Siblings

I have an amazing family. My husband is wonderful, my two kids are the sweetest, smartest, cutest, fun-nest kids I can imagine. We have a great place to live, and we get to be near quite a bit of our family and still have our little farm, our handsome dog, our dumb but useful and fun chickens, our smart but silly goats....

(Darn picnic-table-loving goats! But they're hilarious...hours of entertainment!)

But today I want to write mostly about my sister. Why? Probably because I got to see her yesterday, as we're trying out this great new thing called Getting Together Every Month So Help Me God. Or, you know, "sistafriend dates." Whatever. Anyway. I'm thinking of her a lot today.

Sometimes, I wish we (Ben and I) could have a larger family. I worry about the future, because I have two siblings, and if I didn't have my baby sister, I don't know where I'd be but I know it would be a huge void in my life. I wish I didn't have diabetes (well, DUH!) or at least that it wasn't so hard to be diabetic and pregnant/nursing/having tiny kids. I wish the world wasn't so overpopulated that it feels kinda indulgent and selfish to even have two kids. I wish there weren't so many natural and man-made disasters that make it feel so scary to have tiny kids sometimes. I wish my kids could have lots of strong, close-knit sibling relationships to help see them through life, and especially whenever I can't be there for them. I wish I didn't require sleep. (That last one? THAT'S the superpower I'd ask for. Just in case you're wondering what to get me for Christmas.)

But anyway...then I remember I have that baby sister. And therefore, my boys actually have two cousins named Charlie and Andy who can be those extra "siblings" for them, should they need that. And....maybe someday...said sister could even have ANOTHER baby for us to all snuggle and love on....

Having a baby sister who's grown up into a wonderful friend, mother to her children, and allo-mother (aka AUNT) to my kids? It's pretty awesome.

(My mother? Also pretty awesome. But that's a whole 'nother post...or, you know, book.)

Having a sister who lets you come to the birth party when your second nephew is born? Also awesome. Here's me getting to hold my hours-old nephew while my two boys and my other nephew surround us with love...and chaos...as usual. It was amazing and perfect to get to be there:


And, unfortunately, I don't seem to have a picture of my sister with Nathan in the Ergo. She has always been my kids' personal Baby Whisperer, getting them to sleep by the sheer force of her presence. (And, apparently, Phil Collins songs. So she tells me.) Another reason it's awesome to have an Uncle Sandra.

And just in case you're curious...no, I do not need any special favors from my sister. I did not do anything for which I need to beg her abject forgiveness. We did not fight. We are just awesome sisters and I thought I'd share with you how thankful I am that she is. That is all.

I hope my boys have that same feeling of thankfulness and care for each other as they grow. So far, so good!

("I got your back, bro. Nobody can defeat us with this awesome snow-proof armor we just found in the hall closet.")

("I'll scratch your back if you....act as my primary locomotion?")

(Zombie Apocalypse Togetherness, check. )

(Okay, I never let Nathan watch TV but this was too cute not to take a picture of before I broke up the party.)

(No words for this level of sweetness.)

Have a great rest of the weekend! See you tomorrow~