Last night I took a walk down Memory Lane. Well, not Memory Lane but rather Bethel Valley Lane. It must be going on three decades since I last drove around that loop off of Bethel Road, and my mind was flooded with memories. It was here so long ago that the Bethel Valley Girls first met, three neighbors, the original 'Desperate Housewives' raising their children in this duplex community with its central playground. I didn't live on Bethel Valley Lane but met one of these neighbors in a women's group. She invited me to her young son's birthday party at a lake, and it was there I met her two neighbors and their children. It was the four of us with our nine children (or was it eight at the time?), and I remember thinking, "I really like these women. They could all be my friends." Little did we guess then that years down the road, with 14 grandchildren between us (and two more on the way), we would be the best of friends and as close as sisters. They all moved out of Bethel Valley Lane long, long ago, and my family and I left town for 11 years, living out of state and far away. We returned home two and a half years ago, and the Bethel Valley Girls reunited as if we had never missed a beat. We know we are incredibly blessed. Friendships like this don't come a dime a dozen, so to speak, so we treasure what we have and refer to it as a Sisterhood. From the roots so long ago on Bethel Valley Lane, something extra special has blossomed. Through this blog we will take a look back at our journey through life together as well as recount our monthly adventures that help define what it means to be a Bethel Valley Girl. While Bethel Valley Lane is very real, as is our enduring friendship, our names have been changed to protect our anonymity. We don't want to have to change our lifestyle after our blog starts attracting oodles of fans. For reasons known only to us, then, we are Firstelle (that's me), Elletu, Cool and j (think LL Cool J). Join us on our journey...we're glad to have you aboard!