Saying good-bye is hard....

This has been a year full of challenges and changes and although they have not been the most pleasant life experiences, the saying, "It is better to have loved and lost, then never to have loved at all," comes to my mind.

Erik and Amanda embark on a great adventure to Maryland this week. They have been the closest friends Daniel and I have had. When we first moved to Pahrump, we came for my job. I L-O-V-E-D my school and Principal. THOSE were the ONLY reasons we moved here. The first year here was the hardest. We didn't have any friends or people who were our age who hung out with us. Occasionally we would do things with acquaintences/friends, but we hadn't yet found people who enjoyed the same things we do and doing them ALL THE TIME and into the wee hours of the morning. It wasn't until Erik came to Hafen in 2007 that we found what had been missing in our lives. When I first saw Erik and Amanda touring Hafen Elementary School, I remember thinking, How can I get Erik to hang out with Daniel? They could play basketball or something....then Amanda would have to hang out wiht me and we could have friends! We got more than just a friend for Daniel, we found friends we will have for the rest of our lives.

Right now I'm feeling a big hole in my heart, but I am trying to think positive and see that this short meeting was just an opportunity to develop a friendship that will last forever. I will miss Erik and Amanda so much. They have helped me in more ways than they can even imagine. I don't know how I would have survived Daniel's deployment without them. May God bless them in everything they do and keep them safe and watch over them. And although they are forced to leave us and moving on to bigger and better things (;P) we are grateful to have loved them and lost them for the moment. We'll be missing you Erik and Amanda, You hold a special place in our hearts.