SNOW!

As I type this, the snow is coming down like crazy! It just started out of the blue and it is coming fast and furious! Maybe it will stick around for a bit.

My sister is down visiting right now (they had some appointments here) and I have had the opportunity to see her several times already, which has been great. It has also been good to see the kids. We went out yesterday with all of our kids and it was somewhat chaotic. At one point I said "who had all these damn kids?" because six just seems like such a lot. And yet there is that family out there that is on number 16!! I couldn't imagine. The laundry that I do for just myself and the two little ones is endless. Hubby and Hannah are on their own.

I love all of my sister's kids. The oldest is a real beauty and when I look at her I can remember my sister looking like that at her age - it is uncanny. The youngest is a charmer and a boy - he has golden colored hair that edges close to white and when he smiles, the whole room lights up. But I have to admit that I have a rather large soft spot for the middle girl. She is the one that tugs at my heart-strings the most. Maybe it is because I looked after her for awhile after my second was born and I got close to her. Maybe it is because she got an extra dose of personality (over what the others already have) and is just so stinkin' FUNNY! But when my sister told me this story, I wanted to rush out to the first toy store I found. The middle girl gets laser surgery done on her face a couple of times a year to reduce a birthmark. The interesting thing about the birthmark is that while it was fairly significant to begin with, you barely notice it once you spend a few minutes with her because she is so engaging. Anyway, the story goes like this: The girls each got some money to go to the toy store and get a toy. The oldest girl had had her heart set on a particular toy for ages, but once in the store changed her mind and got something else, even after her mom asked if she was sure about it. Sure enough, later on the middle girl comes and says to her mom that the oldest regrets her purchase and wants the other thing now. She says "maybe I can get the other thing when I get my laser done and give it to her". Her mom asked if she was sure and she said "well I usually get a couple of things, so I could give her that one". I just about bawled when she told me this story. The laser surgery isn't a thing to be taken lightly. It requires that she be put under general anesthesia each time and she is now up to her 14th or 15th visit. To think that she would sacrifice one of her little "perks" to make her big sister happy, well....where do you think Auntie is headed very soon?

This weekend has been somewhat low-key which has been nice. We went out to hubby's cousin's place for dinner last night and it was great to just relax and drink some wine. They have a two year old and in their new place there is a fabulous playroom (one day maybe we'll have one of those, she says wistfully), so Kes and their son played for a long time. Hayden dazzled everyone with his rolling over abilities. Something I ate last night had a lot of garlic in it though, because I can still taste it today. Ew.