hellos & goodbyes

Mount Baker {Whatcom County, Washington ... that's right, we went there!!}

I don't even know where to begin. Words fail me. I'm only beginning to process through my experience.

The past several days with these girls was nothing short of amazing. They really are extraordinary. Our time together was filled with laughter, smiles, tons of pictures, a few tears (mostly mine), lots and lots of talking, and plenty of key words and phrases to inspire raucous laughter. It was a slumber party in my basement every night: we stayed up until 4 a.m. talking (darn our need for sleep!!). I can't remember when I've had so much fun. I can't remember when I've ever felt more connected to any other human being on this planet, let alone three of them.

In short, God is up to something and we're not quite sure what it is. He showed up in surprising ways in our time together and we're all starting to think about, walk through, and ponder and process it in this new space.

In the midst of their time here, my family faced a sudden and unexpected loss. Slater (our cat, who you may also remember from here) had to be put to sleep due to kidney failure. When I picked up the girls on Wednesday, it was a "wait and see" situation; by Friday, the vet told us that there was little hope he could ever recover. So Mom, Kaari, and I went to the vet Friday morning to say our good-byes.

I was a mess.

But if I had to be a mess, I was thankful to be surrounded by some of the safest and most caring, empathetic people I know.

I've been sighing a lot since they left: missing their voices and looking for them to come up the stairs. It was hard to say goodbye. But we will meet again.

photos by kirsten.michelle
** see photos from our time together at our flickr group pool. **