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Saying goodbye...

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What a blessing to have good friends.  We don't have a lot of them (friends that is), but the ones we have are golden.  And yes, you all know who you are!

We like to think of the Kreiners as the family we would pick if we had that option.  I know that sounds strange, but when John and I list qualities that we want to be as extended family members, the Kreiners fit the bill in every way.  They love our kids like their own, and sometimes I think they think about our kids a bit more than we do! They support them, they know what's going on in their lives, they bring over birthday treats, they talk to them.  For obvious reasons, my kids love the Kreiners.

Well, they were gone most of the summer (as were we), but Glen was determined to get together one last time with Mark before he left for school.  I have to look at Glen with extensive gratitude.  When Mark was making the final decision about schools, Glen helped him figure out his feelings.  He helped Mark navigate some of the confusion and chaos in his mind, and find clarity.  In the end, Mark could make his final decision about school because of Glen's help.  And knowing now that Mark made the most perfect decision, I owe Glen for what he did.

Anyway, the Kreiners wanted to get together one last time, but their house is currently in "harvest season". They maintain a small vineyard and grow many fruit trees as well.  Consequently, their kitchen becomes one large food processing station, and they didn't want to invite us over, or as Glen put it, they didn't want to have to clean!

So, what did they do?  They brought a huge banquet to our home.  Fresh hamburgers to cook on the grill, salads, beans, chips.  Even jars and jars of their famous grape juice.  It was an appropriate farewell dinner for Mark to say the least!

Then, we were able to officially "christen" our new fire pit.  I hadn't thought of it before, but we needed items for s'mores.  We had everything (compliments of Interlochen leftovers) except chocolate bars.  Katherine asked if we had Reese's peanut butter cups which we did, and we enjoyed the most DE-luxe s'mores on the planet!


Finally, they gave Mark a huge bag of necessary things for college including (but not limited to):

  • a Toy Story book cover
  • an Aerosmith folder
  • macaroni and cheese
  • Ramen
  • post-it notes
Mark could hardly wait to put his Toy Story book cover on his "Fundamentals of Music Theory" book.  Success!  Thanks, Kreiners!

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