Our Exotic Beauty -

I've gotta say this .... when I was little, my sister and I, and our friends ... well, we were pretty darned cute. And I'm not really bragging. I'm just stating the facts. We were adorable. We had luscious curly hair that everyone envied and mine just so happened to be red. People in the homeschool group knew our names. They'd pass us at art class and say "Hi___", and we'd be so happy because the most popular person in the homeschool group just said "hi" to me. We knew we were cool because we wore clothes that were ironed and khakis and tennis shoes ... we knew we were cool because our hair was long and long hair was IN.

Paulina was Filipino & tan with brown eyes & brown curls, Kimberly was blue-eyed & tan with brown curls, and I was fair, freckled, with blue eyes and RED curls. Curls were IN. Long hair was IN. and we had BOTH. WE were IN. and boy, did we know it. Not that we were vain, but clearly ... we had curly hair and it was beautiful.

*pause*

But we were victims of fashion. Not of our own doing, like most ridiculous trend-setters of the day, who look back and think "what was I thinkin?", no oh no .... we were victims of our Mothers. *dramatic music* Paulina's mom was Filipino and went through the 70's-90's, and K. and I's mom also went through that era, and oh, how they loved to brush out our gorgeous curls into frizzed pyramids and fans. It was their joy. Sadly, it took us years to realize that this was not in fashion. By then, we had taken years of school pictures and yearbook pictures, and were pulled into the vortex of believing that brushed out curls was the BEST 90's style, and WE WERE IN.

How wrong we were.

BOTH our mothers had straight hair. Stick. straight. hair. Our Daddies had curly hair. Guess who won out on the style arguments? Mhmmm. Only until we hit LATE teen years did we realize the joys of GEL. and MOUSSE. and no, absolutely NO brushing the hair.

I will not even give you a good picture example. It really is too painful to look at. I will instead give you a picture from when we were ADORABLE, haha ... ok, and please look past my face that I decided to scrunch up in the last possible minute to look like a bear. Thank you.

Yes. That was an Easter Egg Hunt in April, 1999. Eleven years ago. :) Do you SEE how impossibly cute we all were? But look ... the start of the frizz. However, this is one of the few pictures that we absolutely all agree that we love, because look.how.cute., except for JM's face, and look. our hair was kind of tame. :)

Paulina and I had breakfast on Saturday morning, and we had to calm ourselves down from the hysterical laughing and wiping tears from our eyes because we were being too loud. And we were in Cracker Barrel. We had been reminiscing .... and that's how this post came about. :) We both pretty much agree that we alternate between blushing and laughing hysterically and shaking our heads, thumbing through our old yearbooks. You have noooo idea.

HahahaHAHAHa .... the good thing is ... we were not alone. We had us 3. Now we can complain and laugh and remind our mothers of how wrong they were .... hahahaha .... ;) However, I want to quote Paulina from Saturday, which had me shouting with laughter: "Popular girls NEVER have curly hair!!!" (or something like that) AHHAHAa!!! She's right. hahaha.....

Okay. So down to the REAL reason for this post. Today. Is Paulina's birthday. :) Her 21st birthday to be exact. She's no longer a tiny adorable thing. Now she's a short beautiful Exotic gorgeous Godly beauty that happens to still be my best friend. Amazing, eh? :)

Case. in. Point. *falls off chair*

*sigh* :D *laugh* I'm not sure what to make of the huge spread of pictures that will go in this post, it sure runs the gamut of differences!! :) hahaha.....

Paulina!! :D It's your 21st birthday!!!! As much as I wanted to storm your house today with flowers and balloons and ice cream cake and drag you off to go ice skating so we could complain about our blisters later, and laugh about how little the ice skating guard was doing ...

I couldn't. Because you were at college. Getting your degree, so that Anna and I have a pediatrician for our children. When we have them. After we are married. To guys ... we haven't ..... met. Yet. *cough* Anyways! You were there, and I was here, practicing lesson after lesson of piano .... and the best I could do was to be distracted by this post all day long.

You're welcome. HAHAaaaHAHAaHahaAHa!! :D

I'm going to post something now. Please don't kill me .... too much.

*EXPLOSIVE LAUGHTER*

See, people, what you don't understand is ... how rare it is to have her NOT smiling at the camera ... to catch a glare and a funny glance, is HYSTERICAL. I would know. So would Emily (on right), because I e-mailed it to her last night!! aaaHAHahAHAHHa ... Paulina can make me laugh in the middle of crying ... she cracks me up sooo much, and I love being around her!! I can't tell you how many times I've been the recipient of the look (top) HAHAahaa ... and watched her dish it out. Good golly, it makes me laugh every time. :D

For my 22nd birthday, Paulina & Peter took me out for lunch, and bowling. :) It was one of the best little birthday celebrations EVER, and I actually beat Paulina in score (crazy). Peter held the doors for me all day long, and they both acted like it made their day to be with me. Please hold while I wipe a happi tear from my eye at that realization. Shniff! :D

In July, Dad and I took Paulina to her first rodeo. She thought it would be boring. She thought the bulls would be tame, and it would all be a show. The bulls were not tame. She shrieked every time a cowboy was bucked. She screamed as they almost got stomped. She clutched my arm and tried covering up her eyes, but ended up peeking through her fingers. She tried covering up her mouth to be quiet. I giggled with joy knowing that she was truly enjoying it. :) We sat there and ate funnel cake and Kettle Corn and Cotton Candy, while the rides swirled behind us, and country music blared. And we got a picture for the memory.

Paulina is a city girl. The rodeo cracked her a little bit. We laughed. We watched. We sighed. And we decided Cowboys were really. really. quite. handsome.

This past spring, Paulina's younger twin brothers graduated from high school. Adam is in Colorado at the Air Force Academy, and Peter is in Tally at college. Contrary to all the teasing and brother/sister rivalry, they are all close, and I know Paulina misses them. :) Right? haha...

Peter isn't really that tall, but look! Paulina has a pink AF shirt!! And yes, she's cute. hahaha!!

So. I guess I got a little carried away with all the stories and laughing and pictures, but I couldn't help it. I could fill a book with all the things that I love about Paulina, and how grateful I am that she has stuck it out with me, and been such a wonderful friend who listens and encourages me, and lets me come over pretty much anytime. If the door is unlocked, I will use "Jean's door" and just walk in and call out "HI!!!" ahhaha ... the Krause family loves me, and I take so much joy in that.

Thank you so much, Paulina .... for being a best friend like few have, for the long years that you have!!! And look .... "we'll turn into our mothers". HAHAA! YAY!!

SO many good memories. So many dreams. Good times, hard times ... we've been friends. God willing, let us always be friends!!! I've loved growing up with you, and can't wait to see what God has for both of us!! :) Happy birthday, dearest, exoticly beautiful friend of mines .... I love being with you, around you and listening to your heart. Thank you.

May God continue to lead you by His never-ending mercies and bottomless grace, and may you realize daily the depth of His love for you, knowing we are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, and are His children forever and ever!! :)

Big big hug, and lots of love and prayers,

~ Jean Marie ~

WE LOVE YOU PAULINA!!!!

(taken earlier this year near Anna's birthday)

***Note: This post has been written with some teasing and although we WERE CUTE when we were little, most of the top part is all in good fun. :) But if you read this blog, you already knew that. :D ***