Family. Here.

I wrote a while back about family- my chosen family and the family I was given. ;) It's important to know that I really, really love the family I was given, even my crazy stressed out mom.

Which brings me to today. Today my sister and her kids, my niece and nephew, came up to hang out. They live about two hours away. We took them to a children's museum, had lunch at this... bizarre diner, and they came back to the house. My husband teased me about reading blogs, and Shannon asked me if I had my own.

I told her about this one. And tonight, I'll e-mail her the link. (Hi, Shan! Ready to read about YOU???) Then I kind of panicked because, well, I whine alot around here. It's kind of my venting place anyways. I've written about my sister before, and actually realized that that post is alot of what I wanted to say here.

That my sister is my best friend. I know she's not thrilled that I didn't tell her about my blog, but, well I'm not sure why I didn't. I guess... I don't know. Not that she would judge me, cuz she wouldn't. She loves me too much and is too supportive of me. Not that she wouldn't understand, cuz she will. I think I wasn't sure what this blog was going to be, and so I didn't really tell anyone I know in real life about it. Well, Khalil knows, but we do share a computer.

Shannon and I are nine years apart. She used to babysit me. When I was little, she used to tell me she dropped me on my head when she babysat for me one time, and that's why I was the way I was (we haven't always been this close). I remember when I was little, that when we'd argue, she'd always come and apologize for her part. She's like that- if she makes a mistake, she's pretty quick to own up to it. The rest of my family likes to pretend like things aren't happening. What? We got in a fight? No, no, we're fine now. Not Shannon. I remember sitting on the toilet in the bathroom her and my brother shared, watching her get ready for dates. Doing her hair, her make-up, I so looked up to her. And she was so patient with me. Ther's a picture, somewhere, of me posing with her and her prom date. He dress was pink and poofy, as they were in the 80s, and I remember thinking how pretty and grown up she looked.

When I was in high school, she was married and we weren't that close. Then I got into college, and moved to California. And she had children, and we got a little bit closer. I'd go stay at her house- at least once over the summer for a few days, and usually for a few days on breaks too. I've always loved her homes. They are warm, cheerful, and most of all welcoming and homey.

Then, a year after I graduated from college, I moved home. I wanted to be with my boyfriend, who was now my husband. Shannon had just had her third child, my niece Ellie, and Caleb was getting older. I wanted to be a big part of their lives. That has worked. It was one of the best decisions I made. Shannon and I got closer still. Soon, the joke of the family was, don't tell one something you don't want the other to know. It still holds true. It's just that we're so close, and we talk to each other about everything. Whenever anything happens, the person I want to tell most, after my husband, is my sister.

I remember one night when I was engaged. I had gotten my wedding dress, and was really excited. It wasn't a typical white dress- it had purple, green, and blue flowers embroidered all over it. It was stunning. I showed my Mother in Law, with the clear warning to NOT SAY ANYTHING around Khalil. Well, one night she slipped and said something. I called Shannon on the way home, biting back tears. She asked what was wrong, and I wailed into the phone, "She ruined my dressssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!" or something like that. My sister spent alot of time that night on the phone with me, calming my bridal nerves about the ridiculous dress. Turned out my husband hadn't even really caught the comment and didn't have a clue about the dress. But I know that whenever I need her, she's there for me. And I hope that she knows that it's true the other way. If I can, I will move heaven and earth to be there for her. Whatever she needs. I haven't always been, and will always regret that I wasn't there the one time she needed me most. But she tells me she's forgiven me for that. In the meantime, I'm lucky to have a best friend like my sister.

So hi shan. Hope you enjoy the whining about being fat. There's lots of it here. ;)

Here we are, at my wedding.




























Ouch. Sorry abou the crappy photo quality. Not sure what to do about that...