Sister Sue & Bam Bam

This past weekend I had a slumber party with 2 very important people. My 17 year old sister (soon to be 18...so crazy!) and my 16 year old brother came to stay with me. All of our schedules are hectic but the timing just so happened to work out perfectly. My mom drove them over to my place from Ft. Worth and then she made her way to Ikea for the first time. It was a relaxing evening. We went and ate pizza for dinner, came home, got comfy, drank hot chocolate and watched a couple of movies. It is funny to sit back and observe them... because I, just like them, was also once a teenager dealing with teenage dilemmas.... But what is even more interesting is how completely and wonderfully different we are.

Lizzie and Stetsen came crashing into my world one night when I was 9 years old. My parents, unable to have more children of their own, had been waiting to adopt. I remember that night like it was yesterday. My stuffed animal friends and I plopped down in front of the t.v. watching Little Mermaid ...*duh*... when my Dad received the call. My mom rushed home from work, and the next thing we knew, 2 small children were in our living room. A 2 year old girl and an 8 month old baby boy.

I have always been the quiet one since then, as these two have never met a stranger in their life. Stetsen has always been a super athlete (unlike my uncoordinated self), a sweetheart and a goofball. Lizzie is a hardheaded, strong, caring and bubbly girl.

And right now they are in the midst of highschool and all that comes with it. Relationships that will last forever, driver's licenses, report cards, football games, dates, and ofcourse....boys and their mustaches :P. Everyone knows that feeling, like there just can't possibly be anything more important...than highschool. Life is your friends, passing notes, dancing, dating, and first kisses. And everything youre parents tell you is just old-fashioned nonsense. "Like, OMG, seriously?!" They just don't understand!! ;)

So while watching my brother and sister this weekend, texting away and bossing each other around, it brought me back to that familiar world. It made me laugh and reminisce. It made me wonder...if only I knew then what I know now. It made me that much more grateful for my parents and all that they do and have done for us. Grateful for all those times they told me I couldn't stay out late or get my nose piecred. Thankful that they didn't buy me a brand new car when I turned sixteen. Thankful that they raised me with morals and that I grew up attending church every sunday. It is the small things that you take for granted when you are growing up. You count down the days until you can drive, watch a rated R movie, turn 18 and move out on your own...because you just happen to know everything!Then you finally make it to the "real world" and finally realize why your parents did this or said that. My Dad always said I was going to turn into a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I never thought I would like another sandwhich other than PBJ. Then sometime in college I discovered... there are a vast array of sandwich combinations that are actually pretty tasty :).

It is so nice to know that there is always sooo much more to see and experience in every chapter of our lives. It is easy to get caught up in the moment, the drama of life's everyday challenges, but there is always a bigger picture, a larger plan waiting for you. That is a beautiful thing!