Kara's Baby Shower

Sometimes a person is blessed enough to have had a friend for their whole life. My life-long friend is Kara. Our mom's were pregnant with us together. In fact, Kara's mom announced her pregnancy at my mom's baby shower for me! We were in Cradle Roll together and we like two peas in a pod for many years. Here's some of the earliest photos of us... I'm the one with glasses! This is in my backyard when we were about 3.

We took gymnastics together at the Y when we were about 4.
This event always cracks me up. It was no secret to anyone at church that I was a bit of a stinker and definitely on the louder side of life. And it was also not a secret that Kara was the calm one and rarely misbehaved. So one Halloween - I think we were 3 - I was an angel and Kara was a witch! The irony is hilarious!
Flash forward 14 years... to our junior year of high school. We were still friends in elementary and jr. high, but there are very limited photos and none at my house. We both made the show choir our junior year and we were both altos, so we got even closer doing all our singing and dancing. This is when we got our letter jackets and were about to sing the National Anthem at a boys basketball game.
And here we are before our senior year Homecoming carnival - LOVE the sequins!!!
In 2000, Kara was my Matron of Honor...
In 2003ish, Kara moved to sunny California. We did not see each other very often, but when she came home we always had a dinner date. She came home when the boys were born and got to go into the NICU to see them. This is Kara meeting Rylan...

She also came home over the boys first BD weekend, so she came to the party! Kara, Jacob, Rylan, me

In about 2009, Kara moved back home and had a wonderful boyfriend, Tommy. I'd been hearing about him for a while and he was such a great guy. So kind and funny - a perfect match for my dear friend. In October 2010, they were married in a small ceremony in CA and made their home here. We get to chat most Sundays and it has been fun to have her close. Well, last spring, she came up to me one Sunday morning and said, "I got a new truck." I said something about that being great. Then she said, "Yeah, we got an extended cab so that it will hold a car seat." Brain reeling...is Kara really pregnant. I said, "Are you trying to tell me something???" YES!!!!!! Kara was finally pregnant!!! Since we were in a crowded area, I could not scream, but I sure was happy!

Time finally came for us to have Kara's church shower and here it is!

Heather made the super cute banner! The nursery is navy and hot pink, so we had a blast decorating!

Inside in glass dome is a pair of Macy's baby shoes!

Carolyn, Kara and Krysta
The hostesses: me, Debbie, Kara, Amy, Heather, Deena and Marceil
One of many photos together! I don't think I have one of us when I was PG since she was in CA and let's face it, I really only showed for 3 months!

This photo is really special because all the people in it were at Kara's baby shower in 1977. These ladies have helped to shape both of our lives and spiritual development. Margaret, me, Carolyn, Kara, Sylvia, Marceil, Olene and Betty