It's so hard to say goodbye

The big move to Austin is this next week! And that meant that this weekend has been full of "goodbyes". I hate saying goodbye don't you? We going to miss our friends so very much and it hurts when you have to say goodbye. This is also the first time that I have to watch my kids say goodbye to their friends. Yeah I know that they are young, but it is still so very sad.
On Friday night our great friends the Minter Family came over for one last family night. We had yummy food (even though my oven/stove completely died while I was cooking, another story for another day) played Wii, ate ice cream, and had great-uninterrupted adult time. That last one might sound weird to those who have young children, but it's true. You see the Minter and McManus families play so completely well together that we hardly ever have problems with kids and actually get to have adult conversations. It's been that way from the beginning read about our story together....

When we first joined Northwood church we started attending a small group called "married 20-somethings with no kids". Well that was Adam and I so we went. Kari and Brent were one of the couples there and we became friends. Soon after joining like many groups like this, couples started getting pregnant including Kari and I. Connor was born exactly 3 months before the Minter's little girl; Avery. I can still remember the night we came over to visit Brent and Kari and their new little girl. Little did we all know then that our two kiddos would become best friends. Connor and Avery almost instantly became inseparable it was almost weird. At an age when most toddlers just played side by side; Avery and Connor would actually play together. They have the same temperaments and energy level. They have just always "just clicked". I can genuinely say that Avery is one of Connor's favorite people in his little world.
When Connor was almost 1 and Avery was 9 months old, Kari and I both not understanding that the birth control they give you when you are nursing fulltime doesn't work when you stop, got pregnant. I loved that anytime I had any emotion about being pregnant again, there was Kari feeling the same thing. What a blessing when I would call Kari, feeling way too pregnant to do anything and asked if Connor and I could come over. Kari and I would lay there exhausted while Connor and Avery played so wonderfully well together. Elliana arrived exactly 1 week before Bryce did. I still remember our first play date after the exhaustion of a new newborn had worn off. Avery and Connor instantly ran off and played together like nothing had changed. Bryce and Elliana are alike too, but in a different way. They both would rather play by themselves and understand that about each other. Bryce frequently calls Elliana on "his" cell phone and gets so excited when we are going to see her. They are best buds, but in a different middle-child kind of way.
Yup I said middle child. Yup that means the Minter's were as crazy as us and decided to add one more kiddo to the mix. I was so excited for them when they found out that there were having a little boy. And even more excited when we found out we were having a little girl. I couldn't help but think that God had some awesome plan for the Minter and McManus family living life together. 2 months after little Justus was born Alexis decided to come early and gave us all a scare. The Minter family was praying for us through that whole horrible time. And when Kari called and asked what she could do, I had one simple request. Grab your family and come over so our kids can play together(Plus I needed some good healthy cry time with Kari). Connor and Bryce were unsure why everything was so weird that week Alexis spent in the NICU. But after a night spent with the Minter girls all unsure feelings those boys were having were gone. The Minter's came over so life was a good as it could get.
Well the tears are starting to fall now, because as I am sure you can tell (that is if you are actually still reading) the Minters mean a lot to us. We are going to miss you and love you oh so very much. I end this post with a quote from our wise Con-man "Mommy don't cry, I'm going to be best friends with Avery forever". What a wise boy! We will continue seeing the Minters when we can, but because we all have freedom in Christ we will all be partying together in heaven someday (friends forever).