blessings.

These are my best friends.

Juliann, Vanassa, and Emily.

They are the most wonderful women.

I am blessed beyond belief to have them in my life.

I would love to go into detail on all of them - tell you all about the wonderfulness that is each of these women, but there aren't enough words. I hope you all get the chance to know each of them Your lives would be bettered for it.

Rachelle.

I am an only child. Therefore, by definition, I don't have any brothers or sisters. However, somewhere during the past 21 years of my life, the line between "best friend" and "sister" got blurred, and the same woman has filled both of those roles in my life. Her name is Rachelle Dawn Lundy, and she's my favorite person.



Rachelle's mom was my daycare mom (aka second mom) - I spent just as much, if not more, time at the Lundy's house as I did at my own while I was growing up. That whole time, Rachelle was there. We didn't always get along very well - I recall many instances involving screaming fights, hitting each other while pretending to be asleep, hitting each other while very much awake, being made to run after a bike on the way to school, being left at school, and other various sibling-like issues throughout the years. However, I also remember so many wonderful games, shared secrets, giggles, and moments of true friendship. And yes, we may have been friends by parental influence as children, but the bond that exists between us now is very real and very voluntary, and the love of the best of friends and sisters.

Rachelle has been there for every single significant event of my life. She has been there supporting and loving me through all of it - a constant figure, even in the midst of absolute confusion and chaos. When a mutual friend died in a car accident during high school, Shell was there to comfort. When I got into Westmont, Shell was there to celebrate. When I was frustrated with life, Shell was there to drive around with and listen and give much-needed advice. When I moved to California, her consistent emails, phone calls, and letters were my lifeline. She is a pillar of consistency in my life, and I love her for that.

However, there is so much more that I love about Rachelle. Her giggle, her genuine care for those surrounding her, and the fact that she thinks I'm really funny are just a few of her wonderful qualities. She is intelligent, insightful, and honest. She is perceptive and says the right thing at exactly the right moment. She remembers important things and asks about them at just the right moment. She takes a genuine interest in those around her. She's one of the sweetest people alive, but in a very real way, not in an annoying way. She is strong and independent and has the whole world at her feet. She's going to do great things and change the lives of so many, and I am so honored to know that I am going to be there for all of it.

She is my constant support, the consistent presence in my life, my best friend in the whole world, my sister.

God blessed me beyond belief when he caused our lives to intersect.

Berlin.

One year ago today, I was in Berlin.

This is crazy for multiple reasons. First of all, because Berlin is really far away. Like, on the other side of the world Far Away. Second of all, this is crazy to me because I am having such a hard time believing that it has already been a year since I was there. A year ago I was halfway through my European semester. It was probably the best semester of my life, and it's already been almost a year since it ended. Crazy.

Anyway, since Berlin was one of my very favorite of the 17 cities I visited in Europe, I thought I would post a few pictures in its honor.


Me with part of the Berlin Wall.



Weird artwork in the middle of Berlin.


Ryan looking out over the Memorial to the Murdered Jews.


Mikey, Ryan and I at the Brandenberg Gate.



Janelle and I at the Berlin Zoo - far away from home!

Colorado.

The fam in the mountains.


fall in Colorado. There's really nothing better.


Mt. Evans...absolutely stunning.

autumn.

There is this place. It is comfortable and warm and completely safe. Tucked back into the corner, surrounded by pillows, pushed up next to the window - here I am content. The evening autumn sun is angled in, throwing its perfect golden rays across my lap and just touching the corner of my eye. The leaves outside are shining a radiant red, reminding me of the fact that my heart belongs here, tempting me to throw in the towel on the whole California adventure and return to my roots. The mountains are glittering; the last few rays of the sun make the freshly fallen snow sparkle and shimmer underneath snow-dusted pines of the deepest green.

The cat purrs at my feet, warming me more effectively than any conventional pair of slippers could. My parents are here, watching TV, talking about nothing and everything all at the same time. Even though I'm not engaging them in conversation, I can feel their joy at my simple presence in the room. The smell of dinner lingers on and the thought of cookies and tea is edging in to the back of my mind.

I love it here. This place is home. The snow and leaves and bright blue sky are the most beautiful sights in the world. Maybe I won't always live here, and maybe my address won't always end with '80127', but this place will always, always hold my heart and be my home.

Allyson.

There are people in your life who just really...matter. You know what I mean? Those people that are shaping the person you are becoming, that change the course of your life simply by their very existence. And it's not to say that everyone doesn't matter, because everyone does. But in my life, not everyone matters.

But I have been blessed with a number of those special people. Some old friends, some new. Maybe I'll tell you about some of them sometime. But today I am going to tell you about the newest special person in my life. Her name is Allyson Arendsee. She promised to blog about me and then didn't, but I'm going to blog about her right now.


This is me and Allyson at the Robot Food dance at school. Probably not the most flattering picture, but I think it captures us pretty well. She's pretty.

Allyson is an amazing woman. She's smart and funny and pretty and wonderful. She is beautiful, inside and out (could I be any more cliche?!?) But her humor and intelligence and beauty are not the things that I love most about her. What I love most about Allyson is that she is so uniquely...her. She is sarcastic and silly and spastic and sincere all at the same time, and she is real. She listens when I talk to her. She tells me how her day really was, not that it was "good" or "fine" or "okay". She has a loud laugh that comes from the deep down source of joy within her, and when she thinks something is funny, there is no question. She loves sweaters. She has the most beautiful voice, but she isn't afraid to sing like a complete dork to Cher in the backseat on the way back from LA. She isn't concerned with hiding herself in order to please those around her, but rather puts herself out in the open from the beginning. She has brightened my life in a way that few before her have, and few after her will. She understands me in an almost creepy kind of way. She makes me smile and she's willing to cry with me, and I feel like she is a soul sister sent to me at the most essential moment.

Allyson Arendsee is the kind of woman that men dream of, mothers-in-law adore, parents boast about, and friends can only wish to have.

She is an absolute blessing.