The Day After Independence Day.

July 4th; the day before my sister was born. I can remember that day as if it was yesterday.  It had been an enjoyable evening in our friend's backyard.  They had their annual Fourth of July party and this year my mother was very pregnant. The air was muggy, but the cool breeze blew through the trees giving us a breath of fresh air.  Sparklers danced in the yard as the sun sank down the horizon.  Us kids were enjoying the holiday; jumping on the trampoline, swimming, splashing, running, and playing tag.  I sat up in the treehouse frantically waiting for the fireworks to begin; my absolutely favorite part of the summer. Suddenly I looked down to see my Father rush toward me with an excited but serious expression. 

"Kelle, we have to leave!" He called up to me. Worried, I quickly obeyed and climbed down.  Running over to my family on the back porch, I saw our friends rush around quickly. There was noise everywhere; people talking all at once, excited and nervous. Life had seemed to stop.  I looked around for my brother but found my older sister instead. 

"What is going on?" I asked her rather clueless, "Are we going to be able to see the fireworks soon?" She looked down at me and whispered, 

"I highly doubt it, Mom just went into labor." I gasped in excitement! Thoughts started buzzing in my head. Mixed emotions came into my soul, "Was Mom going to be alright? Am I not going to see the fireworks? Is it going to be a girl?"

I remember the ride back home; Mom seemed so calm, breathing deeply as Dad raced through traffic.  We quickly pulled up in the driveway and we kids filed out of the car.  Dad jumped out and ran into the house, coming back a few seconds later with Mom's overnight bag.  We stood on the driveway waving goodbye to them as our Grandma called us in; I didn't even know our grandparents were at our house.  Everything seemed to go by so fast, and to a little kid, things just seem to happen without me even knowing.  

I lay in my bed that night as my brother sat on my dresser and my Grandma sat in the rocking chair.  I squealed with delight as we talked about our new baby sister or brother. We watched out my window and saw the faint colors of the fireworks in the distance. Sadness filled me as I wished I could be there right now. 

I can remember the next morning, how excited we were to hear the news of a sweet baby girl! I burst with excitement. I can remember aching to see her and hold her.  I remember Dad placing her in my arms at the hospital. She was so precious; Diana Anne. I whispered her name over and over to myself. I thought everything about her was just beautiful and breath-taking. I was so excited to have someone to finally play with; to laugh with and to talk with. Holding her in my arms, I felt content. I wouldn't trade a million fireworks for my little sister. She was perfect, and the best surprise for the Fourth. 

It has been many years since that day my precious little sister was born.  As the years have passed, she has become my best friend.  Growing up we have had some adventurous day.  There were the days when we played "Little House on the Prairie". Grabbing old dress up clothes and playing barefoot outside. We could imagine we lived on acres of land in a tiny log cabin. We imagined big bears in the forest, and Indiana’s living in the fields. We even pretended to have a puppy. {After our little brother was born, we didn't have to pretend that anymore.} I always wound up being Laura while Diana pretended she was Mary. She seemed to have a better argument; I was better at pretending to be bad than she was, and I also could climb trees better than she could; just like Laura.

We had such great imagination; everyday was an adventure.  Summertime was our favorite.  We would ride our bikes for hours and suck on cherry Popsicles after dinner. As the sun would sink down, we would grab our jars and race to see who could collect the most Fireflies.  As autumn crept in, we would take turns raking the leaves in big colorful piles. Then we would run as fast as our little legs could take us and jump in them; leaves flying every which way.  Snow angels and tilting, lopsided snowmen were our projects for the first snowfall.  We had dreams of one day building a huge snow-fort that would withstand till the spring. We loved playing dolls together. So many ideas would fill our heads, it didn't seem like there was ever going to be enough time to play.  We would sit upstairs in our room and play for hours and hours, not even breaking for lunch.

Now we are both grown up, not little children anymore. We have different adventures now. She is my brain half the time; and she is almost taller than me.  She inspires me to be creative. She is always coming up with new crafts; it makes me jealous that I don't have that sense of inspiration. :P 

I love our talks; especially late at night. After a party or get together, we relive the evening together and reminisce of the happy moments we had. We share our thoughts, our dreams, and our hopes of the future.  She doesn't laugh at me when I feel upset, but instead she comforts me and says, "Remember that one time something like that happened to me..?" and it really did. We could stay up forever talking and giggling into our pillows for fear we might wake someone up.  

I like how we have the same style and we share jewelry.  I like when she says, "Hey, our craft room is getting kind of messy," and thus begins hours of cleaning out together while listening to “Adventures in Odyssey”.  I love it how organized she is. She must have a list for everything, and everything she owns is in some kind of order in some little box somewhere. :) I like our inside jokes and those moments we laugh and no one else knows why we are laughing. Or the wide-eye look we give each other from across the room when we have something to say to each other but can't say it out loud. 

I can remember the pain we both felt when we got the Chicken Pox last year. Scratching and crying at night, she was with me. I would feel like there was no end in sight to the pain we were both in, but she was there to comfort me and tell me it would all be better soon.  

We have taken on some pretty crazy ideas; some not so smart. Like the time I used her rotary cutter to cut paper; not a good idea. :-/ Or the time we decided to clean out our closet, and took everything out at once; way too overwhelming. 

We have baked together and cooked together; cleaned together and scrubbed together.  We have decorated for tea parties together and have made the kitchen look beautiful.  She is a fantastic muffin baker; they always turn out so moist. One day I could see her owning her own muffin bakery. She is a great gardener.  Her little herb garden is my favorite during the summer. She makes great tomato and basil sandwiches. She has many talents, I love to brag about her whenever I get the chance. 

I love our laughs and our moments.  I wish I could write them all down. I keep each one close to my heart, saving the memory forever.  I love you Diana. (: Thank you Lord for blessing me with a sister who can read my thoughts and share my hearts desires. She truly is a blessing to me. <3