Thank God for Blogging!...and Loni

I was just thinking that I am so thankful for the wonderful world of blogs. Not just to help me keep my sanity at times, but to keep up with all my friends who live nowhere close to me...at least not close enough to where I could just call them up and say 'hey lets go to lunch' and be there. I follow my best freind Loni's blog all the time. Its one of the first things I check on the computer everyday (second to my e-mail which automatically pops up as my homepage). I miss her so much and am so glad that even though 'Aunt' Liz can't be there to see the girls in person, I get to share Halloween and any other 'big deals' going on in their lives. I get to keep up with her eventhough I don't call her on the phone everyday or nearly as much as I should.
Everyday lately, I check to see if there is any progression towards the arrival of baby girl #3. Not only am I excited for her arrival, but it means that very soon I'll be making the short trek down Wichita way to meet the little doll and see her big sisters again, and most importantly to give my best friend that long overdue hug. I don't even know that she knows that this is the plan, but we (Charlie and I) have decided that even if we just drive down to see them and turn back around, we are going to go when Allison is born. Not sure if the kids will come along or not, but I need it. I need to see the person who means so much to me and has shared such a huge part of my life. Like the time in Cancun, when I was (unknowingly) suffering the ill effects of Mono, my best friend was there to make sure I had a beer or magarita in hand to make me feel better...Sure I could have died, but at least I would have been drunk and happy in the company of my best friend. We have lots of stories like that. We were the kids that our parents warned us about...but I had some of the best times of my life with my Loni.
She was also there for me durring one of the hardest times in my life. When a person who I thought at the time was my friend stepped out of my life because she just couldn't deal with what had been thrown at me, Loni stood by me and 'held' my hand and supported me and got drunk with me, and cried with me, and did ...um, other things with me. She kept me grounded when my world was falling apart. She was the only person I wanted to talk to when I had to talk to other people. She was just my friend, with no strings attached, through thick and thin. In the middle of everything, I went home with her for awhile. I was there when her and Larry 'hooked up'...in the back seat of my car. Her family became my extended family. Her mom and dad, are just awesome people. There just isn't much negative I could say about Loni...well, while we lived together, she did have some issues with laundry, but I guess if thats all I can say, it can't be that bad. So anyway, my Ode to Blagging turned into my Ode to Loni and I dont care, because I love her and she is and always will be my best friend forever. I love you Loni!