Sabrina Nohling Photography

Warning: this will be a very mushy post.

I can’t believe today marks the 1 year anniversary of living with two of my best friends. We embarked on this adventure 365 days ago and I cannot even believe the year we have had. The weeks leading up to moving out, I was very emotional. I had always lived under my parents roof and I am never very good with change. But the second I moved in, I didn’t cry about the transition again and it was amazing.

There aren’t words to put what these girls mean to me. They are my team, the sisters I’ve never had, my support system and my best friends. We dubbed our house to be our Safe Haven. A place where we could get away, find peace, and find comfort in the midst of crazy lives. I can say that it became that for us. These girls see the sides of me that not many see. The not so pretty, bed head, times when I am just crabby. The me who drinks all of their kombucha or leaves the bathroom a mess and laundry in the basement. And yet they give me grace and still continue to love me which is a beautiful thing.

In our first year we have had the good times. The nights FULL of laughter. The kind of laughter that makes your stomach hurt, the kind when you fall off the couch from laughing so hard and when tears are streaming down your face. We are always laughing.

They learned that I am the definition of a hot mess. Like when I smoke up the kitchen, hit the house with my car, fall down the stairs, pop a tire, and spill everywhere. We learned that in these moments, I am the wreck, Cait laughs at the ridiculousness of the situation, and Lauren saves the day EVERY TIME.

We watched our other best friend marry the love of her life and stood up next to them as they pledged forever. Then we celebrated and it was a day we will never forget.

They were there from the very first days of my love story. They would help me write texts to Josh in the early days and analyze every word he wrote to me. They talked down my nerves on my first date with him and saw me starry eyed after that first kiss. They are still there now helping me navigate the newness of having a relationship that I prayed hard for so long.

Then there have been the hard times, the times I didn’t even expect in the first year. God knew though and I am so thankful I don’t have to go through alone. They were there when I left my job and would come home crying because it was so difficult to leave and even months after to deal with it. They were there when I had to give my beloved dog back up for adoption and I couldn’t bring myself to bring her back. They were there for me when I was just plain emotional and needed a cry (which happens quite often). We were there for each other in health problems, family hurts, and growing times.

We bonded over house problems. Like the flood of 2015, the mice problem, or that time we didn’t have a working shower for 3 weeks. We have also had our share of “interesting” neighbors too which keep our lives entertained.

We fight for each other in the battles, hold each other in hard times, and laugh and dance through the happy moments. I am SO thankful for the journey we have been on and I cannot wait to see the memories that will be created over our next year together! Here are some of our favorite moments over the year!

Photo cred: Kenzie Kate!

Photo cred: Kenzie Kate!

Photo cred: Morgan Judge!