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This is a picture of two of my daughters, Marie and Esther. I’ve posted it before on the( “How to Tie A Baby Wrap” blog), but I love it. It shows me how much Marie loves being a big sister.
She’s 17 now and “cool”. She spends time in lots of normal teenage pursuits – a job at a pizza place, sleeping in, putting together cute (and modest!) outfits – even having a boyfriend (currently in Africa, but will be here in a month.)
She tries to convince me that she’s not “into” kids, that kids grow up to become annoying teenagers (her words), but then I see this picture and I know it’s a front. Marie is a nurturer and it shows in this picture. She was our first adopted child, way back in 1991. We have always involved the kids in our decision to adopt again and it has always been unanimous. She has always been excited to add new kids to our family. Over the last few years – even though supportive of our new adoptions – she’s been less excited about talking to Mom
This recent trip to Africa was a wonderful experience. She got weeks of one-on-one attention (well, shared with babies, but they don’t do much talking) and I got to see the “real her”, different from the “teenage her”. We spent hours talking, I got to watch her develop one of her first romantic relationships and I got to see her love on babies.
She is so enamored with one of the babies, she has told me that if I die, she wants to become her mom. I have no plans to kick the bucket anytime soon, but I am totally delighted that she loves her new sister(s) so much that she wants to help make sure they “grow up right”. In my mind, lots of people to love the new ones is one of the advantages of a big family. 
I know these babies will be loved and adored all of their lives – by older siblings just like Alina. (And if you just read Heidi’s blog for today, yes, we do have plenty of life insurance, LOL.)
