Meeting in Real Life....

For close to 10 years I have been involved with a little email loop of woman. We have seen each other through pregnancy, divorce, moves, children's illnesses, unemployment, the list is endless. Finally on April 8, I had the opportunity to meet one of my fellow loop members in real life when she extended an invitation for my daughters, Will and me to stay with her on a visit to Indianapolis for a dance competition.

Beth was a WONDERFUL hostess and despite her protesting people saying it she does exemplify grace under pressure!

April 8th, the day the adventure begins was Cade's birthday. We celebrated early so that the girls and I could head out to Indy...he seemed THRILLED to have cake for breakfast and was so excited to get his bike in the morning instead of nighttime!

I was a bit apprehensive the whole drive to Indy. I tried to remember the evolution of our little list, of how long Beth and I had "known" each other and tried to reassure the girls that we weren't going off to meet some "sicko" from the internet. She gave wonderful directions and we found her street easily, the homes in her neighborhood are just beautiful. The numbers switched quickly and I ended up driving past her house (her daughter Sophie was in the driveway) so by the time I turned my monster van around Beth was standing in her driveway to greet us. It was so strange to wrap my arms around someone the had just been a flat screen for almost a decade. We piled out of the van and into the house. It was a pleasure to get to meet her children and like in any large family it was neat to see how different their personalities are! We had discussed going to Conner Prairie, but the kids seemed content hanging out and it was so nice to just get to sit and talk so we spend the better part of the afternoon chatting. One of her sons made brownies and we enjoyed them HOT from the oven!

As dinner time approached, a minor mishap occurred. Her son Josh was in the driveway playing basketball with a friend and he fell into a bolt on the basketball pole and gashed his head. Beth handled it in stride, pulling her insurance cards from her purse while calling her husband on the phone. Her husband came home and took Josh to the hospital. Surprisingly they just glued the cut and tied his hair to hold it tight (I jokingly said Allen should have taken the digital camera and taken step by step pictures so we would know how to do it the next time...of course that would mean I would have to LOOK at the cut !!!) Anyhow Allen and Josh get home and we have a WONDERFUL DINNER.....Beth said it was SIMPLE and shared the recipe (I made it Wed night..everyone loved it!). Before anyone else had finished their first helping, my little Sophie was demanding more food...I think she ate 3 or 4 servings......probably because her BAD MOMMA forgot to feed her lunch (she was asleep when the girls and I got Subway!). So take note before inviting Riesenberg children to dinner to make sure they have had LUNCH!

After dinner the girls convinced us to go to the mall.....I think Beth and I had a better time than they did...Beth treated me to an frozen iced coffee treat (the first I ever had!) and we found an adorable dress for my Sophie. After the mall we went to Target to get the diapers I forgot at home and then went back to Beth's house. I so did NOT want to go to bed, I wanted to spend the night talking with my friend, but sleep called!

We were up early the next morning......second mishap, my Sophie managed to puke in the family room! After cleaning up the puke (Beth did the hard work!), my kids and I headed off to the dance competition (the real reason for our trip to Indy) and Beth and her family headed off to Enoch's soccer game (you all should see that boy's calves! they are HUGE!). We didn't get home until late and were wiped out, but Beth and I got to spend a bit more time talking.

Sunday morning was so hard.....we had to be at the competition early and Beth had nursery duty at church.....as I was heading out Allen came downstairs in his suit with this bright striped tie on....Beth commented abouting him wearing it and I just had to tell him how much I liked it...Beth mumbled something like "thanks, now he will wear it all the time"...I am still half expecting it to show up in my mailbox in a wrinkled ball! I was so sad pulling out of the driveway!

Beth's family plans on practicing courtship with her children, but if the plans for Josh's courtship don't work out, I think Miss Emily would gladly get in line....of course she wants 12 kids.....but Beth and I would be WONDERFUL grandmas! Could you just imagine the story they would have to tell...."our moms met on the internet and they ended up arranging our marriage!"....

So that's my story and I sticking to it!

Beth's Chicken Recipe:
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups sour cream
1 packet onion soup mix
6 chicken breast

In a crock pot, mix soup, sour cream and onion soup mix. Put chicken breasts in crockpot and push down into mixture. Cook on low 8 hours. Remove chicken from crockpot and serve remaining sauce over egg noodles. Super easy and super yummy!