Something's Missing...

Two weeks ago we bid farewell to some of our best friends here in Denver. It's not like saying goodbye is something new, we've done it many times before (and shoot, people came and left DC all the time!), but this time has seemed so much different.  And, our kids were involved, and that seemed to make it even harder.

We have been so blessed to make great friendships here in Denver since moving here in 2009, and as God would have it, as our family grew several years later, so did many of theirs.  We transitioned into new phases of life together, we laughed together, we cried together, we shared meals together weekly (or even more often!), we camped/played/danced/worshiped/partied/cried/loved/picnicked/etc together, we made MANY memories (many of which have been documented on this blog)... and later as our kids grew our kids became best friends and made their own memories together.  Something set these friendships apart from college or even post-college friendships (i.e. the free-spirited/figuring things out days!). I was 28/29 when I first met these friends, and for some reason that made a difference in the impact these recent years have had on me as an adult (something about maturity/wisdom/growth/experience/etc that comes with age and makes you appreciate, value, and look at life differently perhaps!).

I know it's a special thing to have friends living in your neighborhood that you can meet up with at the drop of a hat.  I know not everyone gets to have friends that will meet up for spontaneous barbecues on a moment's notice (sometimes on a weekly basis!).  I know not everyone can text a group of friends and have them all meet up at the zoo/fountains/library/park/bar in ten minutes time.  I know we have been fortunate to have friends that would bring us meals in hard times, share a glass of wine or coffee when someone needs to talk, cry with us in times of grief, or dance when a dance party is totally needed.  I know it has been a unique and blessed time that we've had such a great group of fun, carefree, loving, generous, and caring friends.

And with all that said, we are still in a little bit of shock that the Van Wylen family moved back home to Michigan earlier this month.  AND, to top it off, our first friends here - the Westras (frequent blog appearances!), announced shortly after that they would be moving back too.  Our world has been shaken quite a bit.  Benjamin's world as he knew it is totally changing.  Emmeline is gone, and Boaz will be gone shortly, and it's just SO sad for us.  It feels empty around here in many ways, and I know Benjamin will never find such an amazing group of buddies again.  We are thankful that there are still many great friends here who we cherish, but this month has really been about grieving the "loss" of two close families - friends we are SO utterly thankful for.  We already miss the VWs like crazy.  They have hearts of gold, and they will never be replaced.  (Excuse me.....come back!!!)

We wanted to make the most of the remaining Van Wylen days, so we spent time doing a lot of the usual - play dates in the backyard, trips to the zoo and museum, you name it.

And on a usual City Park Jazz night, rain prompted us to relocate to our house and have an impromptu evening with the Van Wylens.  Any time with them we could get, we would take!

A few days later, in place of our normal girls Bible study, we had a going away dinner at the Van Wylen's house.

And on their last day in town, we made a trip to the zoo with the kiddos, cried LOTS of tears, and said our goodbyes before they left in the evening.

We love and miss you Van Wylens!