Sister Saturday: A Birthday Tribute

Today I want to celebrate and honor my dear friend, Rhesa, on her birthday. Rhesa and I met at Belmont almost 25 years ago (Is that right? Oh my gosh, YES!). She has become a sister-friend to me over these years, so that's why it's only fitting that I devote a Sister Saturday post to her!

Rhesa and I have experienced a lot together during our friendship. We had lots of fun times with our group of friends in college, eating in the cafeteria, going to movies, staying up late talking, taking "Dead Day" trips to my uncle's house in Memphis to study for finals by the pool.

We were bridesmaids in each others' weddings, but I couldn't put my hands on pictures to show. You'll just have to imagine the teal taffeta dress that Rhesa had to wear in my wedding and the floral-print Laura Ashley dress that I wore in hers (I had the better end of that deal).

Rhesa also walked with me through my divorce. She drove two hours one-way to spend the day with me, loving on me, along with Leanne and Doug, when things were still very fresh, and spent many hours talking on the phone and praying for me throughout that whole experience. She has always had a knack for calming me down and helping me to find peace in difficult situations, which is one of the reasons I am so thankful for her friendship!

Here are a few pictures I found that give you an idea of some of the fun we've had through the years.

 Here we are at Belmont in the "Big Hair 80s"

The lucky dude in the middle is our brother-friend, Michael Dean.

I wish you could see our faces better, but the car is part of the story.

One time when Daniel was almost two and Rhesa's firstborn was a baby,

I rented a car to drive to visit Rhesa in Knoxville. The rental car agency gave

me an upgrade . . . to a Chrysler Sebring convertible! Driving on the interstate

with a toddler wasn't really the setting for putting the top down, so one night

Rhesa's husband stayed home with the kids while "us girls" went out for a drive in the convertible.

You know where these young mommies went?

Target!

 

 Rhesa has two sweet sister daughters of her own.

Here she's at the lake with Rebekah (center) and Rachel (right).
Daniel and I got to take several trips to visit Rhesa and her family in
Somerset, KY, when they lived there, and we'd go out on
the lake in their boat and spend some fun time swimming and snacking!

We have another Sister-Friend, Leanne (left).

The three of us have stayed close and I treasure

them as my dear friends!

I can't wait to see what other adventures we find ourselves in during the next 25-plus years!
Happy Birthday, Rhesa!