Friends

I'm probably going to cry, I said to Adam as we drove to church last Sunday. Like, a lot. I just thought you might want to know.

As if that was news to him.

We had been so busy that I hadn't had much time to think about it, but the fact that this was our last time to see Lauren and Andrew started to sink in on our drive.

We've been incredibly blessed to have the Kings only about an hour away from us here in California. There's just something about having them here that will be irreplaceable. Someone who understands what it's like to feel far away, someone to cheer for the Titans with, someone to laugh about old stories and photos with.

Lauren and Andrew both also grew up in Nashville, though we had never met until my sophomore year of college in Alabama. Lauren was that girl who was Katie's friend. And Andrew was Katie's friend's boyfriend that I dreaded running into on campus because I never knew if it was him or his identical twin ... it's always awkward when you're not sure who you are talking to.

Tricky, huh?



I'll spare you all of the stories but many psychology classes, late-night Purple Onion study sessions, and nights of living together in our sorority house later, Lauren became one of my closest friends. As college was wrapping up for both of us, these small thoughts of California were brewing in both of us - she was dying to go to Fuller for her PsyD and there was this boy in my life who lived not too far from there. Ha - what are the odds? We would joke about living in California together and going to yoga class and drinking smoothies everyday ... for the record, I'm doing a little better on the latter half of that.

So last Sunday, we celebrated the last 2.5 years of living life together here in California.


Though we only got to see them a couple of times a month, they have been invaluable in our lives and have walked with us through our engagement/wedding, the first years of marriage, and many life events that have happened in the meantime. They are constantly encouraging of mine and Adam's dreams, they always believe in us, and they've walked with us through the high's and low's of the past few years. We've felt so privileged to know their lives in Pasadena - meeting their friends, seeing Lauren learn and grow through school, and hearing about Andrew's ideas and designs. We're so proud of what they are accomplishing and what lies ahead for each of them.

So, Andrew's currently on the road to NC for architecture school and Lauren will follow in a few days. We're sad to be losing them here but so excited for what's in store as they, too, chase their dreams.

So now that we've checked CA off our list, we talk of raising our kids together one day. Preferably in houses that Andrew will design for us. And preferably next door to each other with architecture/therapy/photography/writing space in between so we can all hang out all day. It sounds crazy but so does moving to California ...

We love you guys and are so excited for this next chapter of your lives to begin.