My Boys

There's no other love like the love for a brother. There's no other love like the love from a brother.    Astrid Alauda

I have been blessed in life to have two sisters that I also consider my best friends. While our relationships have been tenuous at some times, and life saving at others, we have come to realize (as we grow up) that my mom’s favorite saying is true – friends come and go, but you will always have your sisters. From our lengthy phone conversations, to sushi dinners, and countless shopping trips, we have learned to laugh about our experiences and appreciate our differences. I can wholeheartedly say that my sisters are two of the biggest blessings in my life.

If forced to talk about his feelings, my husband would probably have the same sentiments. His is close to each of his three brothers, and each play a special role in his life.

As we talked about having children, and then adding to our current household, we both felt emphatic that we wanted a large(er) family. Selfishly, we love Anthony and would be so excited to expand our love to additional little ones. And, perhaps more importantly, we wanted to have children who enjoyed the same sibling relationships that we have in our families. Fortunately, that next step isn’t too far away…

Anthony is going to be a big brother. And he is going to have a little brother. We learned that we were expecting another baby around Labor Day, and shared the news with our family and close friends a few weeks. We met with the doctor (again) yesterday, and had the anatomy ultrasound, where we learned three things:

1. James Martin (our new little bean’s name) is a very active baby.
2. James Martin is proving to be a large(er) baby, much like his older brother.
3. James Martin is already part of our family and I love him as if he has been a part of my life forever.

The Alauda quote caught my attention, because that is exactly what I feel for and with my sisters, and I pray that it represents the relationship Anthony and Jimmy will have as they grow up together. My mother emphatically reinforced the importance of sisters, and while there was a time I thought she was crazy, I plan on doing the same with my boys.

My boys.