My sisters

So, a while ago I heard that a friend and past roommate's sister had cancer and just recently heard that she past away.  I cannot begin to imagine what that must feel like- to have your younger sister who you have been around their entire life and most of yours, be. Gone.  Gone...  Yes, the gospel makes it easier knowing you will see them again after this life.  Sometimes a day in this life seems like eternity so to wait until it is fully over seems impossible to imagine.
If you are reading this, my past roommate, know that we pray for you and that I am sending love and good vibes your way.  You are in my thoughts!

I love all my sisters.  One is further than I would, selfishly, like to have her but all of them are special, including my sister-in-laws.

My sister, Crystal, has been married and had kids for much longer than I have so I often find her to be my go to for all things baby or mother related.  She is always ready to listen when I call and we have great chats.She has three boys so her life is a little different than mine but I do get a lot of answers from her.  Just today, she took the time to pick me up a few shirts at this awesome sale she goes to biannually.  She even took pictures of lots of outfits, jewelery, scarves, etc to see what I would like- great sister! 

My sister, Elizabeth has been through a lot in her short life and is also a great mother.  She has been going to school for a long time now, while raising her daughter and will be done at the end of this semester.  Every time I am in Lethbridge by myself, I stay at her place and enjoy some quality time with her and her daughter.  She and her husband are expecting and I can't wait to meet her little one in June!

Then there is my youngest sister.  I have always had a special place for her in my heart.  In our family there is a kind of split- the older four and younger four.  There is even a gender pattern- girl, boy, girl, girl... boy, girl, boy, boy.  Rachel is the girl surrounded by boys and once I left home as I became a young adult, I really felt like she was just a lone girl in a house of boys... with our mom, of course.  But the lone girl thing made me feel like she needed a lot more girl time and so I like to give her the things I feel like she missed not growing up with the older three girls in the house constantly.  Rachel became Sister Thompson last March (for those of you who are not from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, this means she is on a mission for our church for 18 months).  I miss her a lot and when I heard about my friend losing her sister, it made me miss my little sister even more.

 

She is the one on the left in red.

 

She is a great person!  She has always seemed to me like someone who likes to be with family and at home.  She seems content to just be at home curled up with a good book or talking with whomever is around or baking some great chocolate chip cookies.  And she has taken 18 months away from that to serve others and share the gospel of Christ.  She hasn't had it easy.  She is shy and suddenly she was knocking on people's doors and sharing the gospel with complete strangers.  Because of the recent change in ages of missionaries (from 21 for girls to 19) her area had double the sister missionaries in a very short time, so soon she was also training other girls who had come out.  She is doing so amazingly and she is growing a lot.  Every time I read her letters, I am shocked at how much she is growing and learning.  She left on her mission two weeks before Magdalen was born and hasn't seen her in person and won't see her until this coming October, when she is done serving her mission with the people of the maritime's.  I send her an email every week and include pictures of Magdalen and a few short videos of Magdalen as well- when she started crawling and started saying "hi", but it is weird to know that she has been gone for as long as Magdalen has been alive!  Next week, she will be out for a year.
My sister is so special and unless you know her, it is hard to explain how special she is.  She is a great listener and it is great to sit and chat with her.  She is an amazing reader and if you knew her eye history, you would find that amazing- she was basically legally blind as a child.  She is great at photography and has taken some amazing pictures with a point and shoot camera while on her mission.  She loves a lot of the same things that I do and has always been a joy to be around.  She serves others and even before going on her mission was in school in a giving field.  Above that, she has grown a lot while she has been gone.  As well as being able to talk to strangers and teach young girls who are newer to this than her, she has improved in her written grammar, has grown closer to the Savior, learned to follow promptings and listen to the voice of the spirit even more than in the past and has worked on keeping herself healthier than in the past- Her mission president has asked them to set health goals and she has decreased her sugar intake- which, if you know me, is a big thing- cause she likes sweets almost as much as I do.

I miss my sister and I am glad that I will see her again at the end of this year but I am also glad that she is serving and learning and growing out in the Canadian Maritimes.  She is a strong person and I am so glad that she is an example that my daughter will be able to meet and look up to.   I am grateful for the knowledge that I have that the family unit does not have to dissolve once we die.  I am grateful to have the gift of having my family sealed to me if I live worthy of that blessing and I strive every day to be the best that I can be so that I can live with each and every one of them once we all pass from this life.

I love you, my little sister, Sister Thompson.

For those of you who want to hear more about what she is doing, here is a link to her blog.