A Beautiful Goodbye

We spent a week in beautiful Colorado with some of our closest friends before they moved to North Carolina. Their grandparents have a ranch in the mountains, and it was even more beautiful than these pictures(Jon took) portray.We hiked, laughed, rode horses, laughed, fished, laughed, had campfires, and yes, laughed some more. It was fantastic.
But, about the goodbye.
I. hate. saying. goodbye.
These friends have become family to us these past three years. They are the ones we can call at the last minute to eat dinner with, go camping with, go jogging on the trail with, talk about everything with(and I do mean everything.) They have been there for us, prayed with us, and laughed with us. They are kind, funny, authentic, gracious, lovely people. They are the people that you look at and think, I want to be friends with them. And we are. And I'm SO thankful.
It was very hard to say goodbye. We all wept. They stood and waved and cried until our car was out of sight on the dirt road. Jon and I went about an hour without saying anything, as tears rolled down our faces. I really hate goodbyes.

And now, we are back home. Since we've gotten back, I've been a little down. I have had that feeling of emptiness that you feel when you have a really wonderful time somewhere and then regular life just doesn't feel as sweet for a while. I miss the country. I miss the beauty of the mountains, rivers, and wildflowers.

But mostly, I miss my friends.