Skiing with friends...

There are few friends who will ever love your kids as much as you love them yourself. Henny is one of those kind of friends. The kids call her Auntie, not because we are related of course, but because she has always been as close as a sister to me. We don't just call anyone Auntie because it is a special title to me. I only ever called my true aunts Auntie when I was a kid and I wanted my kids to do the same. She is a true Aunt for my kiddos. I love her.
So, the other day I went to drop off some clothes that I had borrowed from Henny and she was still in her jammies but said that she, Moriah and Ben were heading to the ski hill for a half day! She said that she was borrowing some ski gear that was Joshua's size and she wanted Joshua to go with her. I was immediatly nervous for no other reason besides that I wanted Henny to be able to have fun and I thought that Joshua, not ever having been to the ski hill, would hold her back. And he has always been afraid of heights and I figured that he would not want to do much. So Henny assured me that she was fine with it, even if they had to sit in the lodge the whole time. So I was SUPER excited! I got home and packed up a lunch for Joshua and got him ready with his warm clothes. Hen showed up at the door and Joshua was so happy. He left without hesitation. Hen is so good with the kids that I had no concerns.
Henny and Moriah rode up front of the vehicle and Joshua and Ben sat in the back. Henny said that Joshua just talked to Ben the whole time. It was Ben's first time snowboarding, too. so that was neat for Joshua. They got up to the hill, Henny got my boy ready and they went out on the bunny hill. She said that they did 2 runs on there with Joshua not even nervous. He said he was hungry and so they went in to eat. When they came out he really wanted to go on the chair lift. Although Hen had no idea how he would react, she took the plunge. She said that as soon as the chair hit them he started laughing and laughed the whole way up. He was not scared even in the slightest of being up so high! Yay! God is working in his little heart and giving him peace.
They did 5 runs down the big hill and Joshua did great. He wanted Auntie to go faster and he loved going in the "puff" (the powder snow on the side). She said that she was still sore 2 days later. This would be a lot of work for Hen, but of course, she thinks of it as a treat and she wants to take him again sometime! Thank you so much Henny for being such an awesome Auntie for our kids. I am so thankful that you were able to give Joshua this new experience and even being part of the healing of his fears. You are an amazing friend!
Here are some pics that Hen and Moriah took while they were up there.
The position that Hen and Joshua skied in the whole time. Henny, you are a patient woman!
A small step for man, one giant step for our little man!

Makes me wanna ski again!
What a nice shot of the first timers up at the hill. Thanks all of you, Hen, Moriah and Ben for making it such a great day for Joshua!