Hope Street Reunion

First...read this...

October 2007 at Britt's wedding shower

Karyn, Britt, Libby, Ruth, & Beth

In college my girlfriends and I lived on Hope Street for our last two years of school. We were called the Hope Street girls and because we'd like to think we're still 22 we still call ourselves the Hope Street girls. This year's reunion trip was amazing. My girlfriend Britt's (who I've known the longest, we also went to high school together) parents hosted our trip at their house in Urbana, Ohio (about an hour north of my parents in Dayton). Her parents were wonderful and I would be perfectly happy if we met there every summer for all of our reunion trips. They have an amazing house with a pool in the middle of cornfields, it was so peaceful. 


I wasn't initially planning on this but I ended up leaving Jonah with my parents for part of my trip. He was with me from Wednesday to Thursday and with my parents from Thursday evening to Sunday afternoon. I did see him on Saturday to deliver breastmilk and get some quick snuggling in. As much as I hated not being with him and felt like I was missing a part of myself, it was REALLY nice to be able to have uninterrupted time (aside from having to go and pump) with my friends and to be fully present with them. And catching up on sleep was pretty great too. I don't even have to thank my parents for watching him, they were so excited when I asked. Thank you Aunt Britt and Uncle Jason for coming up from Cinci to hang out with him, and Uncle Marc and Ya-ya for making sure Jonah didn't miss me too much. 

This is pretty much how we spent our days together. Soaking up a lot of sun and lots 

of great conversations in the pool together. 

So basically, this is what every meal was like, amazingly delicious. Britt's mother prepared all of our meals from beef tenderloin, twice baked potatoes, ribs, freshly picked sweet corn, strawberry cake, asparagus casserole, spinach salads, croissant breakfast sandwiches, cheesecake, plus so much more. She wouldn't let us give her money for the groceries or even let us help clean up. We seriously felt like we were at a bed and breakfast, especially when we found our beds were turned down when we went to bed each evening. Britt's parents served us so well, we couldn't say thank you enough. 

Now for lots of pictures of my beautiful friends...

Libby, Ruth, Beth, & Britt 

(sad that we are missing our friend Karyn who couldn't make the trip this year)

These pictures were taken in my parents back yard when we went to drop off Jonah. 

Enjoyed a great dinner at Adobe Gilas at the Greene.

Enjoyed some live music after dinner. The singer was pretty good but I don't think anyone should be singing Lady Gaga acoustically. 

Hung out in Yellow Springs one evening. 

A guy outside of a grocery store asked to sing us a love song.  

We couldn't possibly say no. 

A little wine tasting in a cute wine shop.

for all you Modern Family fans...Dunphy Real Estate 

Britt took us on a walk around her parents property. Lots and lots of cornfields. 

There was something really peaceful about being out there. Everything that I have been rushing to do was put on hold. Such a great reminder of God's glory through creation and also through the lives of my friends. 

It probably wasn't the best idea to go for a walk late in the day when the heat was pretty intense, but nothing a nice soak in the pool wouldn't fix. 

I think many of you remember me posting about my friend Libby a year ago when she got cancer. Praise the Lord she is now cancer free! The girls and I wanted get her a special gift to honor her and continue to encourage her for how she has been faithful to the Lord during this incredibly rocky year for her family. When I lost Leyton the girls gave me a Tiffany necklace of a key with Leyton's initials on it, so we wanted to do something similar for Libby. We got her a necklace with a key and a heart and had "DWYC" engraved on the back of the heart. That stands for "Don't Waste You Cancer". You guys should seriously read her blog, she is amazing (especially this post, it's a must read). Throughout this entire journey she has been pointing to Christ and giving God the glory. I am so honored she is my friends. 

This trip came at such a great time for me. I was definitely needing quality girl time with close friends who love me and who I can share my heart with. I am so thankful we were able to have this time together and be intentional about encouraging one another. And even though we may not do the best about keeping in touch with one another, I love that we can all get together and pick up right where we left off.