My Dearest Siblings

The thermometer in my house says it's 64 degrees inside! It is a glorious day (I get to wear socks!). I think I appreciate it all the more since it felt like it was 100 degrees yesterday and very humid. If one gets the impression that I'm obsessed with the weather, one would be correct.

A question for the veteran bloggers: Is my web address supposed to be the same as my blog title?

We had another missionary family over for supper last night (they are in town for just a few days). Besides the fact that they are a neat family altogether it was really fun to watch the siblings interact and laugh together (4 out of their 5 children are still at home and in their teenage years). It brought back so many memories of "the good ol' days" at home when we would really drive mom crazy with our daily shenanigan's. There is just something about tormenting mom together that makes siblings grow closer:-) I have to say that those who are critical of my family and my parent's decision to have lots of kiddos obviously have no idea what they missed by not being in a large family.* There is not much I enjoy more than sitting around with my brothers and sisters to talk, goof off and reminisce of how life was 15 years ago. They love making fun of me, and honestly, I love being made fun of by them (is that warped or what?). Being made fun of is such a huge part of me that since they're not here I have a tendency to make fun of myself but I think it's giving others the impression that I have self-esteem issues (except for Kim of course, who will gladly join in and even find new things about me to make fun of. What would I do without her?) But honestly, I am extremely grateful that my folks did the unpopular thing and were willing to sacrifice in some areas so that we could welcome more children than America's average 1.8 into our home. My siblings are my dearest friends...they understand me (and understand why I am the way I am) in ways that others can't. They teach me and challenge me in ways that many others do not. We can spend two years apart and yet catch right back up to where we left off. When I still lived at home there was always somebody to play with (or make fun of). If somebody outside of the family hurt me, I had several younger siblings on my side. Now that my sister Stacey and I are married and having children there is nothing that compares with learning motherhood together (I love watching Stacey with her little boy or with my other nephew or with Karis...it reminds me so much of how she was with the little ones in our home when they were...well, little!) And of course this is one of the hardest things about living overseas, being far away from family. But I have so much that I am thankful for. Only 30 years ago it was practically impossible to talk with loved ones over the telephone! Letters took weeks to arrive, if they arrived at all. Visiting home more than once every 5 or 6 years was out of the question. Today we have so much technology that makes keeping in touch easy. Not to mention we have eternity to spend together, as this life will pass away before we know it. Thanks mom/dad for giving me 8 wonderful friends for life!

The girls catching butterflies last night.

*I realize that not everyone who grew up in a large family has had a great experience but I think for those individuals it wasn't the size of the family so much as it was issues in the home that needed to be addressed and were not. For example, the older children were overworked because parents didn't take the time to train the younger ones, who were allowed to get away with murder while the older siblings were forced to carry a majority of the responsibility.