Tuesday is for Thirty, Three and Taxes

I'm a liar.

I told you that I'd tell you Monday all about the secret get-away I planned for my husband this past weekend. And it's now Tuesday and I haven't told you and I'm still not gonna.

The best excuse I have is that it won't be a very good blog without pictures and since brilliant me brought the camera but left the SD card in the reader, we had only our phones to take pictures with and I still haven't gotten John's off of his.

So, I'm hoping to write about it tomorrow. Here's a teaser.

For dinner Friday night we went to what Travel and Leisure magazine called the "Best Restaurant in the World" in 2009. In our best estimation, it's still true for 2010!

Ok, so on to today.

For the past 30 years of my life, this date has been all about my little sister, Martha.

I remember getting to hold her for the first time, being carefully positioned on the couch with plenty of cushions. This picture shows how I must have graduated to being able to hold her on the floor.

Eventually, as most babies do, she grew from being a delicate doll to a suitable playmate.

I remember feeling a special bond with her, since we were the girls often having to face off against older and bigger brothers. We are also 2 1/2 years apart rather than the 23 months between both of the boys and me, so I felt a big responsibility to take care of her since she was sooo much younger. Over the years, we became good buddies.

(had to show off my handsome brothers, too!)

She was a willing audience perched on the top bunk for my fantastical story telling at night. Sometimes she even helped when I drew blanks on further adventures for our princesses and their flying horses. 

At some point, though, I think we became annoyed with each other (as siblings do sometimes) or just were in survival mode from being teenagers, that I don't really remember having a good relationship with her through the second decade of our lives.

I went off to college while she was starting high school. We lived in two very different worlds and we didn't have make that much time for each other.

Before I knew it she was going to prom, then marrying the guy she went to prom with, then having my first nephew and then a few more, and somewhere in the midst of that we became friends again. 

Really. Good. Friends. 

Best friends, even.

I admire her so much, and even though I'm the older one, I look up to her as a wife (of 10+ years) and a mother (of 5 amazing kids). I'm so proud of her for pursuing her education while supporting her husband through his. 

Martha always had the spring to herself, as the other three of us had fall/winter birthdays. That is until three years ago.

That's when my brother, Tim, made the best decision of his entire life to marry Victoria. It's her 30th birthday today, too, so we've got alot to celebrate!

Even though I haven't known her very long, I'm incredibly blessed by her friendship. She is somehow one of the strongest and sweetest women I know. She defines beauty inside and out. She loves my brother like he was made to need, and she puts up with the rest of our crazy family, too. She has been a vessel of grace, forgiveness and healing to almost everyone who gets to know her. She is also an amazing mother and step-mother, and I hope we can have little girls around the same time someday!

So today, I'm sitting in a pile of gratefulness for these two women (and their moms for giving them life). 

(Here with each other's youngest child!)

I also did my taxes, and I'm rather grateful for the repayment of the interest-free loan we gave the government this year.

How was your Tuesday?

Banana Bread and Silly Sisters

Last night I decided to start racing my sister on our blog reader counts. You probably know this if you have seen my Twitter or FB pleas for help today. It's not really a fair race because I didn't put my counter on the blog until several months in and I have mine set not to count my own IP address. So anyway, she's kicking my tail, but the goal was to get more people reading. I don't know why really. It just feels good to know people are reading what we write.

(If you haven't read her blog, it's the one called 50 Sticky Fingers over in my blog list on the left there. She has 5 of the cutest kids in the world, including a set of twins, so she blogs about them with great pictures most days.)

Anyway, I have nothing much to report today, but as the title would suggest, I am really excited about the banana bread I made. I used my friend Sommer's recipe, which you can find here. This recipe is now going to be my standard, so, sorry if I've made you banana bread before this, you'll just have to get sick or have another baby to get this kind! Her recipe calls for shredded coconut or diced apples, and I went for the apples. This is the second recipe that I've used from her blog and both have been winners. Since I'm not in a blog race with her, I highly recommend you go check it out.

In case you were wondering about the baby count at our church, (which if you remember in January was 12 due through Sep/Oct) we're up to 4 as of yesterday, with #5 coming tomorrow. Thus the banana bread.

Well, if you want to help me win the race with my sister, here's what you can do:
1) Go to my actual blog instead of looking at it on Facebook (if you can) http://annasjoyblog.blogspot.com

2) Go to the Share button over there on the left and post it on FB or Twitter

3) E-mail it to all your friends and family. They'll love it. Hey, they could get a new banana bread recipe from it!

10

10 years ago today my little sister married her high-school sweetheart. She was just a baby. 19 years old.

As the oldest sister, I always thought (as most of us do) that I'd get married and have children first. After all, I had done everything else before she did. I even remember when mom and dad brought her home from the hospital, sitting on the couch getting to hold her. 

Today, I remember helping her with her veil and being overcome that my sister was all grown up. And being so proud of her and so excited for what God had in store.

Thank goodness she didn't wait for me! Thank goodness she didn't wait until the world thought she was ready to get married!

These days we grind our teeth and wring our hands when people get married "too" young. I certainly wouldn't have been ready at that age, but that's the beauty of it. Each person gets their own story.

I think Jeremy and Martha's young hearts when they got married is exactly why they are celebrating 10 years today. Those young hearts were flexible and open, which was necessary for their first few months in Army barracks and first few years of moves.

Some might say it's better if you experience the world outside of your parent's home for a few years, grow up, figure out what you want to do or be, then settle down and get married. Great, if that works for you! (it did for me)

But their world was each other, cemented that way early so the foundation would be strong through a year-long deployment to Iraq and several job transitions. Not to mention five babies.

And oh, those, babies!

Sorry guys, but Judah, Josiah, Avrah, Hosea and Micah are really my favorite part about you being married.

But, today is about you - the plural you. My life wouldn't be what it is without you.

Jeremy, you were always meant to be in our family. And you were even the key to my husband being in our family. You were the one who told me that I didn't need another 'little brother' and I should find out what John's intentions were.

I'm so proud of you both and thankful for the genuine friendship we have. I can't think of another couple I laugh more with.

So, here's to young love. Here's to making a choice and sticking with it. Here's to the miracle of God making two into one (and then some!).

Here's to you, baby sister and favorite brother-in-law.

Love,
Anna