I Had NO idea (Bee)

'I had no idea'...How often do we say that?  The more I've been thinking about it the more I realize I say it quite a bit.  The other day I wrote about my husband for his Birthday tribute.  It was all about the many 'I had no ideas' since marrying him.  After that post I've had so many other things come to mind.  So that's why I think I'll be writing some 'I had no idea' posts every now and then.

Just the other night we were at the last game of the season for my son's Basketball team.  I happened to get this great picture.

This is my daughter and her friend in the sombrero.  Gracia...lovingly called "Garcia" by some.  Aren't they cute?  And guess what?  'I had no idea' they would ever be at a Hillcrest boys basketball game together! Futhermore they played girls basket ball together too.  See, here's the scoop... Gracia's mom and I met over 28 years ago at the very same school, and became lifelong friends in the process.

Bee (short for Billi Jo ) and I met when I was only 14 and she was 15.  We both attended a Christian boarding school in MN.  I lived at home and she in the dorm.  She spent many an hour at my house eating popcorn, drinking Diet Coke and watching our favorite show ever ...Magnum P.I.!  Oh Tom Selleck how we loved you!!!  Bee was like family...in fact when Bee's parents would drive to town for a visit, they would come over to our house.  The more popcorn the better was my mom's mantra.

Here's my mom on the right holding our dog Herbie, and Bee's mom Grace...hanging out on our (horrendous) floral couch.  In defense of the couch it was 1985 ish...so I guess it was cool.  Kind of like Tom Selleck's super short khaki shorts.

This is Paul...Bee's husband..the day he graduated from seminary.  (that's my mom in the background...I'm sure she'll LOVE this picture)  You see this story is even more interesting.  My dad and Paul graduted together from seminary that day.  We were all friends and had known Paul for years as he was a dean at our school .  I HAD NO IDEA WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT...



Bee and Paul tied the knot!!! (a few years later) ....I was so happy to be a bridesmaid on that lovely September day.  Bee was also the maid of honor at my wedding the previous November.  I really had no idea... :) 

Here's Bee and me at a party before her sister's wedding.  That's a whole other post for another day too.  You see Bee's sister Missi is also one of my lifelong friends...and her kids and my kids also know each other and play sports together.  I had no idea...

In this picture I'm pregnant with our first baby (see the Baby name book)  Never mind my hair.  Can you say 1990, spiral perm? (I had NO idea hair could ever be so ugly)  I had my first child 2 days before her Birthday.  Her first child was born the day after my Birthday.  Our second children are only 3 days apart!!! And our two daughters are 2 months apart.  We still laugh at how that happened.  (Of course Bee was a bit braver than I...she ended up having 2 more kids squeezed in for a total of 5 versus my 3)

Here's Bee with Kiki our first daughter at about 4 months old.  I love looking back on all these fun pictures and saying "Wow, I had NO idea"  No idea that at age 14 and 15 we'd go through school together, drive out to CA and live there together, be in each others weddings, have children at nearly the same times.  I had no idea we'd visit each other often and laugh until we were in pain.  Literally in pain!  We still do!!  I had no idea that one day a couple of our kids could graduate together from the same highschool we did. 

I'm so thankful for the people God has placed in my life.  Today I'm thinking of Bee...but there are just so many.  I may not have had any idea what this friendship would mean for all my life...but God sure did.  He had all the right ideas.  If you're reading this Bee....I want you to come over for some popcorn, Diet Coke and a little hunky Tom Selleck OK?  xo

Favorite Fridays

I love Friday nights.  The moment Rockstar walks in the door we're on!  Fridays usually mean something fun with my family. (followed by a hot date of course) Right now we are in the middle of basketball season and two of our three kids play, so that means lots of small town gyms. Towns with names like Ashby, Battle Lake, Underwood and Rothsay.  They are all a little different and yet all the same somehow with their smells of popcorn, hotdogs, sweat and glue. When we moved back to our home town after living in a large metro area for over 13 years it was an adjustment.  There are both great reasons (Starbucks)  for living somewhere, and some not so great ones (rush hour) I guess.  But overall we've loved the change.  It 'feels' right to be here.  We've even found really really good coffee and now instead of rush hour we get stuck in the occasional 6 car gridlock while waiting for the town geese to cross the road.



My parents...'Grammie & Papa' with Gracie at one of her recent games

Of course there are days when I wonder what in the world I'm doing back here?  Back here, where many times our Friday night dates end up at Fleet Farm.  Sometimes I long to go into the City to the theater.  (ok who am I kidding...we didn't do that when we lived in the City)  But now that we don't live there I wish we would've done that more often.  Thankfully our 'little city' does have some really talented people who dance, act,  and play beautiful music.  We get to enjoy their gifts without having to pay for parking.  That way we always have enough cash for our run to Fleet Farm afterwards.  Nobody even wonders why we're all dressed up  just to buy windshield wiper fluid.  Yep, that's a Friday night for ya around here.... the nights that I've grown to love, goose poop and all.