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Taylor, Maya, Me, Ashley I am one lucky gal. I am blessed in my life by four beautiful sisters. In the order of age is Holly, Ashley, myself, Taylor, and Maya. Each of us are very different from each other and our personalities are distinctly our own. But God has used these women to strengthen my life. They have all been through some of the roughest times in my life and theirs. In no way can I give more credit to my older sisters for this then my younger ones. Its easy to say that my older sisters were amazing when I was going through a really hard time in my life during a break up in college with a guy I dated from high school. Or its easy to say that my younger sisters were incredible to live with during the summers of college while I was living at home with my Dad and step Mom. Feeling their youthfulness and being able to join in on their adventures inspired me.
Even now watching them grow into women is one of the most timeless experiences. They are both so beautiful and intelligent and have these amazing vibrant personalities that make you feel nothing but proud to be their sister. I sit there some times and just smile with a sense of ownership. Where I think, about all of my sisters, "these are my sisters. They're mine to have, to love, to pick on, to cry with, to get angry at, to laugh with until it hurts, to share secrets with. God has given these beautiful women to me to cherish. They are a gift."
I now reside in Philadelphia. I lived in Southern California for 5 years attending Azusa Pacific University and then eventually living in Santa Monica for 8 months. People think I'm absolutely crazy for moving. I also moved here right before the huge snow storm in 09'. Now I'm normally from Chicago but even that snow storm swallowed up anything I thought I new about surviving the winter. But I loved it! My Dad, step mom, and three of my sisters live in Delaware not too far from Philadelphia. So now I live here with the option of being with my sisters any time I want. I moved for my family. I missed them.
My sister Maya started attending church with me on Sundays. She strolls in at 12 years old with a style better then any one else's. You will usually find her in skinny jeans, heals, a sweater to her mid thigh, and a stylish belt over top. Maya is a young woman that walks to a beat of her own drum; and I love it. She adds into the conversation like any ol' person in their 20's. Where to go eat after church, the sermon, what our weeks were like...these are the regular topics of conversation that usually follow church. When Maya chimes in, if you couldn't see her, you would think she was a 25 year old adding in their opinion. For example; I remember one Sunday when the conversation following church was based off of where to eat. We were all suggesting different places and Maya spoke up with, "I'm definitely down for anything but I'm really not feeling IHOP today so if we could rule that out that would be great." Granted we have never gone to IHOP after church before but we all looked at her and smiled. IHOP was officially ruled out.
My sister Ashley just moved from Baltimore to Delaware to be closer to our family. She has an amazing husband named Gary, a handsome son named Nathan, and a beautiful daughter named Sophia Grace...or Phoie as Nathan refers to her. If I could think of one word to describe her it would be strength. This woman is Legit ;) Occasionally you will hear the stories of the people where when hard times hit their spirit is gone. Even if this situation never hits again, it doesn't matter. There is nothing you can say or do for these individuals. But then there are those you hear about that no matter what they have done or what horrific things they may have witnessed, because they find their way back home they are better people than if they had never gone through this hard time at all. This person is my beautiful sister Ashley.
Holly
I love the imagery that comes to mind with the phrase My Brothers Keeper. What does that phrase really mean to the world? Well, to my sister Holly it means exactly that. My oldest brother Josh suffers from schizophrenia. He suffers from it so bad in fact that he has become a prisoner in his own body. My sister Holly is divinely courageous with her love towards Josh. Having Holly as an older sister has probably been one of the biggest testaments to why I myself am growing into the woman that I am. Watching her selflessly care for my brother the way she does has been incredible. When I say the word selflessly I mean it to its fullest definition. Taking care of some one with schizophrenia is hard. All of us siblings clearly love Josh but the place that he has in Holly's heart is special and unreachable except by him alone. Watching a person love the way Holly does, it is impossible not to be truly impacted for life...and for that I am eternally grateful for her.
Now, I love all of my siblings but I LOVE Taylor. I put a special emphasis on this sister in particular because love is a word you will rarely hear come out of her mouth. Taylor hearts every body. She has been replacing the word love with the word heart as long as I can remember. Why she does this I have no idea. Am I worried that she refuses to tell me she loves me? Absolutely not. Taylor has an awesome personality and she is very adamant about her direction in life. She doesn't quit and she will do every thing in her power to get what she wants. She has inspired me to read the Twilight series and the Harry Potter series. I love discussing both of these stories with her. Generally we will have the same opinion on characters but once in a while we both think we are right and the other is clearly wrong. I watched her as she decided to be a Vegan just to do it and stuck with it until my step Mom made her turn into a Vegetarian for health reasons. She has been going strong with this for about a year? I'm probably wrong on the time frame but you get the point ;) Taylor is growing into a beautiful confident woman. She is in high school now and it feels like last Tuesday she was just learning how to walk. Even in that moment she was so proud of herself. Ricky, my older brother, held her hands and helped her walk out into the living room and her face encompassed such joy. She crawled back to the starting point waiting for Ricky about 10 times that afternoon. Taylor is now at the point where she does not need us to hold her hands anymore and when she falls down she always gets back up. We have slowly fallen away from being her teacher but have quickly moved into the spot of learning a tremendous amount from her. She is my own personal life coach ;)
This is what I love. I love my sisters. They are my soul mates. They are my life long partners in crime and victory. They are the furrow in my brow but also the smile on my face. They are the main reason I have laugh lines as deep as I do. They are there to forever remind me of my most embarrassing moments...and then share them with any future boyfriends of mine.
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