A weekend with my sister

This weekend I went home to see my little sister Laci!  Many of you know that Laci and I are 19 years apart, but even though we are many years apart she is still my best little buddy!  Laci and I were very different growing up.  While I loved playing with baby dolls and barbies, Laci likes bugs and science.  She intrigues me with her vast knowledge and she is only 7! There is no doubt, Laci is very smart.  When Laci was only 5,  she pointed to the water going out of the bath tub and said, "Look at the vortex that the water is forming."  Then as she was brushing her teeth she wanted to show me her uvula in the back of her throat (the tiny thing dangling from our throats)  I mean I didn't even know what a uvula was until she told me!

Here is a picture of me and Laci when she was a little girl:

I am pretty sure my mom is absolutely thrilled that at least one of her children ended up with her brains.  My mom is a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner and she is brilliant.  Laci says she wants to be a doctor when she grows up and my mom fully supports her dream.  My mom often brings home x-rays for Laci to look at and she explains to Laci what is going on in them. Last Christmas, my mom bought her a microscope so that she could see germs and identify them.  I just can't imagine ever being interested in this...  Here is a picture of Laci with her microscope:

Laci also has her very own Christmas tree, aside from the family tree, that she gets to decorate all on her own.  Would you like to take a guess at what kind of ornaments adorn her tree?  Germ ornaments-yes I said Germ Ornaments...

Here are a few ornaments from her germ collection:

Up close of a few of them:

 This weekend my mom gave me my childhood ornaments that are so special to me. I can remember carefully putting these ornaments on our Christmas tree every year with my mom.  These ornaments come from the Lenox 1989 Carousel collection.  I have the complete collection and my mom sent them home with me today since I will not be home for Christmas.  They are a little different than Laci's germ ornaments and I am told they are very valuable. Here is a picture of a few of them:

While Laci and I have experienced different Christmas traditions growing up, there is one similar tradition that we share... Counting down the days until Christmas with our Advent Calendar:

This year is the first year I will not be home (at my parent's).  I am sad that I will not hear Laci's footsteps run down the hallway in anticipation of what Santa brought her, but this is a part of getting older and getting married.  Holidays are now divided evenly between our families.  I am, however, excited about spending this Christmas with my husband-this will be our first Christmas together as a married couple. We will now start creating Christmas traditions of our own. 

While I am going to miss my little buddy, Laci, on Christmas morning.  I know that Santa is going to be good to her.  She certainly is one lucky kid and she has great parents too... and a big sister who loves her more than anything in this world!