For Someone's special day!

Today is a very special day for a very special someone. It is the 23rd birthday of my dear friend, Whitney Dotson! Happy 23rd birthday, darling one! I am pretty sure you will be close to killing me for putting this (below) picture of you up, so not only did I collaborate with your mother and your sister to get pictures from them and get your mother's permission, I also got a promise of protection from your mother, if you should attempt to kill me after a loving post. HA! She personally wanted this one, saying it is one of her favorites of you as a baby, that you were being a naughty little baby by not keeping your shirt on. Haha. So, my dear - a birthday post for you.

For those of you who have not heard me talk of "my friend Whitney D. in Tennessee", then I will give you a crash information overload in 5 minutes. :D Whitney and I met on a discussion board for our online college - Whitefield College. I had questions, as I was just starting my courses, and she was answering them for me, just as another student. However, I believe, we got off track from courses...haha. We got on the topics of Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, Jane Austen, being old-fashioned, romantic, and desiring to be Godly women, both honorable daughters as well as honorable young women before young men. And the comment line went on into the hundred, and we realized we'd better exchange e-mails before all of Whitefield's students learned all of our little secrets. :D

So, we did, we started e-mailing, and in October of 2006, met for the first time in TN at my aunt's cottage on the Little Pigeon River. I burst out of the house, and screamed in delight - "Whitney!!!", and rushed to hug my dear friend...I remember hugging her so hard and long. :D Then I met the rest of the family, but could not believe that we were meeting them! I was excited, to put it mildly. You can imagine. Our families hit it off right away, and since then we've seen them about, um, 4 or 5 times? I cannot wait for the next time we get to see them! They are very dear people to us, and I treasure my friendship with Whitney. I never thought that an online college would bring me two very best friends in Whitney D., and in Sarah Magee, and then, a third, with Whitney's younger sister - Ashley. God has indeed blessed me so very much.


Here is baby Whitney...

And here is gorgeously-grown-up Whitney, 22 years old, at the time.

A romantic and Godly beauty, in the heart, and mind, and spirit, and in appearance as well! :)
Here are pictures from one of our meetings at Cracker Barrel in August of 2007. Unfortunately, it was just my mother in TN, and Kim was sorely missed from "The Foursome"...you see, we are the Little Women. I am Jo, Ashley is Amy, Kimberly is Meg, and Whitney is Beth....however, some sort of argument seems to ensue that Whitney is also Jo, and that Ashley is Anne, not Amy, and that of course, I am Anne too! Anyway. That's how it is. :D
We must be looking at a different camera. LtoR: Whitney, JM, and Ashley.

And we end up laughing at something, which does not surprise me in the least bit, I laugh so much when I am with the Dotson family, they laugh often, easily, and joyfully. I love them. :D

We are attempting to play checkers, which we quickly gave up to look all beautiful by posing like lady aristocrats. Turned out quite well, don't you think? :D

So, my dear Whitney, my dearest Jo, may you have a very wonderful 23rd birthday. You are an encourager to my fainting heart when I am in despair, you share your heart with me, give your love out like I was moving tomorrow, laugh at me and with me, exhort me to higher greatness, listen without complaining, and pray for my Prince as I pray for yours. You are like a sweet half- sister to me. I love you so very much, and thank you for your Godly love and care to me!

With joy on your birthday!
~ Jean Marie
(Your RED)