happy*BIRTHDAY*dd!

as some of you know, my sister celebrated her birthday yesterday!!! it seems that as we get older, the hype around birthdays dwindles and it just feels like another day... at least the last few birthdays of mine have seemed to just pass by... no trips to mcdonalds for a birthday cake - no going to the skating rink and skating until your hair is wet. not that we WANT that type of celebration, but it's just not the same!

so, i'd like to fill you in on what it's like to have a sister that you dearly love! from the get go i can remember just being in awe of my sister. seriously. if you have ever seen pictures of us when we were young you would know why. she was the prettiest thing you have ever seen! her hair was this beautiful blonde color and mom would curl it sometimes (with sponge curlers that you had to sleep in!) and it would look just perfect. i can remember begging her over and over again if i could just come and sleep in her room on the FLOOR! (now, why would i want to do that when i had a perfectly good bed in my own bedroom???) she was just that cool to me - OH, remember the fun tea parties on the back porch on Meadowlawn? That was fun - was it ok to just wear underwear outside then?

i can remember sharing clothes - and in all we didn't have that many fights about them! i remember styling our hair (especially our BANGS) in that bathroom on Greenwood Drive every morning before school. i remember how we came up with the cool idea to lace a ribbon in the knee hole of one of our favorite pairs of jeans - and of course the ribbon would match our outfit!!! i remember going to numerous basketball games and never once (well, once, when i was sick with strep) did i NOT want to be there. she was good, i tell you, good!!! i remember saying goodbye when she went to college and being so sad because she wasn't going to be around anymore and i knew things would change...

well, little did she know that baby sister was going to follow her to college!!! ha! you know, now that i think about it, i bet that wasn't so cool - to have me follow her there. never ONCE did she show me or tell me that it was silly for me to do that. she welcomed me and even talked me in to rushing the same sorority. all this even while she was still on campus. now, how many sisters do you know, 2 years apart, that would welcome that??? well, she did...

and to this day, there is no one that i would rather have for a next door neighbor. she does love me (and now my kids) unconditionally. she is the sister that all girls would like to have. she loves largely and lately, she has become more "cool" as she strives to be the mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend that god wants her to be. we were raised in church and we do have a solid biblical background; however, there comes a time when you learn to truly listen to god. that ladies, is what it is all about.

so, sister of mine... i love you dearly... and i am so glad that you were born... in our family... first.

ps. that picture is not of us, but it's pretty cute, eh?