The Grahams

This is my friend Wanda:

I've known her for a whopping year and a half! We've been in the same physical vicinity for a total of 7 weeks. But we're sure we've known each other for a lifetime. She's a rare friend. And she and her husband Matt and their daughter Anna (one of four children) came to visit us the first week of January. 

We were blown away when Matt and Wanda chose coming to see us as their Christmas present/every-other-present-of-this-year. They had discussed a cruise, re-doing their bedroom, and other grand and appealing options. But in the end, they chose us. That, my friends, is just plain cool! Talk about feeling loved, cherished, and blessed... Wow.
Matt and Shawn busied themselves with a few projects (including building a fabulous shelving unit for the boys' room); Anna and Ava filled up hours of every day with all sorts of princess and ballerina-related play; and Wanda and I talked. A lot. We did other things too, but that's what I cherished the most. Face-to-face talk time over a cup of coffee or an evening walk around the farm... these are what beloved memories are made of.
Next time (yes, next time!) they'll just be required to bring the other children along :)