Day 89: Siblings

I'm grateful for my siblings.  I'm the oldest but I'm the only girl so that means that sometimes I get treated as the youngest.  :)  I really love my brothers, I'm 22 months older than the middle and 7 years older than the youngest.  I have some good memories of our times together as kids, and some not so good memories but isn't that part of being in a family?  When I was four and Paul (the middle kid who doesn't have that pesky "middle child" syndrome at all) was two I taught him how to read.  When I was 7 and Bradley (the youngest) was a newborn and crying in his swing I was his biggest defender.  Paul, Brad, and I are very different and yet we share some strong similarities.  We all share a weird love for spreadsheets (we can "blame" my Dad for that), we all love music - different styles perhaps but music plays a big part in each of our lives, we all read - some of us read faster than others but we can "blame" my Mom for the reading bug, and I believe despite all of our differences we love each other deeply.  When I gave birth to the oldest redhead both boys were there at the hospital and entertained all of us during my labor.  They changed diapers and hung out with their nieces long before they had children of their own.  We've had hard moments, fights, laughs, and good moments.  We've been blessed to share important moments together throughout our adult years because of the generosity of my parents.
And I would be remiss if I didn't add in a sibling of mine that came to me by way of Paul (the middle kid). He started dating a lovely girl named Rebecca in 1998 and I am blessed and extremely grateful to call her my seester today.  Yes, she is my sister-in-law but really she is my sister-in-love.  We have also walked through good and bad moments together.  She has been a part of my life and heart and our family for 15.5 years. I'm so grateful to have her as a sister.  I love her just as much as I love the boys.  Bradley, the youngest, is going to add to our family in 2014 with his marriage to Adele and I'm thrilled to gain another seester.
My heart is full with gratefulness for my siblings.

The Boys and I - 2010

Rebecca and I cooking - 2011