I also come from a family of five, and growing up with my two younger brothers was an absolute blast. The memories are countless: cavorting in the back of our station wagon while my mom drove the long trek to Disney World; screaming in hysterical terror, while we shook off the caterpillars that clung to our shirts after we dove into piles of fall leaves; and gleefully slapping the backs of each others hands in that never-grows-old-but-is-so-stupid game of who's faster. There are few people in this world that I am closer to or know me better than my brothers.

And yet. I always wondered what it would be like to have a sister. When I was a kid, I nagged my mom to have another baby, just hoping that it might turn out to be a girl. (Of course, now, I understand the enormity of my request. Four children?! No wonder my mom said NO.) I sometimes envied Tom and Rob for the brotherly camaraderie they shared. What would it have been like to have a sister, someone with whom I could share a room, gossip and giggle with, and have that special bond?

So when we found out that we were going to have Ellie, I don't know that I could have been happier. Two girls! I would be raising sisters.

It's been such a joy. I love watching them squabble over their stuffed animals. I love the way Keira picks out Ellie's clothes and tells her what to do. I love the way Ellie parrots every word that comes out of Keira's mouth (much to her older sister's frustration). And I love listening to the girls, laying in their bunkbed and whooping and whispering late into the night before finally drifting off to sleep.

It was only a few weeks ago that Keira came running into my room, crying and wanting comfort. "Ellie told me that she wasn't my sister anymore," she sobbed.

I hugged her close and reassured her. "Don't worry, Keira. That will never happen. Once you're born sisters, no matter how happy or angry you are, and no matter what you might say to each other, you will always be sisters forever."

Has it already been more than a year since I posted anything on my dusty ol' blog? Sadly true. In fact, it was receiving my annual web hosting bill that reminded me that I was even still out there in cyberspace.

So what to do? Well, I paid my bill and resolved to blog more. Hehe. We'll see how that goes.

I think the key to keeping me honest is not to put so much pressure on myself. So yes, I'm going to be blogging more (really, I swear). But it'll be different - a short n' sweet version of my former self.

Thus, in a nutshell, the past year has been as busy as ever between life with three kids and the daily grind of work. Keira: totally embracing the role of the oldest, from bossying her younger minions around, to tattling on their mischief, to protecting them from life's dangers and bullies. Ellie: talking up a storm, trying to deal with her archnemesis (Bryce-zilla), and copying her older sister in every motion, word, and decision. And Bryce: what a fierce one he's turned out to be! Without hesitation, he'll look you straight in the eye, stomp his foot, and holler, "NAH!" And yet he can be such a charmer, too; ever the politician, he loves wandering the aisles of restaurants, shaking diners' hands and offering a smile to anyone who's looking.

My three loveys. Could life - in all its zaniness - get any better? I don't think so.