Siblings

I have been thinking a lot about my siblings, lately, and would like to introduce them to you. This picture of all of us was taken the day of our Mother's funeral. In the very back row, left to right is, first of all:

My oldest brother Art. He is my "Irish Twin". In case you do not know what Irish Twins are, they are siblings born w/i a 12-month period. We, however, were not only born w/i a 12-month period, we were born in the SAME CALENDAR YEAR~! (Busy parents~!) Art was born in February and I came along at the end of December. I would often tell people we were 10-months apart; Mama would always say, "Please don't forget the 12 days!" So, we are 10 months, 12 days apart. That makes us the same age for about 6 weeks. Art has the IQ of a genius. He plays one of the best guitars you will ever hear. I have always credited him for much of my ability to play the piano. (More about that in future post.) He lives in Grand Rapids Michigan. He has been married to Sarah Louise for 32 years. They have 3 children and an adorable foster baby from Sudan, whom, at the current time, they have temporary guardianship of. His children are: Tabitha, David and Jonathon and little Goy. His wife, Sarah, has been almost a lifetime friend of the family. Art performs "audits" for companies applying for a 'line of credit'.

The other brother in the back row is my youngest brother, Earl. Earl just married Debra Jo this past December. Earl also has 3 children: Lindsey, Kristina and Earl James (EJ), and 4 grandsons. Lindsey has little Lincoln and Kristina has Karter, Karson and Kevin. Earl is definitely a "cleanie". He is always shampooing a carpet, his car upholstery, cleaning a garage, mowing a lawn - you get my point. He is the "quiet" one of the family. Many, many times in our growing up years people were "SHOCKED" to find that he was part of the family. They got to pretty much know all of us children, but Earl was so quiet and in the background, they didn't even know he existed. Earl can play a good electric bass guitar. He works for a company that manufactures Seed and Grain Cleaning Equipment. He is the supervisor of the elevator/conveyor department. His house is full of Red Wing memorabilia, the Red Wings being Michigan's state Hockey Team. You see, he also married a girl who's house had a lot of the same thing, so when they combined houses, they both doubled their collection. He and Deb live in Vestaburg Michigan.

The row of girls include my 3 sisters, and myself.

On the left, is Barbara June. She is next to the baby and came along 5 years after Earl was born, so she was kinda' a 2nd family for Mom and Dad, since the first 4 of us were born in 5 years. Barbara has been married to Tony for 21 years and lives in Atlanta, Missouri. They have 4 children: Nikita, Caleb, and twins, Devon and Danika. Barbara is extremely artistic. One year, while Mom and us older girls got Thanksgiving dinner ready, Barbara sat and molded a beautiful turkey out of a pound of butter. She then colored parts of it w/food coloring. It was a beautiful sight to behold until someone took the first bit to butter their roll. It was all downhill from there! Barb is a great cook and bakes almost everything from "scratch". I would eat at her table any meal of the day. Barbara has home-schooled her 4 children for most of their lives. She now has all teens, except, Nikita - who is 20.

The next sister in that row is Sara. She is the baby of the family. Sara was born when I was 17 and Jodi (next sister) was 15...she was kind of "our baby". Sara married Tony (Anthony) 14 years ago. Tony is of Mexican descent, therefore, they have BEAUTIFUL little girls. (We like to call them our 'taco babies', but they aren't really babies anymore.) Their girls are Britnee, Janae and Kerrigan. Tony and Sara have been Ministers of Music at different times in their married life. The three girls sing often with them; they also sing harmony...it runs in the family for young children to sing "parts". Sara is a stay-at-home Mama, however, she is always involved in every program her Church does and that her girl's Christan Day School does. That is because she is a b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l pianist. She has played since she was very young; 5 years of age. Sara can also put on the best programs ever. She is capable of pulling things out of children like no one I've ever known. She gets them to sing w/enthusiasm and say parts with such expression that you would think they were all "child actors". Sara loves to bake but doesn't like to cook. Good thing Tony is "into" cooking! She always says she has a kitchen because it "came with her house"! She and her family live in Kirklin, Indiana.

The 3rd girl to from the left is Wendy Jo, better known as "Jodi". She is my 'other twin'. We are only 27 months apart; I being the oldest, and we have been very close our entire lives. We were almost the same size once we were both in school, so everyone always insisted we were twins. Mom made most of our dresses in those days, and she always made us matching clothes. However, Jodi HATED to always dress like me. I, on the other hand, always wanted us to wear the same dresses together. I have always said Jodi was my "Aaron" (my mouthpiece). I depended on her so much when we were growing up. She was the strong one and I was the 'fraidy cat, and the one always upset and/or nervous. Jodi is been married to Dan for 31 years. They have 4 children; Eric John, Julee, Matt, and Luke, and one granddaughter, Esther, who belongs to Eric John. Jodi was very opposite me when it came to the span of years between each of her children. Hers are ALL 4 years apart; not by choice, that is just how it happened. Mine, however, were all born in 4 years. Jodi and I married brothers*. Talk of "keeping it in the family"... She has always been a 2nd mother to my 3 children, because I worked most of the time when my children were young and Jodi was the babysitter. She is also an awesome cook. My children LOVE to go to Aunt Jodi's to eat! Jodi has the Spiritual Gift of Nurturing. She has worked since her children grew up, doing "home care". She said she is just about feeling ready to go back to that position...it has taken her awhile after helping care for 2 sick parents prior to their deaths, last year, for her to even want to consider it again. She and Dan live in Shepherd, Michigan.

Obviously, the last girl on the right is me. Then, down front is dear 'ole Dad, who is now in Heaven; 101 days after Mama died, he went "Home" too.

So, there you have it - my Siblings. Since I went by the order in the picture, I will give you our birth-order.

Arthur Allen
Gail Lynn (me)
Wendy Jo "Jodi"
Earl Ernest
Barbara June
Sara Emeline

It was great to introduce all of them to you.

*I am no longer married to Dan's brother. We have been divorced for 20 years.