The Gift of a Sister

I know all about the gift a sister can be. Mine is turning...a higher number...today. I have been thinking about her a lot this week (that is, a lot more than usual, which is already a lot). : )

Here's what I am blessed to realize; a sister can be such an instrument for change & growth & struggle and wisdom & most of all; learning how to be delighted in. This is straight up a gift from our Heavenly Father.

My sister has been such a picture of God's love for me (my brothers too, but this post is about the sista). I see such a reflection of the ways He has loved me through Linda mirrored in some of the interactions between Ava Gray & Havyn. Here's one of those:

Ava Gray (right now) is always a step behind Havyn. Life for her has been, well, harder. She is still learning to trust people after her beginning in the NICU and tends to hold people at arms length until she's real sure their ok. But even when she is trying to shut out the world, her sister will blatantly ignore AG's silent request to be left alone and will climb on top of her, bop her on the head, pat her cheek, suck on her foot. You know, little sister stuff. : ) And AG will often burst into this adorable grin. It's one that is reserved for Havyn alone. Not even Mama gets that one. Havyn can break through the walls little AG has set up around herself and draw her out to experience joy...love.

My sister has done exactly that for me growing up. I was a retreater and prone to isolating & shutting down when things got tough. My little sister would just bulldoze through all the carefully constructed "do not pass" signs I'd fling up everywhere. She loved me and she was going to be close and she was going to be annoying just for fun while she was at it! I realize now that my Heavenly Father loved me so passionately even when I was not yet able to see it or accept it. What I could see and could accept was the love of my sister. And I bet my Heavenly Father felt the same way about the situation that I do about my girls: it makes me so happy to see little AG receive love - from anywhere. Do I want her one day to be able to trust her Mama more and to get just an inkling of how incredibly much I love her? Of course. But for now, it is so sweet to watch Havyn showing her and giving her the love she can't accept from anyone else.

So on my sweet little sister's birthday, let me just say for the thousandth time: Sisters are a gift from God! I love mine so much, and it brings me more joy than I can say to see my two little girls already benefitting from the same precious gift.

Happy Birthday sister. Since I can't be there in person to celebrate properly with you, go delight/annoy the hay out of someone in memory of us!

And for everyone else, here's some pic's of sista's in action. The first one was taken in 1980 in front of the translator lodge in Papua New Guinea. The boxes are what we had our groceries delivered in. I'm probably trying to get Linda to do something my way (typical me), and she is probably ignoring me (typical her). The other pics are of two characters you are already very familiar with. : )

Girls 1st Winter

Well it really felt like winter today; cold grey skies, a little hint of snow in between the icy rain, and the trees all bare and black and elegant. Thanks to the girls' sweet nurse, Ana, they got to take a walk out in it all. (Love it when they get outside and get to experience the weather - whatever the weather happens to be!) Here's some pics of the girls getting ready to go out:

Another fun 1st: our awesome "big" little Christmas tree (a gift from the girls AJ & UB *Aunt Joyce & Uncle Bill). Isn't it cute? We love it. : )

Keeping this one short & sweet, but we surely do hope you & yours are enjoying the cold & anticipation of celebrating Christmas soon. Till next time,

Jules & the girls

God Bless Grandparents.

After a very...well, busy little Thanksgiving at home with the girls, I have been pondering all the things I have to be grateful for this year. Honestly, there are too many to count, let along put down here. But one I do want to share about is the gift of grandparents in these two little girls' lives. My mom and her awesome husband Carl (Grandma & Grandpa Linn) came to visit 2 weeks ago. They stayed for 10 whole days, and were an absolute blessing to me and the girls during their incredibly hard-working "vacation" in Nashville. Here's some pics of our precious time together. In case the pictures don't quite convey, the girls love their Grandma & Grandpa Carl. As does their Mama. : )

Here's Grandpa Carl with a sleeping Havester...

 But she doesn't stay down for long! Here she is showing off her new moves. (Which now include 'the dolphin,' pulling up to standing, and crawling at incredibly high speeds towards dangerous objects - !)

 While mom was here, she made a ton of cute hats for us. Here she is trying them on her girls...

 We also got outside & soaked up some sunshine together. It was awfully cold, So we piled on the blankets & cozy clothes. We didn't last super-long, but it was fun.

 It was great to get back inside where the fun continued... Here's Grandma & yet another adorable hat:

 Another neat thing was that our new in-home nurse, Ana, got to meet mom & Carl & vice versa. It was a treat for both parties, I think. : ) Here's Ana with the "Incredible, Edible, Ava Gray" (miss you Lee!):

 During their stay, we developed a bit of a routine. Every day Ana & Carl would take the girls on a walk around the neighborhood while mom & I tried to get about a million things done at once around the house. Here's a "before" shot:

 Walk in progress:

 And the "after" shots. (Success!!):

 Havyn ate well (and often!) when the grandparents were here (she was always wanting to gnaw on something - probably something to do with her two new teeth that were coming in!) Ava Gray is now sporting a tooth of her own too. Hurray for Children's Tylenol!:

 And some more hats/walking-gear shots:

 Another fun part of our day was the girls' bathtime. Here's their first ever joint-bath:

And...done! (Clean & smelling slightly of grapefruit - the essential oil we scent their baths with: yum!)

 Oh, here's one of the super-cool highlights as well: Brian & Susan & Rose came up from Chattanooga to spend the day with us. It was so fun to see the cousins together and for Mom & Carl to have time with the Chatta-dubs. Here's some pics from our sweet time together:

 PS. It turns out my mom is an excellent Grandma!

 And cuz we always have to try at least once, here's all three cousins sporting glasses:

 A pretty common sight during the week. Carl sitting quietly with Ava Gray & talking to her... She loved it! I was so grateful.

 With all the extra hands around, I got a little more cuddle time with Ava Gray myself. Ooh but I love this girl!!

 And yet another pre-walk photo:

 Not only is mom a fabulous knitter, crochet-er, and tatter, she's a wonderful teacher as well!

 It didn't take long for the girls to warm up to their grandparents. Here's Havyn smiling at her Grandma:

 Even on the days we didn't get out much, we sure enjoyed the view from our big bay window...

 Well, those of us who were awake, that is...

 Whenever one sister gets to try on a hat, the other has to go and try it on too. : )

 One of my favorites. Carl walking Havyn in the rain. Sweetness!

 We packed so many memories into this short (for us) visit with Mom & Carl. It really was such a gift on so many levels. We were sorry to see them go, but so glad for them to get to go home to their pets (who were missing them terribly), their own beds, and a little peace & quiet!

 We love you Mom & Carl. Once you get REAAAL rested up, come back & see us!