“You might be a Texan if someone you know has used a football schedule to plan their wedding date.”
–Anonymous
So my mom took me down to the state of Texas and all she brought back was…
Delicious treats;
A suitcase full of souvenirs;
And a heart that’s full-to-bursting with love.
Let me (the mom) explain.
I have always enjoyed traveling. Therefore, when it dawned on me (a couple of months ago) that my husband was going to be out of town on my birthday, (“Out of town on my birthday? How could you?”) I saw the makings of a glorious opportunity.
(Read: guilt gift.)
I asked for a plane ticket down south as my present…
…and sweetheart that my husband is, he agreed!
Why Texas? you inquire politely. Hello?! It’s 85 degrees down there!
And plus it is home to some of my very favorite Texas belles.
(I am the pasty white one on the right.)
(I am not a Texas belle.)
Now here’s the thing. I have been blogging for over four years and have known these women since the beginning. Jennifer of As Cozy as Spring; Megan of Life in a Nutshell; and Charlotte (aka Waltzing Matilda)…these blogs have been in my reader since before I had a reader. (Um, is that possible?) Their thoughts; my thoughts. Their stories; always close to my heart.
And yet, all these years, I’d never met them.
Well, I take that back. Meg and I did get together one fateful day in 2007. She was vacationing with friends in nearby Wisconsin and met us halfway at a park.
Remember how it rained, Megan? Remember how I was an hour late?
(I was supposedly the “local.” How embarrassing.)
(I still maintain that it was worth it.)
I had not, however, ever met my friend Charlotte…
…who was everything I’d dreamed she’d be.
George & I got to stay with Charlotte. Lucky us! If you’ve read her blog, (and I’m sure you have), you already know that Charlotte has an eye for beauty and a talent for—well, everything. She can’t really help it—it’s just who she is. She is an amazing cook, (again, lucky us), a loving wife & mom, and an organized & creative homeschooler who’s always more than willing to share her talents.
In short, she’s a gem of a friend and a true inspiration.
I want to be her when I grow up.
Except…will I ever grow up?
Probably not.
I fell in love with her house and, even more so, her family. They called me “Miss Margaret” (So very sweet! So very Texan!) and they had a little dog named Crouton.
Crouton grew very fond of George.
No idea why.
And now a word or two about Charlotte’s husband.
(Not really.)
(I could say a ton more.)
(But I won’t.)
(For the sake of brevity.)
Moving on to the ever sweet & sassy Jenn…
There are innumerable reasons why I love Jenn. I love her quirky sense of humor…her self-effacing (yet hilarious) approach to life…and her photography. How I love her photos! More than anything, I love Jenn’s humility. She wears her heart on her sleeve when it comes to her goals–namely, to be the best wife & homeschooling momma that she can possibly be.
She, too, is a huge inspiration.
You’re getting the idea, I think, of why I wanted–nay, needed–to visit these ladies. And can I tell you how much I loved the children? Oh my goodness, how I loved the children! Charlotte has four; Megan has five (and one on the way); and Jenn has two. They were each and every one of them Texas sweet, and I would have gladly stolen them all to take them home with me.
Aren’t they darling?
Except I don’t think that would benefit my friendship with their mothers.
Please indulge me a quick funny story about Jenn’s children. (Please.) Jenn had taken me to a scrumptious French restaurant after Mass on Sunday. (I told you! She’s a friend of the heart. ) Jenn bustled off to get some napkins and her son leaned down to take a bite of his croissant.
“Wait for your momma!” I reminded him gently. “We need to pray first.”
He smiled sheepishly and I added, “It tastes better when you pray.”
At that moment, George burst forth with a barbaric yawp which didn’t mean anything but sounded like, “Ora!” His timing was impeccable. Jenn’s daughter’s eyes grew wide with wonder and she said,
“*I* speak Latin!”
She couldn’t believe that George did, too.
Oh the memories, oh the fun. Thank you, God, for the gift of friendship! Thank you, friends, for the gift of you.
It’s your turn now! If you could meet one of your favorite bloggers, who would it be? Who are your dearest online friends of the heart? By all means, feel free to give them a shout-out. Goodness knows we are worlds better for them.
I'm so blessed to have finally met you! I hope all your readers read this comment because I can assure them that you are exactly what you appear to be online (except thinner and even more beautiful in real life) – a faith filled, charming, gracious person. We had a lovely Sunday with you.
Oh~ We SO LOVED having you!! And when you said this:
And plus it is home to some of my very favorite Texas belles.
I thought it said bellies. Which is where it's at for me these days…
;P
Thanks for making the trip down!!
So. Insanely. Jealous.
Sounds like a delightful and heartwarming visit. John gave you a wonderful gift, and you are so deserving of it!
My dream-team of bloggers live a bit south of yours….I'm talking about Colleen, Cay, and Alice. And the next time we head down there, I'll be meeting them!
Good for you, Paula! I would love to meet those ladies too.
I didn't say this in my post–so much to say, so "little" blog space–but one of my favorite things about meeting these women was seeing a "voice" that I love come to life.
Or, in this case, three voices!
I wanna be Charlotte when I grow up too. 🙂
Theresa–Musings of a mom
Barbara–need I say more? We all know who Barbara is, right? (Praying for Grace)
Allison–JMJ Totus Tuus
Jessica- Shower of Roses–talked on the phone a few times!
Sarah- More than Enough
(she's in MN, that's doable, right?)
Oh, wait, did you say only name 3?
So glad you had such a nice time!!!
Nice to see pictures!!
Oops, I guess you said only One.
ARGH LOVE the pictures!
Ad not to be sucking up, but Margaret, you are one of my favorite bloggers! I LOVE your blog and your kids and your wonderful stories…
And Meg is one of mine too. She writes so prettily. 🙂
Took the car seat that George used out of the car today and everyone sighed sadly. Thank you for spending your birthday trip with us. And I love, love, LOVE hearing your voice now when I read your words!
Margaret,
I'm trying to be gloriously happy for you and not insanely jealous. What a wonderful birthday treat!
There are so many bloggers I'd love to meet, I'd hate to make a list lest I leave anyone off it; but I think if I were to get one birthday trip, I'd definitely head down to Dallas. My heart is still in Texas.
Melanie, I know exactly what you mean. We must slowly work our way through these lists…slowly, but with great hope.
I did not write this post to inspire jealousy but rather, to inspire hope! Hope in the goodness that comes from online friendships.
No small goal, that. 🙂
You unveiled our Charlotte…and she is just as beautiful on the outside as she is on the inside. As is Meg. And Jenn. Sigh.
If we could all just blink our eyes (not that a flight from Minnesota to Texas, with a one-year-old no less, is a blink of the eye…) and reach out and grab hold of all those lovely souls out there that share our hearts. Oh, if we could…
There are so many beautiful women I could never pick just one (though I have to say a trip to Minnesota would definitely take care of quite a few).
Thanks for sharing. 😉
How very neat! I should go a little WEST and visit Miss Meg (I'm just a state away in little old ARKANSAS).
BTW, that Pumpkin creme pie recipe from PW was surprisingly easy. I followed the recipe as described (love the picture instructions) and they came out so yummy. EVERYONE (that would be 7 of us) loved these!
Oh how fun!!!
If I could meet a blogger that I consider a friend…though this may be one sided:)…
I'd love to meet you, Jessica (shower of roses), Elizabeth (in the heart of my home), Kimberlee (pondered in my heart), and Charlotte (though I seem to lurk w/o commenting on her blog hee hee).
One day perhaps.
God bless and I'm glad you got such a great treat!
Fun. Fun. Fun. So happy for you ladies to meet. What a very blessed trip!
How fun! I love the pictures!
I was blessed to be able to meet Charlotte maybe a year and a half ago when I was home in Texas. She is lovely and so sweet!
You know…I would love to meet Shannon from http://www.afriendofgianna.blogspot.com/
I just know that one of these days we'll get together!
Well, I can cheat a bit because I've already been blessed by meeting you and Tracy (Pinewood Castle)… and you both are everything I'd expected and more. If we only had more time to visit…..
but I'd also love to meet
Barbara (Praying for Grace) and
Jessica (Shower of Roses) and
JenMack (Wildflowers and Marbles)!
Still kinda envious… my birthday was Sunday, and I didn't get an airline ticket…. But I did get doted on by my family, and that's even better! :-p!
Aimme from The Mother Load. We've been reading each other's blogs for four years and have had children within weeks of each other twice. Someday.
So glad you enjoyed Texas. I'm partial to it myself.
What a fun trip—wouldn't a giant blog party be fun? Oh, wait, that's like BlogHer.
What a dream trip! What an awesome hubby!
I would love to meet my Texas bloggy friend, Lerin (Beautiful Chaos), Colleen (Martin Family Moments) and like a lot of other bloggers, Jessica (Shower of Roses). I cannot even imagine how fun all of these wonderful bloggers are IRL. Hopefully, one day.
I'd love to eventually meet Sarah (at More Than Enough) and Christine (at Christine). Glad you had a lovely trip … those kinds of get-aways are so refreshing and spirit-filled!
It would have to be you Margaret! *blink, blink*
Seriously, it would be you. I look forward to your blog each day. 🙂
Okay, so I was so caught up in *seeing* these lovely ladies that I forgot to post an answer.
I would love to meet Charlotte–perhaps on a trip back home one day…
Suzanne from Blessed Among Men–with five boys, I so relate and she makes me laugh.
and…. YOU, of course, Miss Margaret. Although, I don’t think there are any Air Force bases in MN. 🙁
and… oh, really, so many others.
how beautiful a post!
God brings us together in such an interesting way via the internet…how nice to not be disenchanted…but with such lovely texas belles, i hardly doubt that could be possible!
and you, margaret, with your little george, are a gem!
glad you made it back safely!
Mags said: "I did not write this post to inspire jealousy but rather, to inspire hope!"
Okay … I am jealously hopeful. Hopefully jealous?
Having had the privilege and fun of meeting you, Margaret (has it really been two years??), of sitting next to you at Holy Mass, and of hanging out with you in a hotel room with a mutual friend who dresses like a banana, I can say that meeting blogging friends is every bit as fun as one thinks it will be. So, on my list is every blogger I've ever loved.
Atticus has a lot of plane tickets to buy ….
Aw!! I SO enjoyed this post. Especially since Jenn hardly ever shows herself on her blog! It was fun seeing what she looks like. I would love to meet Jenn before we leave TX. The other people I'd love to meet are Hallie @ Betty Beguiles.com and Ginny from Small Things @ gsheller.com. And I'm a pretty new reader of yours, but one day I will meet you, because our family is destined to end up in MN one day, after we part ways w/ the military =)
I would be all kinds of jealous if I wasn't about to get you to myself in a few days. 🙂
I've been super lucky in getting to meet blogging friends I love…including sweet Jenn! What a wonderful visit that was.