Last month was Gymbucks redemption time and I had some bucks I wanted to use. It was not at the beginning of the redemption period and I knew that all the good things go really fast at my nearby Gymborees, so I decided on one of Faith's school days to make the trek to the Wheaton mall to shop their fully-stocked Gymboree. I found some great things and it ended up being a quick shopping trip, so on an impulse, I chose to go check out the Target that's in the mall. It was my first time to visit this Target, and Anna and I had a good time (and productive too) wandering through Target picking up a few things.
I was on the second floor when I finished my shopping and thought about checking out my items upstairs but thought to myself, "It's not crowded, I'll just go back downstairs." Well, when I got back downstairs to the registers there was a fairly lengthy line. I stood in the first line for just a few seconds before I decided the line next to it would be faster. So I moved over and was waiting in the second line behind three or four other people when I looked back over at the first line to see how fast it was moving (I have a knack for picking the slowest line!) when I saw a familiar face. I wasn't absolutely certain because I didn't have a clear view of her face but I thought it was my friend Joanna. So at the risk of looking like an absolute fool to the people around me, I said in a loud voice, "Joanna!" And wouldn't you know, she turned around and it WAS my sweet friend Joanna! :-)
Brad and I moved to the Washington D.C. metroplex mid- July of 2005 (for the first time). It was a bit of a scary time for me, I was 7 months pregnant with little Jillian, and I really only knew two people in the whole area. I had only met our new friends, Todd and Carol a couple of months before when Brad and I had come to apartment hunt together and they invited us to stay with them during that trip (Brad's parents introduced us to Todd and Carol and knew them because they were members of Brad's Dad's newly married class a decade before at Park Cities Baptist).
Todd and Carol were very gracious, and helped us get involved by inviting us to their church 4th Presbyterian. After visiting the church, we were able to get plugged in to the Newly Married Class at 4th. Josh and Joanna were in our class and were two of the most welcoming and kindest faces we met in those first few months. To make an already long story a little shorter, Josh and Joanna invited us to their home for an enchilada dinner for a Friday evening. We excitedly accepted their invitation, not knowing then that we were going to have a change of plans. On Friday morning at 2:30 AM, my waters broke and four hours later, at 6:30 AM, I gave birth to Jillian at Shady Grove Hospital.
We still didn't know many local people well, so we didn't have a long list of people in the area we wanted to tell our news too. But one of the first things I told Brad was that we needed to call Josh and Joanna and tell them that we couldn't come over that night for dinner! Josh and Joanna, of course, completely understood the conflict, :-) and much to my surprise and delight, offered instead to bring us dinner to the hospital. It was a wonderful treat to have Wendy's that night and was so special that our new friends were two of the first people to meet our daughter.
Josh and Joanna continued to be faithful, encouraging, supportive friends, even babysitting Jillian, attending her baby dedication (photo above) and inviting us to their home with a crawling infant who might inadvertently knock over and break a designer vase! :-)
They also have incredible servant hearts. When only a little more than a year later after meeting one another, it was time for us to move to England (we moved to the UK three days before Jillian's 1st birthday). they readily helped us with all the moving. This is a photo of Dad Holmes, Josh, Joanna, Celine, Nils, Rani, me, and Brad on moving day (my little brother, Daniel, was also there to help but he is missing from the photo). They were two of the people we were most sad to leave and so our reunion was a BIG reason to celebrate....
We decided it would be appropriate in month of February to have a Valentine's Day party. Faith helped me ice our white cake with white icing.
I was on the second floor when I finished my shopping and thought about checking out my items upstairs but thought to myself, "It's not crowded, I'll just go back downstairs." Well, when I got back downstairs to the registers there was a fairly lengthy line. I stood in the first line for just a few seconds before I decided the line next to it would be faster. So I moved over and was waiting in the second line behind three or four other people when I looked back over at the first line to see how fast it was moving (I have a knack for picking the slowest line!) when I saw a familiar face. I wasn't absolutely certain because I didn't have a clear view of her face but I thought it was my friend Joanna. So at the risk of looking like an absolute fool to the people around me, I said in a loud voice, "Joanna!" And wouldn't you know, she turned around and it WAS my sweet friend Joanna! :-)
Brad and I moved to the Washington D.C. metroplex mid- July of 2005 (for the first time). It was a bit of a scary time for me, I was 7 months pregnant with little Jillian, and I really only knew two people in the whole area. I had only met our new friends, Todd and Carol a couple of months before when Brad and I had come to apartment hunt together and they invited us to stay with them during that trip (Brad's parents introduced us to Todd and Carol and knew them because they were members of Brad's Dad's newly married class a decade before at Park Cities Baptist).
Todd and Carol were very gracious, and helped us get involved by inviting us to their church 4th Presbyterian. After visiting the church, we were able to get plugged in to the Newly Married Class at 4th. Josh and Joanna were in our class and were two of the most welcoming and kindest faces we met in those first few months. To make an already long story a little shorter, Josh and Joanna invited us to their home for an enchilada dinner for a Friday evening. We excitedly accepted their invitation, not knowing then that we were going to have a change of plans. On Friday morning at 2:30 AM, my waters broke and four hours later, at 6:30 AM, I gave birth to Jillian at Shady Grove Hospital.
We still didn't know many local people well, so we didn't have a long list of people in the area we wanted to tell our news too. But one of the first things I told Brad was that we needed to call Josh and Joanna and tell them that we couldn't come over that night for dinner! Josh and Joanna, of course, completely understood the conflict, :-) and much to my surprise and delight, offered instead to bring us dinner to the hospital. It was a wonderful treat to have Wendy's that night and was so special that our new friends were two of the first people to meet our daughter.
Josh and Joanna continued to be faithful, encouraging, supportive friends, even babysitting Jillian, attending her baby dedication (photo above) and inviting us to their home with a crawling infant who might inadvertently knock over and break a designer vase! :-)
They also have incredible servant hearts. When only a little more than a year later after meeting one another, it was time for us to move to England (we moved to the UK three days before Jillian's 1st birthday). they readily helped us with all the moving. This is a photo of Dad Holmes, Josh, Joanna, Celine, Nils, Rani, me, and Brad on moving day (my little brother, Daniel, was also there to help but he is missing from the photo). They were two of the people we were most sad to leave and so our reunion was a BIG reason to celebrate....
We decided it would be appropriate in month of February to have a Valentine's Day party. Faith helped me ice our white cake with white icing.
Then she helped put sliced strawberries all around the border of the cake.
I love her smile of pride and accomplishment in this photo!
And then, I, with my skilled hand (LOL), wrote a "Happy Valentine's Day" message.
When Jillian got home from school, I thought it would be fun to include her in the preparation for the surprise Valentine's Day party for our friends. So, the two of us, went on a mini-date to pick out four balloons, one for each little girl who would be in attendance at the party!
Faith excitedly waiting at the set table for our friend's arrival.
Our family with our friends, Josh and Joanna, and their beautiful daughter, "Little M" at our dinner.
After dinner, it was time to serve dessert....
The little ones ate their dessert on the kids table in the foyer.
While the grown-ups enjoyed our cake and Jello strawberry "cheesecake" on the couches! I promise I didn't notice the bunny ears when I took this photo but I think it is super cute. Josh and Joanna have a beautiful marriage and family and both Brad and I are so thankful to have them in our lives! They are a blessing.
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