They say its your birthday...

I know its nearly midnight, which means its almost the 6th...but today is my best friend's birthday! I just really needed to share with the world the awesomeness that is Katie Stephenson. For realz.  So we have known each other since we were freshman in high school (Oh.em.gee, could that have really been half of our life ago?!) and even rocked the freshman volleyball team together :) Go Raiders!  Our senior year God slowly began orchestrating our lives together.  We ended up having 2 classes together.  We should have known then we were destined to be besties.  I mean, we showed up to class one day, and both had decided to get our tragus pierced.

Nursing school started and voila! We "randomly" had every class scheduled together.  It was fate. We were "study" buddies for 4 years.  Studying usually meant eating pizza, cookies, watching trashy TV, and having coffee cake for breakfast in the morning.  Oh yeah, remember that time we replayed that scene from Elf over and over again, so we could record the best part as ringtones for our boyfriends?

I remember praying right before we left your house. 
I just knew God had big things for you.

Somehow we made it though school with our degree and an amazing friendship.  We were in each others' weddings, spent weekends together, and our infamous "ride home from work call" began.  Then on Christmas 2007 our bond became unbreakable when she became my sister in the Lord.  I'll never forget looking over and seeing my friend take communion and realizing she was now my sister.   After Church, I asked her about it...and she was all like "Yeah, so I'm a Christian now".

We made it!

The past 6 years our friendship has become even closer.  We joke that we are the same person and have some crazy similarities (Mom's with the same birthday and birthmarks in the same place!).  We seriously might share the same brain :)

We know how to party...80's style!

I can always count on her to listen.  She speaks biblical truth and wisdom to my sometimes scattered brain.  I got the joy of keeping her oldest baby while she worked for 18 months. I really do miss MK.  We have been on fun adventures together and gone through the valleys too.  Even our sorrows seem to happen the same ways and at the same time.

Ugly Sweater Christmas party.  Remember this one?
We spent the whole party shaking that ice cream ball.

We've been through countless bible studies together and I am SUPER excited about doing another one with her this year.  Even though we are busier now with 2 kiddos each (of course we both had wild girls first and then our sweet boys) we still don't make it a few days without a phone call or text.  I mean, I can't go a whole week without talking to her!

It was soooo cold this night. Did someone get their jacket
stolen from the coat check? I forget

But seriously. My life is so richly blessed because she is in it.  I've never had a friend quite like her and I'm so thankful to be a grown woman with a BFF.

Pre-baby bikinis.  Remember trying to teach me how to dive?
That was fun and embarrassing :)

 I'm glad our daughters are buddies (even if they fight and cry the whole time), our babies are sweeties, and both of our hubbys are amazing.  It really fun to do life together with them.  Now, if only we could move in next door...

Happy Birthday to the best friend a girl could have!

Why did you work EVERY Halloween?