Blessings of a Baby Sister

Within all the hurry and rush of everyday life we all balance the fine line between managing deadlines, family time and never ending to-do lists. Thankfully, among other things I have an awesome baby sister who insisted on me scheduling some time to take off with her in beautiful Amelia Island. Her birthday was coming up and I am expecting our third child (a baby girl) and she wanted to celebrate by us going to get pedicures together...

I had every excuse in the book on why I could not and was not particularly excited about a stranger touching my feet (well, the marshmallows that resembled what was once my feet).

However, no matter what my response was she would not take no for an answer. Persistence is something that runs pretty strong in our family and I finally gave in and blocked off the afternoon with her.

As we walked into the salon, I had just decided to relax and not over think it. Which did not work very well in the beginning... but once I realized that the chair I was sitting in was going to also give me a massage for the 40+ minutes I would be sitting there with my feet relaxing in warm bubbling water...AND I would also enjoy a foot and leg massage...well, everything just didn't seem all that bad!

I finally did relax and even upgraded to a manicure while there! I really enjoyed spending time with my little sis and the much needed massage. I am thankful that she was stubborn enough to not let me pass up a wonderful opportunity to take some time and enjoy a few moments without having to rush from shoot to appointment or be consumed with meetings, editing and errands.

Additionally, my outlook on pedicures has forever been changed and I am afraid to admit I may be finding excuses to go get more...just the other day I was meeting a friend for lunch and she suggested she needed one so, I had another :)

Here are some pics of us at the salon and our sassy little manicures...

Before heading home we had some fun at her house and with A...he is such a ham for the camera :) I love this series because it captures the distinctiveness of our personalities...I am pretty calm and conservative (though I have my moments) and she is such a prankster who can find humor in almost any situation!

Reflecting on the day, I realized that God places special people like her in our lives to step in and put a pause to the many things that we let become so important that really (in the big scheme of things) in no way trumps family, love, relationships and the simple moments in life that we spend with the ones we love. It is important to embrace those moments and have some quiet time to think, reconnect and simply relax.Thanks baby sis! I am so thankful for you and it makes me look forward to seeing the blessings that the boys will receive from their baby sister! Love ya :P