Fearsome Foursome

Thinking back, I am pretty sure Lauren came up with our name. She would have been the one to come up with it...where it came from - I don't know. Maybe it was because it sounded tough - we were only 17.

I met JoAnna first, in third grade - what that made us 8? She was skinny, had a long black pony tail and was really pretty. She was also popular. Every 3rd grade boy who was something wanted to love JoAnna. Beyond being stunning in the 3rd grade, she was nice. She wanted to be my friend and didn't care who or what I was. I still love her for that. Many people don't get to say they met their best friend at 8. The memories I have with JoAnna - spending each last day of school together, watching too many backyard softball pitching practices, family vacations to the lake, birthday parties, TV commercials, sex ed posters, church camps, Marc Ota and Mike Gehrke, dreaming, scheming, living and loving - span years and still continue to this day. 20 years later, now wives and mothers...my relationship with JoAnna is beyond special. Watching her live the dreams we shared at 8, 10, 15, 20 is an indescribable joy.

Next came Lauren. It was 6th grade. We were 12. I didn't know who she was I just heard she loved to sing, as did I. People used to confuse us - our last names too similar, our hair color dark brown and our birthday 4 days apart. I can't pin point the exact moment I met her - infact it may have been in Mr. Wendt's music class at Sunrise Elementary but all I can tell you is that our first meeting doesn't matter. Lauren and I are soul mates. The type of soul mates where time doesn't have limitations, we can fight and make up, share the most intimate of secrets and love too hard. The type of soul mates who have shared trouble, shared ridicule, shared laughs, shared boyfriends and shared heartache. Lauren introduced me to my first love and many years later, my husband. She is kind, beautiful, generous and loyal. Lauren has a spectacular future ahead of her - one God has laid out so perfectly she can't begin to imagine what is in store. Like I said, soul mates don't see time. She will be with me forever.

Last but most certainly not least came Erin. She is a stunning bombshell. Yes - a blonde beauty straight out of the pages of Vogue. I remember seeing Erin walk the halls of Evergreen Junior High and being so jealous. Jealous of her beauty, her popularity, and her confidence. Little did I know how our paths would intertwine and finally join to the road we are on now. It was 3 years after we first met in the halls of Junior High School when we would we able to forgive, see the invaluable qualities of each other and vow to be besties for ever. I love Erin because I know she has my back. At the drop of a hat she would fight for me (literally). Without fail she knows the right words to say to make me feel better after someone hurts my feelings, offends me or makes me feel less than I should. She is my biggest fan. My Erin is loyal. She is fashion and fun. It is not a party if Erin isn't there. Most important to me - Erin inspires me to be a better wife. She loves her husband more than words and cherishes her marriage. We would not be complete with out Erin. Her piece of our puzzle is big, loud, proud and beautiful.

17, on our way to high school graduation practice jamming out to 112 (Peaches and Cream - how inappropriate BTW), we became the Fearsome Foursome. Celebrating each stage life has handed us the last 10 years. Getting together once a week-ish so we may never forget what we have.

Lauren didn't really know what the name, Fearsome Foursome, would come to mean. It means: forever, calm, love, trust, fun, beauty, loyalty, secrets, release, time, family. These three women are my family. There is not one moment of any day I am not thanking God for them. I most certainly would not be Ashley without them. They are a deep part of me that only grows deeper with time.

To many more memories and life celebrations. To the Fearsome Foursome.

I will love my forever friends till death.