Siblings

I LOVE MY FAMILY. I cannot get enough of them. I really love being around them and it is so hard to leave when it comes time to part. I'm lucky to live very near my sisters and we get together often but I only see my brothers maybe once a year. My siblings are beautiful, smart, funny and talented in many ways. I am so thankful to have been raised in such an incredible family with incredible parents and incredible siblings. I have had the opportunity to get to know my siblings very closely at different times of my life and feel really close to each one. Shimayne (my oldest sister on the left) and I have been close my whole life. She was very excited to get a sister after two boys. Now we live 5 minutes from each other and get together most weeks for FHE or playing games. I love her so much. She is so talented in music, singing and playing the piano. She is incredible with my children and they love her so much. Chris, 2nd from left, lives in Minnesota and is a urologist. We were never really close growing up, nor were we close after he got off his mission, but once he met his wife Lisa, and she and I got along really well, did we start to get close. After he was married and graduated from USU, he moved to SLC to go to the U for medical school. I lived in SLC at the time going to LDS Business College and had the opportunity to go over to their apartment a lot to hang out and babysit and I LOVED it. He is so smart. He is a great speaker and I love hearing him talk and tell stories. He is a lot like my Uncle Ron who is one of the most amazing men I know. I miss having Chris and his family live near by. Donovan, middle, of course lives in Illinois and he and I got really close when Shimayne and Chris left on their missions. We stayed up late numerous nights talking and I remember one of the hardest days of my life was when Donovan flew to the Dominican Republic for his mission. I missed him terribly. Donovan is one of the most selfless people I know. He is an incredible father to his children and is a peacemaker. I wish they lived closer too. I love him and am grateful for his influence in my life.
Shelleen, my younger sister, and I did not get along AT ALL growing up. I remember my mom trying everything she could think of to get us to stop fighting, all to no avail. We have very different personalities and had a hard time figuring each other out. We fought a lot. When she finally moved out of my room, once my older siblings moved out, we finally figured out how to get along. Then we started sharing clothes and kind of liking each other. Finally we learned to love each other and we are best friends now. She lives just 45 minutes away and we generally will see each other once a week. After she got married, they moved to Nebraska and that was really hard for me. I'm so glad they moved back and that her kids decide to come to this world as soon as I am pregnant with mine. Some days I don't know what I would do without her. She was always a tom boy growing up and now she is so domestic and doing so many crafty things at home. I have to admit I'm a little jealous of her skills. She is beautiful and so quick witted. I wished I had her wit. She is so fun to be around and I love her.

Sorry this is a long post - just a lot of reflection today. My parents are amazing. My dad has worked so hard for us. He was a teacher and so of course had to have another job. He risked his life everyday being a driver's ed teacher. He worked generally from 6 in the morning until 6 at night and then a lot of Saturday mornings. He then fulfilled many church responsibilities on Sundays so I didn't see him much on those days either. There are not many men in this world who love their wives as much as my dad loves my mom. He would do anything for her and it was a great example to me of the kind of man I wanted to marry. My dad can fix anything and he saved us so much money fixing things that most people would have to call a repair man for. My dad loves the outdoors and I have gone to many places inside and outside of Utah thanks to him. I love my dad very much. My mom is probably the most selfless person I know and one of the most Christ-like. She is so calm, sweet, loving, thoughtful, compassionate and just amazing in every way. I feel like my mom and I have always been close. I hope with all my heart I have the same relationship with my daughters. I can never say enough about how much I love my mom and how much she does for every single person around her. Every one who knows her says how caring and selfless she is. She constantly has people over for dinner and takes dinner to those to who need it. She always seems to know what I need either emotionally or physically and provides for it. Whenever I don't feel well, I want my mom because she knows how to make me better. Brielle loves her and always wants to be around her. I don't blame her. I do too! I love my mom so much and hope to be just like her! There is my family and I LOVE THEM.