love. {Project 52}

Our Project 52 challenge this week is to share a snapshot that captures love.

Right now, when I hear the word love, I am reminded of our girls... sisters... and the special bond that holds them close.

I didn't grow up with a sister relationship like this, and it's been extra special for me to watch them grow from merely big sister / baby sister to playmates, friends, and confidants.

We're potty training right now (well, Mady's learning to use the potty, the rest of us are learning to be very patient), and at the end of a very long potty-centered day, Ella cheerfully offered to lend a hand. I let her go to work and smiled as I overheard their interaction.

And then I laughed when I saw this scene.

These two sisters are devoted to one another. They delight in each other. They laugh together. They are protective and look out for one another. They miss each other when they're away. They're practically inseparable when they're at home.

They are just starting out on their sister journey together, and I'm so glad they will always have each other in their corners, even though I know there will be moments {and there are, even now} when they can't stand each other.

They'll play together as little girls and then navigate the bumpy waters of middle school and then high school, not too many years apart. They'll share clothes. They'll share secrets. They'll keep in touch throughout their college years as they grow and change some more, finding their footing on their own grown-up paths. 

Someday they'll stand beside one another on their wedding days, holding bouquets of beautiful flowers in their hands and maid of honor speeches in their hearts. Someday after that, they'll hold each other's babies in bustling hospital rooms and become aunties to a new generation.

I know real sister relationships can be complicated, complex, and competitive, but my prayer for our girls is that no matter what they'll always have a sister to come home to, someone who knew them first, someone who knows them best.

These two girls, they've just begun, on the cusp of lifetime full of ups and downs, laughter and tears, heartbreak and celebration.

And through it all, they'll always have a friend who is more than a friend. 

She is a sister.

Click here to see Autumn's interpretation of love this week!