When Henry Met "The Other Henry"

Once upon a time, when I was a little girl growing up in Whittier, my mom had a close friend named Kaylyn. Kaylyn was married to a childhood friend of my mother's and lived nearby. They were members of the Church and had kids roughly the same ages in both families. Kaylyn had a son my age (who was one of my first crushes) and a daughter named Morgan who was a couple of years younger, my brother Martin's age. We played together and spent lots of time together until one day Kaylyn and their family moved to Utah. Although we kept in touch after that, we gradually got to the point where we were just exchanging Christmas cards each year.
Flash forward a few years. I'm in Yekaterinburg, Russia now, serving a mission for the LDS Church , and am talking with another missionary we'll call Elder Jared (my future husband) and his companion. Somehow, we realize that this missionary, (whom we'll call Elder Chris) has a girlfriend at home that is in fact the very same Morgan of my youth. We always say that it's a small world among Mormons, and it proves to be true time after time.
Anyhow, a couple of years later Elder Jared & I got married and a year after that Chris and Morgan tied the knot as well. Over the years since we married we have rarely lived in the same state but have kept in touch and enjoyed occasional visits when we could. Morgan is one who inspired me to have a blog of my own, as hers has always been a favorite of mine.
Imagine my surprise when I got a call from Morgan on Friday afternoon, saying that they would be in town this weekend. Chris' grandfather had passed away and they were headed our direction for the funeral. She wondered if we might be able to get together after the family time had come to an end, before they headed back to LA. We were thrilled.
What was most interesting to my boys is that Chris and Morgan have a son named Henry who just turned two. All day Sunday they kept asking when "The Other Henry" was coming over. When TOH did arrive with parents in tow, they were even more thrilled to learn that he likes Thomas the Tank Engine, so obviously they got along swimmingly. We enjoyed a great visit with Chris and Morgan and I tried out this recipe from this month's Cooking Light for dessert. It was a keeper. (I used one T. bourbon vanilla and 2 T. pure maple syrup instead of the bourbon it called for in the ice cream. I also added a pinch of ginger to the cobbler filling.) All through dinner TOH kept wandering back to the train table in the family room, and Ian kept asking, "Mom, where's The Other Henry? I miss him." It was adorable. And great to see a third generation of this family playing together.
All too quickly it was time for them to go; we took a quick photo of the two Henrys together and said our goodbyes. Thanks for visiting, guys. We love you! Come back anytime.