a dream is a wish

so, I have this friend named natalie.  most times I call her my best friend.  my bff.
I could never tell you how much I love her.  It would seem silly to even try.  I love her with my guts.
we've been together since L.A. looks hair gel and high school.  sometimes when I'd spend the night at her house on sandy creek road I'd wake up to the smell of her strawberry shortcake baking in the oven.
we used to name our babies.  we used to hope at least some of our children would have a different skin color than our own.
we've been through a lot together in our relatively short lives. death. divorce. grief. love. birth. good haircuts and bad.
we used to dream of being missionaries and living far from home...so other people could see Jesus and know him better. or know him at all, really.
but, I don't think either of us understood what living far away from each other would look like.  of course it is worth the sacrifice. but, sometimes it is just sad.  
at this point in our lives I am a missionary that lives on the border of Tejas and Mexico.  She is a missionary that lives in birmingham, england.  It is really miraculous to see God's faithfulness and where he has taken us.  so, whenever we do get to spend time together we soak up each moment. take 1.5 zillion pictures. and kiss each other's babies too many times.
the last week of may the dockerys had the great great honor of visiting the bradens in england.  it was a dream to see natalie, her husband robert, and their baby benjamin at home. it was a dream to attend canvas, their ministry to university students.  the whole trip...incredibly dreamy.
I think my top favorite moments of our england days are : taking benjamin and eden to the park by myself (charlotte was napping), sneaking by the free samples of brie cheese twice at the grocery store with nat, and waking up with benjamin the morning he turned one.

here's to a friendship and a love that bears all things, believes all things, and hopes and endures all things.
and here's to putting our kids in the tub together because we can.