a little girl in girl scouts (which literally feels like a lifetime ago) and it goes like this:

"make new friends, but keep the old

one is silver and the other's gold."

as i've gone from high school to college, college to seminary, seminary to my life in dallas, and dallas to my new life in maine, it's been a challenge to consistently keep in touch with the precious friends in my life. as i've moved away from best friends and made new ones, it's been a balancing act of sorts. but no matter what, there are so many friends in my life that will never be replaced... and that is silver and gold of the highest worth :)