Sunday, December 7, 2008

25 days of christmas

today's post is for my cousin, Emily. Em and i were the only girls in our family. we were born four days apart. we grew up together managing to get into lots of trouble along the way! you'd think being the only girls in a family we'd be the easy ones, but we sure did find trouble any chance we could. i spent alot of time at their farm growing up and i have so many good memories there. my life as a young child could be somewhat insecure, mostly due to my relationship with my biological dad. those weekends at the farm were so normal. from swimming in the trough to sneaking downstairs after bed for a snack, i cherish those memories. so these are the top ten reasons i love emily!

10. she's the total opposite of me, in a good way! where i'm loud and outspoken, she's quiet and thoughtful. where i'm short and roundish (is that a word?) with unruly curly dark hair... she's tall and willowy and blond. we're total opposites but that's what makes us so interesting:)

9. she has this adorable, charming baby girl. i love that baby!

8. she's an awesome photographer. she has probably saved me thousands over the years in pictures. all the professional pics you see on this blog were taken by her. you can see her work at emilysphotography.com (shameless advertising? why yes!)

7. she's comfortable in her own skin. she knows who she is and she's at peace with herself. i admire that greatly.

6. she's adventurous. she's always off on a trip whether it's europe or mexico. having a baby hasn't slowed that spirit at all. she just packs that baby up and takes her with her! which brings me to number 5....

5. she's a great mom. motherhood has just come naturally to her. where most women take several months (at least) with their first to really get into the groove of motherhood, emily just seemed like she'd always been doing it! she's patient and calm and loving. i have no doubt her daughter will turn out to be an awesome woman because of it.

4. she's funny, in a laid back, unassuming way. if you don't know her, you'd think her very shy. but in reality, she's very personable and quite witty.

3. she has a well hidden "ornery" side. i'll never forget when we were kids and we came up with a great way to scare people at a family christmas gathering. we were all at our grandma's house. em and i went into the basement with a broom and one of grandma's wigs. whenever someone would go to the bathroom, we would put the wig on the end of the broomstick and push it up through the laundry shoot in the bathroom closet. to the person on the toilet, it looked like a head was coming out of the closet. we got in a lot of trouble for that one but we thought it was hilarious!

2. she's a good granddaughter. our grandmother is now in a nursing home and her health has been failing considerably for several years. she is technically dying of heart failure. unfortunately, she's not a sweet little old lady, she tends to be a bit abrasive and judgemental. emily goes to visit her weekly and takes her things like pictures and treats. as a mom, business owner and wife, i know it requires alot of planning on her part to do so.

1. she's kind, compassionate, talented, witty, smart, gentle, beautiful and full of life! i love her!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks Abby, I too have many great memories of our farm and the growing up years. It was always the best... to have you over to go pretend fishing and girl exploring without being the brunt of my brother's jokes. Skits at Grandma's and endless chasing around her circle of rooms yelling for the other... fun times! Love you too Abby.