I should be making cream puffs

I've got a potluck to go to tonight and I should be finishing up the creampuffs I started. (Don't you love potlucks? "What will I make?....how will I transport it?....how will I keep it cold/hot?....what if Brenda makes the same thing?....what id hers tastes better than mine?.....what if nobody eats mine?.....gasp! What if they eat mine and they get sick...again?" Yes I'm a worrier with a bit of a self doubter thrown in)
Back to what I should be doing....
I started the creampuffs,(just the custard) then got online to take a coffee break. I tried out FaceBook and found the entire Brose clan! What fun! So I signed up and began chatting with them.
The Broses, at least most of them, live in Burundi, Africa and work with World Relief. They have been there for six loooong (for us) years and it has become home for them, I have no doubt.
Now they are coming home, with some mixed emotions I'm sure.
I can't tell you how happy I am .
I have known Tam since high school when she was a cheer leader and I wanted to be her.
(The picture above is from when Tam was visiting last spring and we had puppies. One attached itself to her chin with such strong suction that she left here with a hickey on her chin!)
Little did I know that I would marry her older brother a couple years later and we would become not only sister-in-laws but great friends.
Tam has been a friend that I turn to when I need wisdom and counsel.(I really want to say I look up to her, but that would just be cruel as I don't thinks she is quite 5 feet tall.)
I can't tell you how many times we have cried together, prayed together and laughed together. Usually all at the same time too. :-)
(We were on the phone once and so many minutes went by and all we were doing was non-stop laughing...that was the infamous 212.00 phone call...before Skype)
I regret that I never got the chance to see Tam in her element in Africa, but I have heard enough from others to know that she is unmatched in her ability to make people feel welcome and comfortable, and that she will go to any length to please her Savior.
Sometimes a long time will go by before we can talk, but she is never out of my thoughts or out of my prayers.
I am so proud of you, Tam, for the life you live following Jesus so closely and just not wavering.
Many years have passed since HS, but one thing hasn't changed; I still wish I was Tam.
I am thrilled to the point of tears that the Broses are coming home. And yes, Tam, you can pass out the Christmas presents again.
BTW, when I was making the custard, I used the KitchenAid mixer you and Dan surprised me with one year.So you are never far from my thoughts. At least when I am in the kitchen.
I look forward to seeing you. Coffee in my kitchen on the 29th or so.