On this rainy Saturday, we visited Blue 7 for their 7th birthday celebration. This great little store is owned by Caleb & Julie Arter, whose brother is my very dear Kevin Arter. We ate, hung around, and I bought some excellent Tom's. Army green. Yeah!
An hour or so later after we'd been home, Kevin picked us up to return to the store because his parents, sister, and nephews/niece were coming for the celebration. During college I had spent many a weekend in Enid with this lovely family. The Arter fam have a special kind of love that you just don't see everywhere, though one should. The siblings are all quite different from each other, yet that family has such a unique love & bond that I could only hope to have in a family of my own someday. It dawned on me today that this family has been in my life for 13 years now, and I couldn't even recount all the memories. Over the last year Tanner has gone to visit the Arters in Enid, and he "gets" why they are so important to me. In fact, they very much resemble the dynamics of my new in-laws. I am honored to be a part of them!
I'm happy to see so many wonderful things happen for Caleb & Julie with the store--they deserve every ounce of success that arrives. (plug: buy your gifts at Blue 7...it is one-of-a-kind).
Being that we rode with Kevin, we ended up being there for several hours...but it was a reunion of sorts. I bumped into many folks I truly enjoy seeing but rarely get to. Another newlywed couple, the Limpics, enjoyed swapping wedding stories with us. We also got to see the vibrant Samantha & Jerrod. They are always so fun to talk to.
Now it's 7:30 pm and I'm pooped. But this rainy day was well-spent. Relationships are key to a wonderful life. God blessed me with relationships that give meaning to this existence. All else in life pales in comparison.
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