my sister is here visiting and it has been wonderful. I am so blessed to have a teenage sister that is not the normal self-absorbed teeny-bopper.

She has such a servant's heart...
is in love with her niece and nephew...
has a funky sense of humor and makes me laugh...
is absolutely beautiful {inside & out}...

she's been reading like crazy while she's been here, which is cool for me to see. I love to sow the seeds of a reader with a passion for books.

I got her hooked on Francine Rivers with the Mark of the Lion series, which she stayed up reading until her eyes just couldn't stay open any longer.

(I told Shaun, "Mal stayed up until 2am reading." He said, "Cool.")

She's reading "Inkheart" at the moment, and I can hardly get her to tear her eyes away.

Yay.

In a lot of ways, Mallory is like a daughter to me (she was born when I was almost 13), but as she's growing older, our sister-ness is showing more and more. She's not a kid anymore. She's become a young woman. (Does that mean I'm becoming an old woman? LOL)

She's been helping me complete several projects around the house this week, including:

• meticulously folding ALL of Atticus' clothes and organizing them (the boy will not need clothes for at least a year, if not longer!)
• handing me stuff to put into the attic
• taking down the french doors in Em's room & hanging floaty curtains
• scrubbing the upholstery on a couch & getting it nice and clean
• helping me hang curtains in the living room

And on top of this, going around to a gazillion places and helping me unload/load the kids, picking up the house, feeding Em, holding Atticus, GIVING ME A FOOT RUB!!!!, and entertaining Em...

dude. I am so freaking blessed.

The girl deserves a super-prize. Gotta figure out what. :)