sweet sisters

my photoshoot with the gooch girls (& their cool dog elvis) made me thankful for a couple of things. lately it seems like time has just flown by. my own girls are growing & changing at dizzying speeds, and sometimes i get this sick feeling....like i've already missed something. or that i'll blink & they'll be wearing graduation gowns (shudder) or wedding veils (shudder, shudder). we did the shoot below on georgia's 8th birthday. eight! at first, it sounded so ......old.......to me. twice the age of my lucy. but spending time with georgia & big sister scarlett made me realize something. eight is still pretty little! eight is giggling on the trampoline & sailing with a giant grin on the backyard swing. eight is scared of snakes by the dock & dropping a sock in the potty in a rush to get outside for the photo shoot. these two girls made me realize that i have more time than i thought. my girls will be little....for awhile anyway. and i am thankful.

being around scarlett and georgia also made me thankful that i have girls, and that my girls will each know the joy of being a sister, and of having a sister. i was a bit of a tomboy growing up . okay, i was a HUGE tomboy growing up (refer to picture above). i had a fantastic childhood - i went hunting and fishing with my dad. i learned to shoot a gun at about the time i learned to ride a bike. i was first in line for tetherball & kickball on the playground. had a big brother and i wanted to be just like him. he taught me to throw a baseball and a football, and the biggest insult he could deliver was, "you just threw that like a girl!". growing up i always imagined that i'd have boys. it's not that i wanted boys instead of girls, it just seemed to fit in my plan. being a "boy mom" would have been easy for me - bring on the torn muddy jeans and slimy pet frogs. however, you know what they say about telling god your plans.
( i must have provided him with some serious comic relief over the years.) in november of 2005, the ring of the phone changed my vision of the future...and my life....forever. a sweet little voice on the other end of the line said, "shannon laduke?" "yes?" "my name is liz, i'm having a baby in december, and i want you to have her".... and the first thing that raced through my mind was.... HER? did she just say HER??? i'm going to have a GIRL? and after it sunk in, for some reason, it simply felt right. fast forward a few years, and we've been blessed with yet another precious baby girl. these days it's the land of tiaras & tutus, disney princesses & pink hairbows around here, and i'm loving every second. and i'm amazed daily as i watch my girls strengthen a bond that i'm convinced is unique to sisters.

speaking of a sisterly bond, scarlett & georgia have such a great one. and if you've met them, chances are you've heard their angelic singing voices. the first time i heard them, my family was on our boat on lake hamilton with some out-of-town friends. the gooch girls and their daddy rode up on a sea-doo and tied up to us. they hadn't been with us very long when their dad suggested a rendition of "sisters". i thought it was an impossible request, as they barely knew us at the time, and had never even met our friends. promptly proving me wrong, the girls hopped onto our swim-deck & belted out the lyrics, unabashed, accompanied by the motions. their incredible voices echoed throughout the ski cove. upon the grand finale, every single surrounding boat delivered resounding standing O's. scarlett and georgia simply grinned and bowed, and climbed together back into the boat. i know these two are destined for great things. they are such talented, fabulous, amazing kids. thank you, scarlett and georgia - you are always so much fun, and a perfect reminder to be thankful for girls, and sisters, and a little extra time!