Happy 21st Birthday, Sis!

My baby sister turned 21 this week. I just can't believe it! I remember when she was born! We always called her our 'miracle baby'! I grew up as a middle child in between two brothers. I don't remember ever playing with Barbies or playing dress up... or any of those other 'girly' things. Mostly I remember playing with He-Man, GI Joes, or pro wrestler toys. I use to beg my mom to give me a sister... but she always would tell me that it was impossible. After my younger brother was born, my mom had a tubal ligation. When I was about 6, I started praying every night for a sister. I just wanted someone to play dolls with... someone who didn't always want to wrestle, etc. So... about 2 years later, my parents sat us down at the kitchen table and told us that we were going to have a new addition to the family!

I was so thrilled! I thought for sure we were going to have a foreign exchange student (or something)... but mom and dad told us that they were going to have another baby! So my brothers and I made bets on whether the baby would be a boy or a girl... but I knew deep down that I was going to have a sister.

I remember my dad picking us up early from school one day and telling us that mom had had the baby. He wouldn't tell us what she had and we were dying with anticipation! So we got all gowned up and walked into the hospital room... and there was my mom holding a little bundle of pink! She just looked up at me, smiled and said --- "Julie... I have your baby sister!" I just started crying. I can remember it like it was yesterday!

So before mom left the hospital, she went back in surgery to have a re-do tubal. Four kids were enough in this household! Previously, the surgeon said that occasionally a small regrowth can occur and cause a pregnancy. But when the doctor began the operation, he was really confused. He called in a couple of his colleagues to get their opinion and then later told my mom what they had discovered. He told my parents that he had no explanation as to how they could have conceived my sister. There was no regrowth... and no tissue left to remove. Basically, my sister's birth was a miracle.

My parents told us the report and I walked up to my mom and told her that I had been praying for my sister for 2 years. She really was our miracle baby after all!

So... now my baby sister is 21. I love her with my whole heart... but it's hard to see her all grown up! We look so much alike -- talk exactly alike -- but our personalities are so different! It kind of freaked me out watching her celebrate the big day! You can tell I'm definitely the "older" sister! :) Love you, Jen!