"Hey, there's a deer coming today!"

I'm admittedly socially awkward. The problem is, I don't really know what it is that I do to be socially awkward until afterwards ... and then I'm like ... "Ryn, you're such a freak." Such was the case on one random day in third grade when a skinny little blonde haired girl transferred into my classroom. Now, to preface, there was a lady coming that day to share a baby deer that she was nursing back to health. She did this with lots of animals, she didn't just have a random deer that she had snatched up out of nowhere. That would be weird. When Mrs. Parton sat the new girl in front of me, of course the most natural thing for me to do would be to say, "HEY! There's a deer coming today!" As if she wasn't already terrified enough by the presence of a brand new school and all new faces, now she had to face a wild animal... day one. Bless her. Little did we know at the time that my random and ridiculous attempt at a conversation starter would spark a friendship that would last a lifetime.

From that day forward we were inseparable. Spend-the-nights every weekend. VBS almost every week all summer long. Beech trips. Birmingham shopping trips. Trips to market with her sweet mama. We did almost everything together and had the BEST time.

Her sweet family became my second family. Her mom and dad have always been so loving and supportive and I have loved having them as family! Her sisters, Marybeth & Kadileigh, were always so much fun. I remember going to their house for the first time and writing letters to Marybeth and putting them in her hello kitty mailbox. I though it was so cool that they had their own mailboxes. I'm not so fond of mailboxes now, for obvious reasons. I wish they still had the same implications. Swimming at Grandmother and Pappy's house was always SO much fun. I remember "laying out" (yes, I realize I'm a red head ... shhh) and getting FRIED the day before school got out and laughed at the whole last day of school for resembling a tomato. My bad. I figured freckles multiplied.

Through the years, that sweet family and exhibited so much to me that they don't even realize. They shower a Godly love over every person they meet. They are the most accepting and loving family and are so close knit no matter what happens. It has certainly been such a pleasure knowing them. Chase, Jana's husband, is the absolute best guy I could've chosen for her. They are so perfect for each other and have the most PRECIOUS angel girls in the world.

I think the thing I'm most thankful about is that no matter how much time goes by or space there is between us, Jana and I can pick up in conversation like we never skipped a beat. Thanks for being a forever friend and for loving me even though I'm terrible at starting conversations! :) I thank God for you and your sweet family!