an overflow of reflection.

i had a dream last night.

in this dream, i walked into a room and i saw my friend feleicia.

feleicia is on an lds mission right now, so i was very confused as to why she was here.

she told me that she came back early because she wanted to

catch up and talk and see how i was doing.

as we began our conversation, in walked two more of my friends, shandi and stephanie.

they are on missions as well, so i was shocked!

they said that they were given permission to take a break from their missions

because they wanted to come see me too.

i told them about my wedding and how i couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. 

i showed them pictures and said over and over how i wish they could have been there.

i talked about moving to alabama and how scared i was, but what a
rewarding experience it ended up being.

i told them how much i miss them and that we needed to have a girls' night soon!

and then i woke up.

sometimes there are dreams that you wake up from and you don't think twice about.

it's easy to forget about them and move on with your day.

this wasn't one of those dreams.

i woke up feeling almost sad over how much i miss my friends.

not just feleicia, shandi, and stephanie, but lacey, emily, kaitlyn,

jena, amie, and alyssa too.

this isn't meant to be a "woe-is-me" kind of post.

i do miss them a lot, but i am here to tell you why i miss them really.

these are some of the most incredible girls you could ever meet in your life.

i have known these 9 girls since i was 11 or 12 years old.

we have been stuck together like glue since.

sure, we have had our fair share of drama.

what group of girls hasn't?

but i can't begin to tell you all the memories i have of decorating each other's

lockers after school for a birthday.

or going to pollies brainfreeze and staying for hours talking and laughing.

or all the basketball/football games we've been to together.

or trying to watch a movie, but ending up talking the entire time instead.

or going to california for spring break and still wondering how we made it back alive.

these girls are a huge part of my history, of my life.

it hit me harder than ever this morning, how much they really mean to me.

we have graduated junior high, high school, and college together and i have

seen them go on to do great things.

4 of these 9 girls are currently going to school to receive their bachelor's.

i know a lot of women who stop after they get their associate's.

sometimes even before then!

they are smart and motivated and will be a great asset in their career someday.

the other 5, are currently serving lds missions.

nobody is forcing them to do this.

they made this choice and a righteous one at that.

i am grateful for their examples in wanting to spread the gospel to the world.

my point in sharing all of this, is to tell you how deeply humbled i am to have been

blessed with such wonderful people in my life.

elder jeffery r. holland said in a talk once, "...not all angels are from the other
side of the veil. some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day."

these girls have been angels in my life.

i firmly believe that we were meant to be friends for a reason and there is a
purpose in us in being close for this long.

i am grateful for each one of them and the impact that they have had on me.

i can't say that my dream was sent from God as an inspiring message to help me realize 

how blessed i am, because i also had a dream that zachary and i rode horses to
salt lake city...certainly not your idea of something that is heaven sent.

whatever the source though, whether it be God or randomly firing neurons, i do feel His

love each and every day to having been given the angels in my life that i call friends.

   

-the wife