My Birthday

Well, today is my 34th birthday. I have to say that this has been one of my best birthdays ever! My mom sent me flowers yesterday and we had a great chat on the phone.

This morning, I went out for a bit, and when I got home, this beautiful picture was in my mailbox. My sister-in-law, Twyla, drew this for me. It's a picture of my dad with Adam and Noah. Since he passed away ten years ago, he never got to meet my kids. I know he would have made a wonderful grandpa. I had tears in my eyes when I saw this. It's amazing how much my boys look like my dad. What a wonderful gift. I know we'll all see each other in heaven and my dad will meet his grandsons, but for now, this is a wonderful reminder of my dad.

Then at noon, my friend, Sherri, showed up with lunch for me and we had a great visit. Later, my other sister-in-law, Wendy, stopped by with a vase of lilies for me. She had decorated the vase with Stampin' Up! Rub-Ons! A woman after my own heart! LOL!

My boys actually slept this afternoon so I had some time to myself. Very nice!

When Ian gets home, we're all going out for supper. It will be nice to not have to cook!

All in all, a great day.

My Boys - Brothers and Friends

It just brings a smile to my heart to see my boys getting along. On Saturday morning they were in their "jammies" playing. They kept hugging each other, falling on the ground, laughing and wrestling. It was so much fun to watch, and it brought such joy to me! Although they do have their moments when they fight with each other, so far they seem to like each other.

This is such a relief to me, as my sister and I were never close. I remember even as a very young girl that I didn't want her around (how horrible is that?). My mom tells of a time when I was four and my sister was two, and she got lost at a store. While my mother panicked, I kept talking excitedly about how wonderful life would be now that she was gone. My mom did not appreciate that very much. I would like to just explain that I was not a Christian until I was an older teenager, so I didn't have a lot of Christian virtues!

As we got older, we tolerated each other. We played together, but we never really had much in common. I was the "brain" and she was the "jock", although we both did well in school and enjoyed sports (these were just the personas we adopted and our activity choices reflected this). I looked out for her as an older sister, but we were never really good friends.

When I became a Christian, we grew even further apart as she became involved in Eastern philosophies, New Age practices and an immoral lifestyle. The death of our dad also threw her into a tailspin and she pushed away from our family almost completely.

I really believe that without a common belief system, it is more difficult for siblings to really be friends. Of course I love my sister, but we don't understand each other at all. My prayer for my boys is that they would both come to know the Lord and grow close in their walk with Him. I pray they will look out for one another and be genuine friends. I pray that they will get along and help each other as they grow in their faith.