Heavy hearted

(I'm writing this purely for catharsis so feel free to skip past this one if you want.)

Our dear friends and former neighbors are taking the final step in their move to Kentucky. They stopped by tonight to say their goodbyes and, in their wake, leave a gaping hole behind.

Although Mark moved several months ago to take a wonderful job in Kentucky, we were fortunate enough to have Helen stay on a few more months. Unfortunately for us, she missed Mark too much to stay up north without him and has decided to move down now instead of waiting until June. Also unfortunately for us, they are taking our honorary niece and babysitter, Lauren, with them.

We have been so lucky to have these people as our friends and neighbors for the better part of the last 16 years. Really, how many people can say they are so blessed to have their neighbors be such close friends? As Mark recently put it, it's as if we're losing siblings and not just friends - so very true.

So, I'm sitting here crying and missing them already and trying to work it out in writing.

It's not working.

A special Christmas-time cache

Last weekend we went out caching (nothing new) and found a truly cool cache: Christmas Tree Cache 3. There's something magical about finding a Christmas tree in the woods complete with decorations!

So, Happy Holidays from our family to yours. We hope you have a magical holiday, wherever you find it.