The Little Sister

One of the reasons we were so thrilled that God blessed our family with Shaylee, #5, is that she became the younger sister that I really longed for Jaylin to have.  I have only sisters, no brothers, and have been blessed beyond words with my relationships with both of my sisters. When I was pregnant with Gage and then with Shaylee, I really wanted the baby to be a sister for Jaylin, because I knew how much I loved having sisters that became my best friends.  God gave us Gage, and then He gave us Shaylee, and of course, now we can't imagine it any other way.  I am completely thankful for each of my kids, and because of my childhood, I am especially happy that my girls have each other.  And, if Ed were to add his two cents to this introduction, he would be especially happy and thankful (because of his adventurous brother-heavy childhood) that our boys each have two brothers!  Anyway, this introduction is NOT heading toward announcing another child in our family...because I am NOT pregnant...but to let you know exactly how thrilled I have been these past three weeks when MY beautiful little sister, Erin Bonawitz, came all the way here with her awesome husband, Chad, and their three kids...Cole (5), Brynlee (4) and Mason (3)!  We have been soaking up the time with them, enjoying every minute of their being here with us.  Our kids have LOVED the cousin time, and have once again, loved the chance to get to know better another amazing aunt and another fun uncle!

It seems like so long ago that together we were all planning this trip of theirs...Ed and I were here, thinking of all the plans we could do with them once they got here, and they were on their end arranging all the tickets, passports, and other travel details.  And now as I sit and blog about it, I can't believe that it's done.  The time has already come and gone, like a snap. They've come, they've blessed us, and now they've gone back home.  It was an amazing three weeks with them, and we definitely made some unforgettable memories.  I will try to condense our three weeks into two blog posts, in order to show a good sampling of all that we did together.  The sequel will be coming shortly, with more pictures.  Thank you, Chad and Erin, for braving the intimidating travel experience with your three little ones, in order to see our world and to be with us!  We are so thankful that we were able to have so many great times with you, and to get to know your kids better!  We love you both, we love your kiddos, and we can't wait to be with you again in the summer when we're home!