everyone should have one...

I hope you have friends that you can go without seeing for 2 yeas but as soon as you do you just pick up again and are able to discuss everything and anything. I think everyone should have friends like this. My friend Julie came over today to catch up. She and her husband Daniel are home from Austria where they are missionaries. We knew each other from First Free here in Chicago and Julie and I taught the kids in Sunday school together. Daniel was just appointed as a pastor of a church in Innsbruck (which is an amazing thing as there are very few churches that are headed by Austrian born people). She came by with her 2 1/2 year old daughter Rebekka (their 5 month old Miriam has chicken pox and thus had to stay home quarantined :(. The last time I saw her was when she was Anni's age and Annikah was not yet a twinkle in Jason's eye. It was great to catch up and hear about their ministry and life in Austria (she even brought pictures of the gorgeous mountains practically in their back yard). We are able to stay in touch through their newsletter but actually hearing experiences first hand was a blessing! It was also amazing to see how Rebekka can switch from German to English with ease and how she got so excited talking about Austria. The Kistenichs are not only friends but also a reminder that when God has a plan for you He works out the details and sees that His purposes are achieved. We miss them but are so happy they are doing great!

Check us out at the beach*, Rebekka ran around usurping other kids beach toys while Anni desperately tried to get in the water (although she failed this she manged to squirm until her whole outfit was pretty wet).

*I know, I know.....enough with the beach already but I decided that if there are any haters out there... TOO BAD! I will no longer apologize for going to the beach everyday I can. It is beautiful and restores my soul. I love it and so does my adventurous, water lovin', sometimes sand-eating bebe. You see, us Chicagoans that spend what seems like 8 months trapped inside appreciate the weather! So, haters be warned if you continue to read this blog there will be many more entries about the glorious beach!