My Girls

As 2007 is coming to an end soon, I wanted to share 2 things that I have gained this year that I am so proud of. Here they are....2 of my best friends.
In the picture is Jenny, Jennifer, and me. Let me give you a little history...

Jennifer's husband(Tim) and my husband (Antonio) lived together MANY years before we all got married. While Tim and Jennifer were dating and Antonio and I were dating there were so many times that we would all be at the house or apartment(they seemed to move around alot) but Jennifer and I never really made a connection. In fact, there would be times that the guys would be gone somewhere and Jennifer would stay in Tim's room and I would be in Antonio's room(I know, how sad.) I thought Jennifer was even a little strange because she LOVED doing laundry. She even told me once if I brought my laundry over she would do it. I never took her up on this even though I wanted to so badly. I can remember when Tim came home one day with Jennifer's engagement ring and showed me and Antonio. Of course, I HAD to try it on and just LOVED it. At the time Antonio and I were not engaged even though I think we had been dating longer. Soon after, Antonio proposed to me. Our weddings were scheduled 3 weeks apart. Anyway, through all of these common happenings in our lives, we still never managed to really "hit it off". However all of that changed this year.

This year in March I started my new job doing pharmaceutical sales. One of the first times (and it may have been the very first time) that my manager rode with me in the field we went to an office for lunch. About 30-45 minutes into lunch, in walks Jennifer. I can remember the feeling I had seeing her. My face lit up with a huge smile at the sight of someone of comfort in such an uncomfortable day.(Let me say I LOVE my manager, but those first few times he rode with me in the field, I was a nervous wreck.) Anyway, I think we both asked the same question..."What are YOU doing here???" And from that moment on, we have never looked back except to ponder WHY we waited this long to become real friends.

Now on to Jenny...Jenny and I knew each other for a few years now because when the big group of friends would get together Jenny and her husband were there too. I can remember Jan 2006 at the Super Bowl Party that Mike and Jenny were there and Jenny was VERY pregnant. I secretly wished that I was pregnant too, but I knew that Antonio and I had decided to wait a few more months.(However the ending to that story is that I got pregnant that month.) Jenny had Mackenzie shortly after that. When Antonio and I started telling people we were pregnant, I can remember getting a card in the mail from Jenny saying Congrats and call me if you need anything. I thought that it was very sweet of her, but I never called her during my pregnancy.

However, this year we somehow got invited to Mackenzie's birthday party and went and loved the party. And then soon after everything with Jennifer happened at the same time. Now Jenny and Jennifer had been best friends long before I ever came into the picture. So, as Jennifer and I started hanging out, Jennifer and Jenny and I started hanging out.

Through the months, our friendships with each other have grown. In the past, I know how hard it has been to be "best" friends with more than one girl that you hang out with all the time. It has always ended in 2 of the friends getting mad at the other or something happening and it not all lasting. I wasn't sure how all of this would go. I figured that they would be BEST friends, and I would be just another friend to them. (I know this is crazy and confusing.) But, I feel that we have all become super close. There has not been a time when I have had a single negative thought about either of these girls. The BEST thing about our valuable friendship is that there is no doubt in my mind that if anything ever did come up that caused friction between any of us I know that I would have no problem going to them to talk it over and I hope Jenny and Jennifer feel the same way. They have been there for me at ANY time that I have needed them. I know that I can discuss ANYTHING with them and there is no judgement on their part. We talk about church, marriage, kids, sex, body image, in-laws, etc. I value their opinions and love hearing another viewpoint on things. We even challenged each other a while back to not say anything negative about ANYONE we know. I think we have done pretty well. These two ladies have also helped me grow as a wife, mother, Christian, and friend in such a short time. Jenny and Jennifer make me feel good about myself and I LOVE the time we spend together.

Although we are all 3 friends, we know that we can't always hang out together because everyone's schedule is different. Jennifer and Tim started going to church with me and Antonio every Sunday. We absolutely LOVE and value our church and I think they do too. In the past few months, we (Tim, Jennifer, Antonio, Tatum, and me)have started meeting Jenny, Mike, and Mackenzie for Sunday lunch after church. I also get to go see Jennifer while she is at work all the time. I even get to take her (and her office) lunch and snacks. On these workdays, I can't wait to get to her office. Jenny and I soon discovered that we share a love of sushi, so for the past few months we have met just about every week(and sometimes twice a week) for sushi. Jennifer has made a sushi lunch with us once, but I am not so sure she LOVES sushi yet.

I have never been what I would call a "girly girl". I have always said that my best friends are guys because they aren't catty. Heck, long before Antonio, Tim(Jennifer's husband) and David L. used to come to my apartment on Wednesday nights to watch Temptation Island back in the day. Of course they made fun of my roomie who they called "Quackie", but we always had a good time. Anyway, over the years, I have had only a few of what I would call "best girl friends" and most of those were from high school. However, now these girls and I are just at different stages in our lives and just don't relate on that same level anymore.

This new found friendship in Jenny and Jennifer was unexpected. However, God knew what he was doing by putting these ladies in my life. I was SO TIRED of going out with "the friends" to a bar and watching everyone drink and drink and drink. It seems like after a while they would grow up and find better things to spend their money on? I told Antonio that I just refused to make that our weekend ritual especially after Tatum was born. These ladies (and their husbands) share this opinion I think on this issue. We now spend our nights together hanging out and having great dinners, great discussions, great laughs, and making great memories.

Another thing that makes our friendship so easy is that our husbands love hanging out as much as us girls. So we can be in a front room talking about girl things, and the guys can be in another room playing games, watching movies, out fishing, or doing whatever else guys do.

I don't know if Jenny, Jennifer, and I will be BEST friends in 10 years, 20 years, or 30 years. If I had my way, OF COURSE we would be. But since none of us are able to predict the future, I would like to take this time to say THANK YOU to these two girls that have made 2007 a wonderful and memorable one. More specifically...

-THANK YOU for never judging me on anything.
-THANK YOU for always giving me sound advice. You two girls don't always tell me what I WANT to hear, but what I NEED to hear in spite of myself.
-THANK YOU for helping me with Tatum's birthday party. You both have no idea how much your time meant to me. Jenny and Jennifer came over several nights before the big event to help with planning, gift bags, shopping, and decorating the night before.
-THANK YOU for helping with that yard sale we had a while back. Jenny, Mike, Jennifer, and Tim came over the night before and the guys hung up rods for racks while us girls put up signs around the neighborhood. We had THE BEST time!!
-THANK YOU for helping at my church for the gift wrapping this year. Every year, my church has a toy giveaway and this year we are planning to give away 2000 presents which all had to be wrapped. Jenny and Jennifer came to help wrap last week. It means so much to me that my friends value the things that are important to me and find them important too.
-THANK YOU for both being so giving of yourselves.
-THANK YOU both for allowing me to truly be myself without feeling like as soon as I walk away one of you is going to make a comment or snicker at me. I have absolutely let my guard down with you two and it is refreshing.
-THANK YOU for letting me be a part of your lives. I may not always know what you are going through(from experience) or have the best advice, but the fact that you guys trust me with things as much as I trust you both means the world.
-THANK YOU for loving Tatum and keeping her overnight from time to time so Antonio and I can have date night(or recover from being deathly sick).

I pray everyday that I am as great of a friend to you both as you are to me. I am sure I am not, but I hope to be.

I know there is so much more I could say and want to say, but I don't want to bore you all too much. So to Jenny and Jennifer I say a simple

THANK YOU FOR BEING YOU!