If you’ve been following Girl Camper, you’ve seen the buzz about the upcoming auction to benefit their favorite charity…the Hold You Foundation that benefits the families of seriously ill children. There will be some hats from the Knit the National Parks book. I made the hat for Mesa Verde National Park in honor of my time living in Colorado. I’ll give you the link to the auction when I get it.

We’re having a blast of cooler air blowing through. I was sleeping in the camper Wednesday night and woke up at 5:30 to the wind howling. I must have a little PTSD after that big storm in Kansas last summer because as soon as that camper started rocking I was up, dressed, and in the house in less than five minutes. I just crawled into bed and went right back to sleep. 

It was the first day of spring. When I woke up, it was 61 degrees and by noon it was in the 40’s. The low for last night was predicted to be 30°. I’ll camp when it’s cold, but my cutoff is about 40°. I’ve had to sleep in the camper when the windchill was -28° and that’s rough. I made reservations for another campground in May. We didn’t get to camp at Leith Run last year. It is right on the banks of the Ohio River and they had a terrible flood last April that left eight inches of compacted mud over the entire park. That has happened at least three times that I know of since moving back to West Virginia. We love to camp there in mid week in the off season. It’s far less crowded and more peaceful.

I heard from a dear friend yesterday. Cindy lived in the flat below me when we were in England. We were both new brides and our husbands were both in the Air Force. Military wives make their friends their family. Even more so when you live so far away from your own family. I think Cindy was 18 and I was 19. When I was pregnant with Daughter #1, Cindy surprised me with a baby shower. When I was opening gifts, there was a present from my mom! I was missing her so much and when I saw that my friend had sent a letter to my mom to coordinate gifts from my family stateside, I just burst into tears. She has always been special to me. She only lives a few hours away in Ohio, but this will be the first time we’ve seen each other since December of 2016. She will be about an hour from us on Monday so we are meeting in Athens for a long awaited visit. I am so excited to see her and her husband!

I can’t believe it’s Friday already! Do. You have a fun weekend planned?

💚

“A friend loves at all times….”   ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭17‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

***Gratitude Journal***   
Today I am grateful for the friendships that stand the test of time. The kind of friend that picks up where you left off the last time you saw each other. The kind that forever owns a piece of your heart. That’s the kind of friendship to cherish and nurture.