If you have friends, you'll want to read this post!

Many of you know that the past few months have been quite difficult for me. Losing my job with a company I love so very much was bad enough....a week later my step-father died suddenly, without warning, leaving our family stunned.

The last two weeks or so it seemed as though the storm had settled. Things were returning to normal and my life was no longer chaotic and I was beginning to be my normal, happy self again!

It's crazy how one phone call can flip your world upside down. Last Saturday, Oct 18th my niece came over to spend the night with us. Me, my niece and my daughter were having a great time.... we were making handmade cards; we were stamping, crafting, laughing and the world seemed awesome...I felt warm in my heart as I watched the kids go at it with all of their great crafting supplies.

At 9:04 PM my cell phone rang. I didn't recognize the phone number in the display so I let it roll into my voicemail. I mean who wants to interrupt some serious crafting time!??

About 10 minutes later my phone rang again. This time I did recognize the number, it was my ex-husband. I answered the phone speaking a very happy, no care in the world, "Hello?"... I am not sure exactly what was said verbatim, the conversation is a blur. However, I do know that I heard the words, "Candice, Steph died today..." Huh, what? What are you saying. This makes no sense! Surely he's not talking about my Steph who is only 34-years-old...young and healthy, so wait a minute, back up.... "What Steph are you talking about?" Even though I knew what the answer would be (because I don't call anyone else "Steph") I still hoped there was some other Steph that I was forgetting about and it wasn't THE Steph.

Well, I am sure you can already tell that, yes, it was THE same Steph I have known and cared about for 23 years of my short life. In my state of confusion, I got off the phone and called Steph's house. Her husband, who is also a friend, answered and confirmed it was true. He was calling me at 9:04 PM when I chose not to answer because I didn't recognize the phone number. He was calling from his cellular phone.

This post is about FRIENDS; friends are so precious and dear, and often times somewhat rare. All I keep thinking about is the last time I heard her voice, she was leaving me a voicemail message saying, "Call me, k?" Of course I had every intention of calling, it just seemed that each day there was too much to do, or so much to get done. Whatever the reason, it's called "taking for granted..." Taking for granted each night when I went to bed and thought, "OH shoot, I needed to call Steph...I need to do that tomorrow." The tomorrow's kept coming, but my phone call never did. And now, there will be no more phone calls to or from Stephanie (1973-2008). I will miss you, and I will always wish I would have called.

Call your friends...send them a card, shoot them an email. This is something you can do today. Because tomorrow may never come....

Thanks to everyone for their friendship and prayers. While although I am extremely sad, I am also very blessed. I have shown two friendship projects/cards that take seconds to make, but put big smiles on the faces of those you love!

If you're interested in receiving the directions, or a materials list for these cards, call or email me and I'll gladly provide you with the information.

Warmest wishes to all of you.

Candice