sisters

my sister abby and i have had a unique relationship.

i'm the oldest and she is the 3rd born.

we have never seen eye to eye.

there are numerous stories that could be told - from both sides

it was probably 4 years or so ago that we finally began to build our relationship.

i remember two days before my wedding sitting in a nail salon waiting for my turn,

abby was on the other end of my phone in virginia

she was a nanny out east and we were coordinating times for me to pick her up at the airport.

we talked about the wedding and who knows what else.

i remember picking her up late at night.

the night before my wedding, all my sisters called into bed with me and we watched a movie.

she was there for my wedding.

prior to the reception she even ran to the grocery store to pick up more orange gerber daisies for the cake and wedding toss bouquet.

the following year during october her sweet kitty, molly was having some health issues.

i was drawn to her and wanted to be a support to her during that time.

she made some difficult decisions that month.

however, it seemed to be the start of a better relationship for us.

we even joined her on one of her hunting trips down to our grandpa's field.

{good 'ol depredation permits}

we coined the phrase "i hunt with my sister and shop with my brother"

trying something new that we were never raised around was a good bonding moment for us.

on january 25th ,2012 she met her husband russell.

two months later russell proposed to her.

july 14th they were married.

our bond has continued to grow since her wedding.

being the married two of the six kids right now allows us to bond even more.

i remember late october, mitch and i were in idaho for his grandma's passing

and we were settling in for the evening at his aunt's when i got a call from abby.

"remember how you asked us not to get pregnant while staying at your house..."

"yea...."

"well we are pregnant! no worries for your bed"

i had the opportunity to work along side her this past spring at the garden center

one more season before motherhood.

spending time planting along side her and spending breaks feeling baby elena move around....

it was a season i wouldn't trade for anything.

june 9th was the day abby became a mommy.

i was able to join her a half hour after elena's arrival

and take some beautiful photographs of that special day.

two weeks later they moved to arizona.

in july, we had a family reunion

abby and russell were able to attend

that visit came with a special request from mitch and i...

they asked us to be elena's godparents.

i feel so grateful and privileged to be trusted with abby's daughter.

during october, abby spent two weeks with us.

pumpkinland wouldn't have been the same without her

and helping tend to elena was most special.

i learned that i could manage being the store manager and still tend to a baby.

this visit also came with another special request.

abby decided it was time to receive her endowments at our lds temple.

when going through for the first time the one receiving them has the opportunity to have a family member be their escort.

my mother was my escort when i received my endowments.

abby asked me to be her escort and accompany her on her special day.

once again i was honored and grateful for the privilege.

on november 16th, i was able to join abby at the las vegas lds temple for her special day.

it was just abby, russell and i.

words can't describe my experience with her at the temple.

and i can only begin to grasp the importance of being with our families for all of eternity.

{mitch, nanna and kade (her soon to be) spent the morning on the las vegas strip}

abby.... thank you for allowing me to be with you on your special day.

i look forward to our relationship growing as time continues and am grateful for the relationship we share now. i love you lady.