The Yager Family: Cherry Withdrawal

Some of our closest friends just moved away to the Dallas area. We made it a mission this summer to spend as much time with them as we could while we had the chance. So we started having Cherry-Yager Movie Nights at our place. We also met every Thursday morning at Chick-fil-A for the free breakfast specials. We dressed up like cows for Chick-fil-A's Cow Appreciation Day. We had each other over often for dinner and games. We played lots of Wii. We had a very fun Girls Day where Anna took me out for a makeover and a manicure/pedicure. The guys hung out and played video games. During their last week in CS, they stayed at the Schmucker's home while they were away on vacation. It was really fun to have the Cherrys as neighbors for a week. We just loved all the quality time with them.

The Cherrys are some of the most generous people we've ever known. When we first became friends, they kept inviting us over for dinner and saying all we had to bring was ourselves. At first I felt a little guilty like "Oh my, how can we ever 'catch up' and repay them?" But I quickly got over that and realized that is just how they enjoy expressing love and friendship to people. They just love to bless others above all else. And that is the best way I can describe the effect they've had on us and our marriage - a blessing. I'm so thankful that the Lord brought these two special people into our lives and built such a strong friendship. It was exactly what Michael and I both needed. And we know that just because they no longer live in the same city, they will always be close friends. Geography can't change that. I'm so filled with thankfulness for being able to have a life-long friendship with them. Thank you Cherrys, for all the gifts you gave, dinners you hosted, prayers you said, fun you created and organized, and friendships you provided. We love you!

One of their parting gifts to us was a "Surviving Without the Cherrys" recipe: