Nothing 2 Bring

Yowzas!

I don't have the time or typing abilities to catch up on all that I have left out of blogging for the past,oh,

too many,

months.

But I do have pictures,

snapshots,

of life.

Just so this season of life doesn't disappear into a black hole.

Cause we all know...

If it isn't blogged about or facebooked...

IT DIDN'T HAPPEN.

And I am not crazy.

THIS stuff happened.

For instance, some of you may be very worried.

You've been thinking that my sister is still pregant.

That makes her like 14 months pregnant.

And, though she is really remarkable, and does lots of things that other women can't seem to accomplish,

staying pregnant for 14 months isn't one of them...

THANK GOD.

In late October, she gave birth to the beautiful Shalom Shea Martin.

They didn't tell me until after she was born that she would share my middle name.

And without making an entire post about this treasured bundle,

I have to say that being a part of her birth was single handedly one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.

I was my sister's foula.

That's a faux- doula.

Or fake-doula.

Depending on how fancy you are.

Regardless,

Since my sister is literally like a part of my physical being in the weird way twins are,

it just made perfect sense to be loving her,encouraging her and rooting her on in the journey of natural childbirth.

I just can't quite explain it.

Here is this beautiful women giving birth to this beautiful little girl,

and I am remembering falling asleep next to my sister when we were kids.

I remember watching her sleep at night, with her pouty lips and her button nose, and thinking, "I love her so much. Sure wish we hadn't fought so much today. She really is quite cute...But man she can be mean when she's awake, But she's sooooo perfect like an angel while she sleeps...I'll try harder tomorrow"

I really adore her in a way words can't always find.

And holding her hand, reminding her of the strength God would give her to accomplish this impossible task,encouraging her...it's what I do...She's my sissy.

I've always felt like that was my job in her life.

Care for her,protect her, lead her (she is 15 months younger than me and needs my mature guidance at times;) serve her, make things as easy as I can for her...

And she's continued to let me do this job, wether I'm any good at it or not.

Thank you,sissy.

Before Summer ended, we made sure to enjoy our cousins and play in creeks...

We even brought our dog, Auggie.

Turns out.

I LOVE our dog.

The first 6-9 months 'bout made me crazy. But the key was a mix of her getting older and us figuring her out. Getting her an electric fence changed our lives, along with finding a bone she would actually chew instead of our socks.

Now....I'm in loooooooove.

Before summer was up, we spent a weekend building an outdoor fire pit. I was happy with the outcome, considering it was made entirely by hand and with rocks that already resided in our yard.

Then on into Fall

and the beginning of school!!

1st grade and Kindergarten this year.

So far so good:)

I have continued to love Sonlight over the past couple of years.

We continue to have to work HARD to keep on a schedule, but such is life.

It turned out that there was a Mudcat's (what, you don't know who the mudcats are?) game the first day of school, which worked out perfectly for giving it that special "first day of school" feel.

We also made it a point to celebrate Fall with a trip to the pumpkin patch. It just never gets old to me. Especially when my amazing parents join in the fun. This day, they actually surprised the boys by driving all the way out the the patch to play with them on a whim. They're whimmy people.

But wouldn't you be for cuteness like this, too?

And that's Shep's favorite day-nurse peeking her hand in there to help him not crush his foot with his gigantic pumpkin of choice.

We adore her.

Shep is doing really well. No major illness since the mastoid infection/hospitalization in the Fall.

Just got word from the Cardiologist that everything looks so good in his heart that they don't want to see us for another year. When we first came home, it was every 2 weeks. He's come a long way in three years.

Right now, we anticipate his next bronch with hopeful decanulation, in the end of March, 2 days before his 3rd birthday. There's no gaurantee but everyone's pretty hopeful.

Time will tell.