Family Friends

I firmly believe in life-long friendships. I love the idea of making friends with people under the expectation that I will eventually be on good terms with their grand kids, that I will help them move six times (and vice versa), and that we should eventually bear witness to each other's greatest joys and sorrows.

I've probably just freaked out all of my current friends. Oh, well. Now you know.

So with that in mind, I entirely feel like our good friends the Guindons have fulfilled and surpassed all of my relational expectations for a stellar friendship. I met these fine people in the late nineties, when we all lived in Prince Edward Island together and attended First Baptist Church in Charlottetown. Marcel and Tamara, and their children Aimee, Julia, Sarah, and Nicholas were close friends of our family, but they moved right around the time that I left for university.

Fast forward to 2007, and I was excited to find out that the Guindons were living just outside of Ottawa, less than an hour from where I was living as a student (while engaged to Chrissy, who was working in New Brunswick). In typical Guindon fashion, they picked me up, fed me my first decent meal in months, and provided some much needed encouragement in the middle of the dark Ottawa winter.

Skip ahead a few more years, and Chrissy, baby Jesse, and I were treated to a delicious meal by the Guindons and their now-teenage kids. We were impressed by their love and generosity, and by the beauty of this land known as Marionville, just outside Russell and Metcalfe.

Four years later, and they have not just invited us for supper, but have actually taken ALL of our kids for DAYS at a time on several different occasions. They even initiate this and set up the next date themselves. For any of you who have kids, you know that one of the most precious gifts anyone can give you is time away from said kids. The Guindons have been very loving in this regard, and we have deeply appreciated it.

Sarah is officially the "Vance Baby Whisperer." Robyn will cling to very few people, but Sarah has certainly made the cut. (I have not made the cut yet, but I have high hopes for the future.)

Tamara, giving Robyn her first Mohawk. Note Julia washing Janna off in the background. Nobody asked Julia to do this; she just did! I hope our kids will be able to take that kind of initiative in the future.

Great family. Oh, our kids. 

"Blessed" seems to be the key word in this blog. We are totally blessed to have such awesome people in our lives. Much love, guys.

Until next time...


Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 

And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 
(Colossians 3:12-14)