When I was a little girl I dreamed that one day I would have a husband and together we would have three little girls. When Mike & I got married in 1997 I decided on a few baby names and I placed the list on our kitchen bulletin board. I still have the list in my Bible. :) I went ahead and chose a few boy names also on the slight chance that God's plan didn't go along with mine and I'd be having sons. Ha! Each time we were pregnant I added a few of our new choices and replaced the names we had used.
When we were pregnant with our first child I couldn't wait to find out the sex. You can imagine my excitement when we had our first bundle of joy- a girl- Abigail Grace. ♥ She was beautiful. Perfect. And she SMILED all the time!!!! (Same as today.)
When Abigail was about 11 months old we were ready to give her a sister. However, the Lord wanted her to have a brother. After the shock of a boy wore off, we quickly warmed up to the idea of a son around here and we got the house ready. Ethan Michael was born in 2002 and we were so thankful that God chose him for us.
When Ethan was about 12 months old we were ready for another baby. We didn't have our hearts set on a girl- we knew we'd be happy with whatever God gave us- but secretly I hoped Abigail could have a sister. The Lord chose better for us and in 2004 Blake William was born. What a precious boy he is and ONCE AGAIN we were so glad that the Lord didn't consult with us first. :)
When Blake was 13 months old our family was ready for another blessing. The Monday after Thanksgiving we found out that our baby was a GIRL. Abigail was going to have a sister. And it couldn't have happened soon enough cause Abigail was dressing Ethan up like this:
We nicknamed them Cindy & Ethel. :)
At the end of 2005 Alison Brooke was born. At that moment we thought our family was complete. Two boys, two girls. HA! (As you know, Chase Alan was born in 2009 but that's a different story.)
Abigail was so happy for a sister.
Here is Abigail holding her newborn sister, Alison.
Sometimes they would dress alike. :)
Sometimes Abigail would dress them in costumes. (Ethan was happy.)
My girls are 5 years apart in age but it's not too far to have a close relationship. The other day I walked past them with a camera and they started acting like NUTS! So, I indulged them and snapped away.
I LOVE that they love each other. I hope they always have this closeness. Every now and then they argue but I don't worry too much about it cause I know something. What do I know??? I know that even sisters who bicker as kids can grow up to be as close as ever.
I have sisters. ♥ Two of them. My older sister, Dawn, was born at the end of 1974. I was born at the beginning of 1977. My younger sister, Brooke, was born at the end of 1979. That was it. No brothers. Just us three girls- me in the middle.
Our Little Years
Sisters are wonderful. There is no relationship like it. They've seen you in your ugly times and they still want you around. They have been with you every moment of your life. They never go away. Time, distance, and life can't rid you of your sister. You trust them with everything you have and you love their children like your very own.
Our Middle-ish Years- Jr. High/High School
We surprised Mom & Dad with this picture. ♥
Just before my prom.
There may have been moments in our growing up that we didn't get along or had "best" friends but as we started going our different directions in life we always wanted to stay together.
Our Adult/College Years
Dropping me off at college.
Before my wedding.
Don't remember the occasion but we were all in Columbus at Mom's. I lived in Mount Vernon at the time.
After we finished college we all ended up back in Columbus and we were all members at the same church. Our kids were all born while we were at the same church so they grew up like they were closer than cousins. My sisters and I loved being together regularly and the kids loved being with their cousins. And Gammy & Poppy were there too. It was wonderful.
On occasion we would sing together. If we had known that one day we would not be together all the time I wonder if we would have sung together more often. Isn't it like that with everything in life? If only we had known we might have done something different.
Today I had an opportunity to sing with my sisters. The three of us singing together in the Lord's house. My older sister Dawn had special music at her church and the theme went along with a song we had almost sung once before many years ago. So she asked and the church approved for guest singers to come and today was the day.
Sisters, serving the Lord, singing together- it is a glimpse of Heaven. I can't even imagine what real Heaven will be like. If I love my sisters THIS much, how much more love will there be in Heaven when we are all singing praises to the Lord in His holy presence. :)
Here we are... singing today...
PS
Alison is named after my sisters. Alison is Dawn's middle name and Brooke is Brooke's first name. ;)
5 comments:
As the baby of three girls, I totally agree! There is nothing like a sister.
I didn't have the honor of having sisters growing up, I had Billy and Mikey. There was that time when Mikey tried on mom's shoes, but I hardly think that counts. But years later, I was blessed to get TWO sisters that I love dearly and couldn't imagine my life without. Thank you for being such a faithful, kind, creative and loving sister. For making my life full and teaching me how to be a better sister.
Being another middle of three sisters, I can relate to much of what you said here. Thanks for taking the time to write this and reminding me of my own special sisterly ties with my own family and my "Murphy sisters."
What a great post! I have sisters, too, and your post is a good reminder of all the history we share, the special secrets, the private jokes, and even the nonsense that others just "don't get." My own mom used to tell me, "Your girlfriends are here today and gone tomorrow, but your sister will always be there for you when the others have all gone." And you know, this many years later, although my sisters and I don't see each other as much as I wish, I know that my mom was right. Time can pass us by but when we are finally together again, it is like no time has passed. Thanks for sharing this great post today. And by the way, your own daughters are blessed! I can see all the love between them!
This has to be my favorite blog post that you have ever written!!! What a beautiful story. I'm so glad you took the time to share it with the blogosphere. You three sounded amazing. What a blessing it is for the three of you to have the kind of bond that you have. It's obvious that you all treasure it. :)
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