8 years of joy

Eight years ago today my life changed when I became an auntie for the first time. Today is Noah's eighth birthday!

Bowling!

I've always felt a special bond with Noah since he was just a tiny baby. Part of it may be that he's the one who made me an auntie. But I think a bigger part of it is that he's the oldest, like me, and I know and understand that role in a family.

At the cabin together

Noah, you are growing into such a kind and funny kid. You have a sense of humor like I do and will laugh at the TV all the time. You don't hold back that joy! I know your mom gets a kick out of it when she knows you're watching TV in an empty room and you're just giggling away.

Awwwww, yeah! Catching air on our vacation to South Dakota.

You are also one of the most affectionate kids I've ever known. You are very generous with the words, "I love you," and you say it often to your family members. You also use it as a way to smooth things over. You know when an adult is getting upset or frustrated so you will declare their love for them in an effort to lift their spirits. You also LOVE to give hugs and will give those freely at all times.

One of my ring bearers!

You are an excellent big brother in that you are trustworthy and responsible and like to play with your brothers and sister. You have a lot of traits that are common to the oldest - responsible, you follow the rules, you want to know that plan. These are all things I can relate to as well, buddy!

Enjoying ice cream at the lake

It has been a joy to watch you grow and learn new things and develop skills in so many areas. You are really good at just about anything you try and you do REALLY well in school. Math and reading are a breeze for your smart little brain. We are all excited to see where your potential brings you over your lifetime. Be kind to others, listen to your parents, and love Jesus and you will go places, Noah!

My special buddy

Your auntie Melis sure does love you! Happy Birthday, kiddo!

My heart was captured...twice in one day

Even though it was many years ago, I remember it so clearly. I was working at my office at Interim HealthCare in St. Paul. My sister had an ultrasound that day and her hubby went along to the appointment. I was sitting at my desk when she called. For whatever reason, when I answered the phone, I stood up and was leaning against my desk. I shared an office with my co-worker, Gretchen, and our desks were right next to one another. So we could always hear every word of one another's phone conversations. I remember my sister saying, "Well, there's a reason I'm so big already. We're having twins." I responded with, "Gretchen! My sister is having twins!" And I immediately got choked up. TWINS! Two for the price of one. Oh, man.

While my sister was pregnant, they found out it was two boys. My sister grew. And grew. And grew. I couldn't believe how much her stomach stretched. It looked like she had swallowed a beach ball. She looked uncomfortable all the time but she never had to go on bed rest. Which was good because she had a 19-month old to tend to.

And then, they were here. My sister went in for a scheduled c-section. My mom stayed at their house with their toddler. I waited and waited for the phone call to come while I was at work. I got nothing done that day. Then finally, around 11:00 the call came. My mom said I had two new nephews, born around 10 am. Quitting time couldn't come fast enough that day. I went straight to the hospital after work to see my healthy nephews. For twins, they were not scrawny. My sister had 13 pounds of baby in her!

And now, those two little guys turn six-years-old today. I know there have been many challenging days for their parents in the last six years, but no one would trade these boys for anything. They wrestle, are loud, demand a lot of care, yell at one another, and don't always follow directions at home. But they are also so loving to their little sister, watch out for one another, laugh together, play together, and have captured the hearts of so many. This auntie included.

Sam, you are loud. You always have been. I remember holding you on my shoulder as an infant and you cried so loud I thought my ear was going to start ringing. You have quite the set of lungs. And even though you are sometimes loud, you can also be quite tender. You are your mom's biggest helper, always willing to pitch in. Sometimes you think you run the show and things have to be done your way. But that's just you being a kid with leadership abilities that haven't matured yet. You are going to be quite the leader some day. One of my favorite things is when you cut loose and get silly. You love to laugh and have a good time. You can also put on quite the scowl and we have said, "He is such a crank," more than one time. You are cranky sometimes. It's like an old man lives inside of your little boy body. When you were a toddler you would say, "Sometimes I'm Good Sammy and sometimes I'm Bad Sammy." You do well at school and are so smart. You are inquisitive, ask good questions, try and understand everything going on around you and are very sharp when it comes to figuring out what's going on around you. I love when you sing, I love when you are willing to snuggle, and I love that you never call me by my full name. Just "Melis." Every time.

Jack, you are a one-of-a-kind kid. The first day you were brought home from the hospital I noticed a little bump on your earlobe that's still there to this day. I love it that I noticed it first...probably because I studied you and your brother quite a bit when you were new babies. You have always been so laid back. Quite different from your twin. When you were a baby, the back of your head was flat, so you had to wear a special helmet to shape your head. You didn't mind that thing one bit. You were just as happy as could be. You are the kid who is everyone's friend. You are very good at making friends, and tend to seek out kids who may have a harder time making friends. You like to have a good time. And ever since you were a baby, you were kind of in your own world. In la-la land, just having fun as you learned about life. You are the kid who hates kisses and refuses to give or receive them. If someone sneaks a kiss on you without your permission you are so proud to say, "I wiped it off!" You also do well in school and a lot of classmates are naturally drawn to you. I love when you joke around with me, I love when you give me big hugs, and I love all of the questions you ask.

It has been quite the treat to have a front row seat to see you boys grow into the kindgergartners that you are now. I know that I will turn around and you will be graduating high school. Just thinking about the men you will become causes me to get a little teary-eyed because I'm already so proud of both of you.

I love you, Sam and Jack! Happy Birthday to my special boys!


"Hmmm...what's for lunch?" One day I found Jack like this.



Jack as a toddler



The day Jack got his training wheels removed



With Jack on his 2nd birthday

Sammy used to play in this Cozy Coupe all the time. In fact, they had to get 2 because he was so insistent this car was his only. He called it his "Tozy Toop."

Sammy's spag face

Kisses from my Sammy

Sammy, four-years-old. Sleep-over at my house.

Bundled up together at the Amery Fall Festival. 2010

Sam at the apple orchard

Silly face with Jack. Four-years-old

The twins as toddlers. Someday they will hate me for this photo.

Reasons I love being a PANK

Yesterday I read an article in the Star Tribune. It was called "PANKs: Happy with the role of aunt." Apparently I had an acronym label and had no idea! You see PANK stands for Professional Aunt, No Kids. Yep, that's pretty much me. A workin' girl with no kids of my own, but auntie to my sister's kiddos. The article talked about women who choose not to have kids, but relish the role of being an aunt. That's kind of me, but not totally. I relish the role of auntie. But I haven't chosen not to have kids. It just hasn't happened yet that I get to be a mom. Someday. Just hasn't been God's plan for me...yet. But, I was pretty much born to be a mom, so I know I will be someday.

Anyway, getting back to the PANK business. Even though I wasn't like the women highlighted in the newspaper article, by choosing a career over motherhood, I still would like to think of myself as a PANK. Biologically, I have three awesome nephews and one precious niece. By marriage I picked up four more sweet nieces and one cutie-patootie nephew. So, that makes nine. The oldest is eight-years-old. The youngest just turned one. There's a seven-year-old in the mix. Four of them are in Kindergarten this year. The other two are...well...two. It all adds up to wheel-barrows full of adorableness.

Do you know what it really means to treasure something? To me it means to hold dear to something in my heart, to adore personalities, to tear up at the mere thought of any harm coming to my lovies, to rejoice in accomplishments. For these reasons, I treasure my nieces and nephews. I don't use that word lightly.

So, here are my reasons I love (and treasure) being a PANK:

1. All of the fun, very little of the responsibility.
When you're an auntie, you get to take kids to the park, the Twins game, have sleepovers, go to McDonald's, take them to Grandma and Grandpa's for the weekend, play video games, go rollerskating, and all sorts of fun things. What you don't have to do is enforce bedtimes, give timeouts, get them to eat their veggies, break up fights, or administer punishment. On a regular basis, that is. I've spent so much time with my sister's kids, that I've had to do all of those things. Just not very frequently, and certainly not every day like their parents do.

2. Being a cheerleader.
I get to go to the t-ball games, the Christmas programs, the Awana year-end awards, the school concerts, the dance recitals, buy the stuff from fundraisers, ooh and aah over the latest art project. I love supporting the nieces and nephews, and with all they can be involved in, I'm sure there will be events to go to for years to come. Seeing them achieve something they've been working on or learning...it makes my heart swell with pride every time.

3. Presents!
I absolutely LOVE buying birthday and Christmas presents. I put a lot of thought into it and usually what I give is a hit. There have been a couple of clunkers, but not too many. I just really get a charge out of giving gifts. I used to give my sister's kids gifts, for no good reason. For a while it was at a point where I would walk in their house and one of my nephews would always ask, "Did you bring anything special for me?" And I would take turns...sometimes I would give something for all of them. Sometimes I would bring something for just one of them because when I saw it, it made me think of that particular kid. That has tapered off in the last couple of years as the budget has grown tighter. But I still enjoy giving birthday and Christmas gifts. I just love it when my sister or sister-in-law says, "So-and-so really loves the flibbity-floop you gave them." Score!

4. Quiet.
Sometimes after spending time with my nieces and nephews, I go home and just sit for a couple of minutes in  our house in the absolute quiet. I know our house won't always be quiet, once we have our own family, but I  appreciate it now while I can.

5. There's very little incidents of getting puked on.
Just once. I know my sister has been puked on multiple times. My time will come, but for now I'm glad it's not me.

6. The bond.
Oh, the bond. On this point, I could write pages and pages. There is no other relationship like being an auntie to your sibling's kids. Especially when you're close to your siblings. Especially when you're not a parent yet. My sister will never know what it's like to be an auntie before being a mom. It's kind of a treasured thing. I'm still getting to know my husband's nieces and nephew. We're at the beginning of creating memories together. But my sister's kids...I've been there since it was announced they were on their way. I've had a front row seat to watching their personalities unfold and develop. At some point in their lives, every single one of them has gone through a phase where they would RUN to me when I walked through their door. There is nothing like the bond I have with them. My husband's nephew is a similar bond though, because I have been around since it was announced he was on his way. And it's a bond that allows me to tease. I'm a teaser. I like to joke around. The other day I said to one of my nieces, "What up, Homeslice?" She didn't even acknowledge me...she's so used to my teasing.

7. Practice!
For a long time I have referred to my sister's kids as my "practice kids." I have changed countless diapers, prepared lots of meals for them, taught them songs and games, played LOTS of board games, laid the smack down when they were naughty, given baths, driven them many many miles, and kissed owies. More than once I've been mistaken as a mom when I've been out and about with one of the nephews or niece. I don't think you can ever really be fully prepared to parent, and I know that when I am a mom, there will be many times I feel inadequate. But, I've got a pretty good start in getting a glimpse into what the day-to-day part of parenting looks like. I won't have to go into parenting blindly wondering, "What's Dreft? How do I make a bottle of formula? When do babies start eating solids? Why does my infant son's shirt keep getting wet when he pees? What's a Baby Bjorn? What's a Boppy? What's a Bumbo? Do we need all of these oddly named things?"

8. Being an involved auntie got me a husband.
I had to wait 36 years to find out how God would bring me to my husband. How would we meet? It was because I'm an auntie. I decided to volunteer at our church in the children's ministry, once my nephew was old enough to get involved. It was through this ministry that I met my sister-in-law. Who told me about her single brother. Who I eventually met. Then dated. Then fell in love with. Then married. Huge pay-off for being a PANK.

9. I get to be behind-the-scenes, praying these kids into the people God wants them to be.
Many many many prayers and blessings have been spoken for and over these little ones. God has great things in store for them. I know it.

So, there you have it. Nine nephews and nieces, nine reasons I love being a PANK. I look forward to developing my auntie role with my husband's siblings' kids. (Follow that?) I've been their auntie for only five months. Two of them live far away, and I wish they lived closer. Not just because they're my nieces, but they are good little girls with sweet hearts, sweet smiles, and sweet faces. I'll have to strive to get to know them better in a more creative way, because they aren't as accessible as the local yokels. Er, I mean, the ones that live near me.

And this thought just hit me...if I'm a PANK, I guess that makes my husband a PUNK. I knew it.