Day 25: JESUS CHRIST

Oh, did you think I was going to talk about me? I mean, that seems a bit awkward, no?

There is one final family member I would like to mention, however: Jesus Christ, since He's the reason we even have Christmas to celebrate. I'll be brief, but it would've been hard to do a 25 days of Christmas countdown on the family without Him. He is my Savior, my Redeemer, my perfect example, and my Brother - the absolute best family member I can ask for, and I'm really grateful to know Him. A number of years ago, I made a conscious decision to build my relationship with Him: I prayed to know Him more personally; I looked for Hum in my scripture study more; I focused on learning more about what the Atonement means to me and how I can better access it. Like all relationships, it took effort and time, and it's still a work in progress, but I can say I know and love my Savior so much more now than I did before. Jesus is the Christ, and I'm so glad to know that.

He truly is the Light of the world and the guiding light in my life - and I honestly believe "I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me." And I see His light shining through in all of my family members, which is why it was so easy and so fun to do this project I set for myself, because you all strengthen me so much as well.

So thanks for sticking through with me to the end of my goal. I've really loved getting a chance to look through all my photos and remember wonderful moments with you all and dwell on your special gifts and personalities. As I hope you could tell through this, I love you each individually and personally.

And I really love my Savior - I am so grateful Christ was born, and lived, and lives still. Merry Christmas, everyone!

xoxoxoxo!!
kb

Day 24: BRYNN

Baby Brynn, the Barlow that made this goal of mine even possible, being the 25th member to join our family, and giving me 24 people to talk about this December! The fact that she carries our surname as her middle name gives her special entitlement to this penultimate day.

Being not yet 1 year old even, we have yet to see all the personality that's waiting to explode out of this little one. But I think she is literally made up of smiles. That girl smiles all the time - and while I like to think she smiles most at me, I'm pretty sure anyone who's met her so far thinks the same thing about themselves. She's just a happy kid, and it's so fun to watch her grow and become more aware of her surroundings and think everything is so wonderful. Particularly her siblings.

She's also incredibly patient, happily receiving a lot of love and attention from her brothers and sister - and aunt - who like to get right up in her face. She is well-loved, and she returns it with rays of sunshine bursting out of her eyes and giggles full of rainbows. And she sticks out that tongue any chance she gets and it makes me laugh so hard.

Admittedly, my chances to get lots of pictures with her has been much fewer, due to her age, so I definitely stole that first photo from our resident professional photographer, Abby - I'm just assuming she's completely fine with my theft.

xoxo, BB!

DAY 23: CALEB

It feels fitting to have Caleb follow Chris here, because he feels like such a mini-Chris in so many wonderful ways.

One of my very favorite things about Caleb is that, from a young age, he has looked up to the men in his life and decided to follow in their amazing footsteps. I feel like whenever he's heard a story about one of his grandpas, he internalizes it and applies the lessons to his life immediately. Watching him emulate his uncles and talk skateboarding with Zach or watch-making with Ben is seriously the best. He's so willing to listen and learn from his elders (male and female) and that's made him so much more mature than your average 16-year-old boy. Also, I particularly love that last time I visited, we worked on crossword puzzles almost every night (insert multiple heart-eyed emojis here) - that's got Grandpa Bill and mom written all over it; I can only imagine how much they would've loved that, too.

Caleb has such swagger and confidence, he's just so cool. Like, really. I've been telling my friends about how cool my nephew is for years now. Any boy that gets more manly when he wears pink has earned that title, you know? He's super talented and really ambitious with his interests. He was meant to live in the YouTube era; like, all those how-to videos were made for him. I really love watching him try new things and hearing about all the latest skills and projects he's worked on since the last time I saw him. He is the current Renaissance Man of the family, if you will.

But beyond his many physical talents and skills, I just really like watching him love others. He takes after his mom and is so quick to serve someone in need, giving his all to help without complaint. He and Max have a great brotherly relationship with each other as the only boys, and I see a particularly unique relationship with each of his sisters, which can be hard to get in a large family. But watching him with Chloe is exceptionally heartwarming to me because I see how much she looks up to him and how much they bond in their activities - like doing push-ups together! I just think the world of Caleb because I know that one of his ways of emulating his elders is by being worthy of emulation by his juniors, as well. He's a great influence on his siblings and I love watching him become a man equal to his dad, his uncles, his grandfathers, and his great-grandfathers.

xoxo, CCB!!

Day 22: CHRIS

Oh man. THIS GUY. What do I say about the brother who lets me visit whenever I call needing a last-minute escape from my life; who requests a slow-motion video be taken of him eating delicious mango strips; who calls me every Sunday for a quick chat and leaves a message hoping everything is well because he often can only call while I'm at church.

Well, I can say we share the same smile and a major love for deep-fried oreos, and I've got maybe 7 pictures of separate oreo obsessions to prove it.

But I can also say Chris has been the best 3rd parent I could ever ask for. He's always taken such good care of me and makes time for me whenever - whether by taking me in when the parents excluded me from their trips, or when I just really need the Walworth County Fair in my life. Whether I feel like going for a run, or I really don't but he forces me to go with him anyway. Whether I have some interesting thought I need to share with someone, or I have exciting news to share, or I have nothing going on at all. Or, like, if I decide to move to DC by myself and ask to stop by Wisconsin along the way, and he volunteers to let me stop for a bit, and then take me the rest of the journey himself, move me in to my new place, and do all the sightseeing possible with me right away. One time, he had an extended layover at Dulles airport, so he took a cab 30 minutes that morning to meet me for breakfast before I had to go to work, then he cabbed straight back over to the airport - what a guy!

Chris makes me feel like everything I do is awesome, he's such a great cheerleader to have by your side. But it helps that he's always been such a wonderful role model as well, so really, when I'm doing something he thinks is great, it's usually because I'm just living my life the way I see him live his - and awesome things are bound to come from that.

But very little makes me feel better than when he expresses how much he loves having his kids be around me - he makes me be my best by just assuming my best is the normal and viewing me as my best. He is so fun to watch be a dad to those kids - I love seeing what close and unique relationships he has with each one, and I love seeing how, though he travels a lot for work, he still somehow manages to be incredibly present in their lives. They all consider him their friend, knowing that, with all his responsibilities and commitments, they are his #1 priority. As I feel with all my siblings, I just think he's the best.

xoxo!

Day 21: JAZLYN

Ok, this little nut is a hard one to crack - or she was for me, last time I saw her. Which made it so much more exciting every time she let me hold her or sit by her or smile at her without turning away and running to her dad. But she really really loves her dad, and it was adorable to watch him make her laugh - which, can I say, her giggle is so addicting. She's got this kind of guttural, vibrating giggle that doesn't quite escape her mouth with her pacifier in, until she's laughing really hard and can't contain it anymore. I was just watching a video I took of her laughing at something, and I melted.

Jazlyn loves her family, and I think that's the best. Watching her totter after Zoey is so sweet to me, and she seriously only has eyes for her mom and dad, which is also the best (when I'm able to not be completely jealous about it). One thing that can distract her, however, is a darling animal, and when I saw her in March, I took full advantage of Aunt Marcy's dog to get in her good graces. And she just babbled and babbled to that pup, smiling at me and at him and at me and at him. After that, I think we were good friends.

I feel like J is the rough and tumble kind - she just gets up and goes and does what she wants. Being with her in March was so fun because (when she was incredibly upset that Zach would dare lock her out of the bathroom) she would just go and wander around the basement and do whatever she felt like doing. And sometimes she'd look at me and invite me to play with her - I felt like such a star and would follow her everywhere. We played a little piano, we played in the nook under the basement stairs, we played with stuffed animals. And she would just glance at me with this look of "hey - you still in for this game? Cuz I'm having fun, but I'm not going to smile about it until we're having A LOT of fun, so let's just see where this goes." At least, that's what I took that look to mean...

The best thing is J is still little and growing, and her personality is becoming more and more expanded all the time, so there's still so much to learn about her, and I'm so excited to see the talents and interests and joys that will develop in her!

xoxo Jaz!

Day 20: GREG BRYAN

This is the typical seating arrangement when I visit Abby's house - Greg nestled in VERY close, both arms wrapped around my one arm, making me feel both quite loved and slightly claustrophobic. Thank goodness he doesn't mind getting accidentally elbowed in the stomach every once in a while. The best is when Abby and I are playing Super Mario bros - this arrangement somewhat lessens my range of motion, but he just giggles and tightens his grip :)

Greg Bryan is the biggest cheeser - for pictures, for dinner conversation, for dancing, for anything. He's so funny to me, I love making him take pictures with me, and I think his stuttering laugh is hilarious. His little voice is darling - I love that he loves dinosaurs, and I'm always happy to hear him talk about his interests. I think he will always be 4-5 years old in my mind (sorry GB). Like his other siblings, he's super helpful - you ask him to get something for you and he pops right up, runs as fast as he can to retrieve said 'thing,' races back to you, says, "here you go!" and then goes right back to whatever he was doing. Sometimes when he does drag a bit, you can tease him a little, and that little mopey frown gets pulled at the corners and try as he might, that smile can't be held back. And he makes you want to help him as well with his sweet way of asking for something, or kind of, sort of, not really asking for something but mentioning that it's been a long time since something happened and hint hint, smile smile, giggle. I love his joy when you accept the request and head off on a fun adventure.

He also got his dad's sense of hat style, and he wears a cardigan like a boss, so he's got a good fashion future ahead of him.

Greg has been a darling youngest sibling for a number of years now - his sweet friendship with Will is so precious to me, watching them play games and imagine together. And he and Ellee have always had a special relationship as well, as she has doted on him and he's been willing to be her doll and tag-along as well. But watching him become an older brother to Brynn has been so great - he's so sweet and tender with her, and he's continued to be his very helpful self with whatever she might need - sure, sometimes the burp cloth lands on top of her instead of next to her in his haste to return to a game - but seeing him go over and kiss her little forehead before rushing off to some next thing is so adorable! Never grow up, GB, stay my little guy forever please!

xoxo!

Day 19: LAURA

Laura! Hey girl!

From day 1, Laura has always treated me like a friend rather than a little sister. I lived with Ben and Laura for 3 months when I was a freshman in college, and it was seriously such a blast - I really loved that time being with them. Laura helped hone my scrapbooking skills during that time, and I will say my best scrapbook pages came from then, even as I continued in that hobby for a few more years after. We watched Alias together and it's still the only time I've been able to watch a whole season of the Bachelor - and it was so fun! I mean, Laura is just fun, she makes even the simplest things really exciting! She lives with an enthusiasm that spreads to the people around her, and she adds so much to any outing.

She also has trusted me with her kids multiple times while they were little - which is really a pretty big deal to me. I was still youngish when she entrusted little Emilie to my daytime care in Iowa. And later, she gave me guardianship for a week over Emilie and baby Claire when she had to go run girls camp in New York. Both times, she gave me the chance to come to an unknown city, hang out with my family, and help keep her kidlets happy and healthy. I think back about those times as really important to my confidence in being an adult and learning how to manage for myself and others. So she's really been important to my education in being a grown-up, and I'm grateful for that.

I think my favorite thing about Laura is that we're probably really different in a lot of ways - so she brings such a different perspective, it reminds me that life can be really great in all sorts of different ways. She's really ambitious and confident that she can do anything she puts her mind to; she's really friendly and outgoing and makes such strong, lasting friendships; she's really brave and willing to try something new or difficult or unknown. These are all things I don't understand, so I'm really grateful she's been able to show me how great life can be living with these qualities. To be honest, Laura kind of fascinates me - I live life in a way where a lot of things happen to me and I kind of roll with the outcomes and see what I can make of the result; Laura takes life by the horns and makes of it what she wants - and when life doesn't quite play along, she adjusts and takes the resulting life by the horns again and makes of it what she can. I guess I just feel like she lives life purposely. And luckily, she includes me in that purpose - and it's really a very fun ride for me. Can't wait for that 8-hour road trip coming up, we're singing ALL the songs!

xoxo LB!

Day 18: MADDIE

Oh my gosh, Day 18 is Maddie, WHO IS 18 years old! Which also just blows my mind that I have a niece in college, but let's not dwell on that. Although how cool is it that Maddie is in COLLEGE?! I'm so proud of her and all her hard work to get there - and I'm so happy she's getting the chance to live on her own and have fun and make her own decisions and see where they will take her. College is so great, and she seems to be making the most of it so far.

I think I will always have a special connection to MJ in my heart, because I was so young when she was born, and I was often shipped off by my parents to stay with Chris's family for 3-7 days at a time, so I feel like I got to grow up with her, in a small way. She's as close in age to me as her dad is to me, so I have about equal commonalities with both of them, regarding life and cultural experiences. But I feel like I got to relate to Maddie in a way that I won't have with my other nieces - talking to her about what she's experiencing now is so fun because it really wasn't all that long ago that I was in that same place - high school, athletics, college, etc - so I don't feel quite as old and stodgy with her when I reminisce about those times. She makes me feel young and cool still, which is super kind of her.

But MJ is also a lot more talented than I am, so there's a lot in her life I can't relate to directly, but I can only be a huge support. She's got a beautiful voice and definitely enjoys all of her mother's musical talents; she's a great athlete and it was so so so fun experiencing her cross-country and track successes - both physically cheering her on at meets and texting my cheers through races (I really loved going to her cross-country meets, and I'm really grateful she wasn't so mortified by our yelling that we had to stop - thanks for letting us be loud at your meets, MJ!). Maddie also has a great work ethic about school - she worked really hard in her classes and sincerely wanted to do well at school - this is something I relate to in theory, but less in practice, so I've always been impressed with that.

Beyond that, Maddie has been such a sweet older sister to her siblings - I've really loved her relationship with Caleb as they got through high school together, and her attention to all her siblings has been such a treat to watch. Being with the Barlows WI in August, after MJ had left for school, I think I really saw the impact she had on her family - even as they were pleased to have me visit, they were equally open about how much they missed her already. Libby and Chloe were especially vocal about it, which says a lot about how much they love her. Those girls are lucky to have such a good influence and example in their older sister, and if they can follow her lead to be strong and confident and genuine women like her, they will be set for life.

xoxo MJ!

Day 17: JAMIE

Can we talk about Jamie for a second? Isn't she so great? Jamie is the sweetest person I know, and she's had such a great effect on our family.

I think the first time I really spent a lot of time with her was when I visited her and Zach in Arizona for a long weekend - and we made tie-dyed shirts, bought sweet halloween tees to go to a haunted house, and basically just had fun all weekend long. I felt so comfortable right away in their new family, and she and her sweet pup Phebe had a lot to do with that (I mean, it definitely wasn't Oliver who welcomed me with open arms - that punk cat).

I think one of my favorite things about Jamie is she showers love on all people and all animals. She took in my grumpy cat when she married Zach, and she loved him to the end. She rescued Manny, sponsored a duck (I think that's right?) for a birthday present for Zach, and I'm sure there's more I'm not thinking of here. I remember her once saying her dream job would be a co-rehabilitation center for kids and animals to help each other in therapy - and I still really hope that happens one day because she'd run the coolest center, I'm sure of it - with our little Claire as her first intern, I hope! :)

Our family is a loving family, but I think Jamie has an ability to pull out and highlight that love - she brightens it, she opens her home to all of us for all the paloozas, which I think has made a huge impact on keeping our family close with each other as a whole, and I'm so glad she's one of us!

xoxo!

Day 16: WILL

Oh Will, my sweet young jedi. Will is probably the sweetest kid you'll meet. He's kind to people because he wants to be kind, he's helpful when you ask him to help with something, and he's so quick to smile, I love that joy. He's super impressive on Super Mario as well - it's kind of frustrating to me how good he is at age 8 when I still still struggle to get Luigi (I'll never be good enough to be Mario) to jump onto a brick more often than is acceptable. When he was a toddler, he would sit between Abby and me on the couch as we played Super Mario and Dr Mario in Arkansas, and I don't think we realized just how much he was learning then, because he's a total rockstar now and I think the Christmases of quiet observation really played a part in his skills. Now he tells me what I should do and how to overcome obstacles and how to finish levels - I learn so much from him!

Also, Will's crescent moon eyes when he smiles - heartmeltingly precious to me. AND he wears bowties like a boss.

Will is just so unassuming, he just kind of goes through life doing really great things and working hard at things - and not drawing very much attention to any of his accomplishments, it seems. Like, he wants to show some cool trick he's figured out, but he also feels good showing his brother the trick and calling that a good audience. And then when you ask when he figured out how to do something, he kind of just shrugs like it's just something he's always known. Will's just got a gentle heart, he's such a lover, and, truly so kind. I really, really love that he is still so quick to come give me a hug when I visit and act like he loves me - don't ever stop, Will!

xoxo!

Day 15: MOM

Happy birthday, Mom!! I hope you're being spoiled with warmer, non-rainy weather right now!

Oh mom - there are a lot of things I enjoy that I know I got from mom. We've spent a lot of time together in common, quiet interests - like working side-by-side through her collection of crossword puzzle and variety puzzlebooks (and like any good daughter, I lovingly stockpiled variety puzzles to bring to her in London when I visited, since she couldn't get them there) or sitting in the same or adjoining rooms, reading our separate books - many of my favorite books have been recommendations from her and I love talking to her about a mutually loved story, when the other finally reads it. And I'm 98% positive I got my inclination to shriek or jerk and squeal at important (or not important) moments in Green Bay Packers football games from her influence (sorry dad).

I also learned the joy of a nicely decorated home - the many trips home from college to have mom welcome me with all the new changes and additions to our home's interior have ingrained in me a love for showing off my decorating (whether my roommates care or not!). And every time I cook (so, once a month maybe), I feel like I need to tell mom so we can both believe her fab cooking skills maybe might've rubbed off on me finally (they didn't, alas).

More importantly, though, I also learned how kindness and a willingness to listen to someone talk can make such a difference to them. I feel like mom was really great at listening and engaging with people - the ladies at church just seemed so comfortable around mom, and I find myself constantly striving for that same effect on the people around me. She wasn't aggressive in her friendliness or in need of any spotlight - she just wanted to be kind and people felt noticed by her. I don't think I realized that impact until long after I moved out of the house, but I definitely appreciate it now.

I know I'm a strong, independent, confident woman because of mom (and dad), and I'd be remiss if I didn't recognize the impact of Nana and Grandpa Bill in rearing a strong, independent, confident daughter who would then become my example - they're both so thoughtful and kind, and I've grown up totally spoiled in knowing that they love me completely. I love visiting them - they both show such interest in what I'm doing, and just knowing that they take the time to keep track of me among all their other posterity makes me feel so loved. So thanks, Nana and Gpa Bill, for loving me, and for raising an amazing daughter to love me as well!

(and thanks Jodi, for sending these pics!)

xoxo!

Day 14: CLAIRE

Oh Claire, my sweet. Claire loves reading, so obviously that's the most important thing for me to highlight here. I love that she loves to read - and I pray she never becomes susceptible to easy carsickness so she can always read in the car.

I also really love how much she loves animals. Claire is sweet and gentle, so her love for animals makes sense to me - she's a calming presence to them, like she is to me. Also those big brown doe eyes totally melt me. I love how she gets along with her sisters - as a middle child of 3, she has a special relationship with being the next-in-age buddy to both her older and younger sisters. Watching her with Emilie and watching her with Grace, she has a unique bond with both of them and it's fun to her love them both in different ways.

One of my favorite moments lately with her was when I last visited and we went bowling - it was so fun to watch her get better and better with every frame. I loved helping teach some basic mechanics and go up with each bowl to see what our next strategy should be. And one frame, when I distractedly stayed in my seat, she got up, went to the lane, and then looked back at me, like, "uh, hello, are you coming or what?" and I bounced up and joined her. I just really like her, and I like that she likes me and lets me be around her to do fun things.

xoxo, claire bear!

Day 13: BEN

Happy Birthday, Ben, my fellow ferroequinologist**!!!

Ben is so great. He's super tall, super funny, and super kind. Ben has always believed in my potential to do great things, and he's been super supportive of any major or minor step I take in life. I love talking to him about the happenings of daily life, and I love sitting and watching sports with him. We've watched a lot of football and basketball together, and a lot of other sports as well - I attribute a lot of my ability to watch and enjoy almost any sporting event to all my time watching whatever is on espn with him.

I've also watched a number of obscure, random movies with Ben, all of which have become our favorite for the next few months, and which we try to track down all the information on it so we can love it even more. Between Shaolin Soccer and Mothra 3: the Return of Mothra, I think we've picked some real winners over the years.

I think one of my favorite things about Ben is that, in a family of big heads, he's really quite humble. He's really good at A LOT of things, but I feel like he's never the one to tell us all about it. If I was being inducted into any type of Hall of Fame, I'd be telling everyone - humblebragging whenever and wherever I could. But Ben almost completely hid his induction to our high school's athletic HoF and made very little fanfare of it, even as we piled on our own pride of just being related to someone in a HoF! It was so fun to celebrate someone who would never ask to be celebrated (and really doesn't want all that attention on him anyway - too bad, Ben, you're getting it anyway!)

I have a lot more good I could say here, but I sense his cheeks crimsoning at the thought of all these compliments, so perhaps I'll stop. But I'm super glad you're my brother. Can't wait to talk over life's mysteries on that 8-hour car ride to Missouri in a few weeks!!

xoxo!


**train enthusiast

Day 12: ABBY

Uh, what do I say about Abby? Our relationship has grown quite a bit of the many years of knowing each other - from me following her around everywhere she went like a puppy, to her following me around and wishing I'd live closer so we could be around each other more (for the record, I'd like that as well). From her borrowing all my clothes, to me borrowing all her leftover clothes after she went to college, to us buying the same clothes and matching more often than not (I've come to terms with that, for the most part). She's my advisor, my confidante, and my buddy.

I've helped her move from Idaho to Arkansas, and from Chicago to Philadelphia. We have a really amazing roadtrip playlist and, man, do we just crush those songs. Indigo Girls, watch out, we're coming for your guitars. Abby lets me tell her all my stories with all the details, and I'm eternally grateful for her patience because I like to include every. single. detail. possible. We have matching wrinkly foreheads when we lift our eyebrows, people always know we're sisters even if we're not sitting next to each other, and I cry the most when I'm laughing about something with her.

One of my favorite recent memories is probably around last Christmas, when we stayed up ridiculously late my first night in town - we had thought to be reasonable and go to bed at a decent hour to start the holiday...and 2 hours later, Maddie's snapchat was completely spammed with dozens of pictures of us, and we couldn't stop giggling thinking about her waking up to all these pictures out of nowhere. So then we spammed the rest of her family as well, because it'd be even funnier to have THEM ALL wake up to so many pictures of us! Perhaps we're only funny to ourselves, but dangit we're hilarious to us.

xoxo Abs!

Day 11: MAX

Oh Max. I love this guy. He is growing so much faster than I was prepared for - he's a teenager, you guys, and totally becoming his own person. Last time I visited, I got to catch a scrimmage game for his football team and it was so cool to see him in his uniform, just hanging with his teammates, looking totally legit. Chris facetimed me the other day, and it was such a treat to have Max join the call, I don't get to chat with him enough. I like when I can be knowledgeable about one of his interests because he's so fun to talk to about the things he likes - he just really knows his stuff, so you can have a great conversation with him and go more in depth with him than with a lot of other people. And I really love when he doesn't seem to be interested in doing something, but gets talked into it and then totally gets into it - like the Walworth County Fair this last August. You can say what you want, Max, but you enjoyed that caterpillar ride with me screaming in your ear right behind you!!

Max is such a goof, and he doesn't love posing for photos, so when he does take them, he makes the funniest faces! I think most of my photos of him are either candids or him totally mugging for the camera. 

But one of my favorite pictures is below. When I first moved to DC, I flew to Wisconsin and after loitering for a few days, Chris drove me and my belongings to DC, with Caleb and Max in tow. They were such great companions for this trip - they made the drive easy, and then they played tourist with me for a few days. DC is a big city that's meant to be walked, so we walked all over it, and one day we collapsed onto the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial and stared at the reflecting pond down the Mall. And I got this little shot, which I just love, because I love the bond of the WI Barlow boys - seeing Max stretched out, with that cute smile of his, while they cooled down for a minute. He just was fun to be with and I'm so glad he came with us on that trip. I see a lot of Chris in him, and I love his relationship with Caleb, but I'm really enjoying seeing those parts of his personality that are uniquely him.

xoxo!

Day 10: DEVN

Hello, Devn of the fancy Christmas suits! First and foremost, Devn wears the fanciest hats, and I always appreciate seeing what he's sporting on any given day.

Devn has always been a good friend to me. Abby and I have a special relationship as each other's only sister, and from the very beginning of joining our family, he has made room for me in their family, and encouraged my visits. D is always kind to me, even when I know he's teasing me about something. We've had some really great conversations over the years - often about women's health (aka my health class 10 years post-high school) - and I like learning from him. Our family is pretty smart, but Devn has this whole other realm of knowledge on areas I know very little about, so I learn a lot from him. He's also incredibly generous; I think maybe 1/4 of my belongings are from him. Which means their family and I can match often - which is what Abby always wants, so I think it's a win all around!

One of my favorite things, though, is that he fully supports and even requests that Abby & I play tons of Dr. Mario when I visit. I love when he comes and sits and watches us compete - we get really funny the longer we play, and the later it gets, and his laughter is the best gift, he's a great audience to perform for. And when we went and saw a late showing of Pitch Perfect 2 (because my persuading him to watch the 1st one was probably the best thing I ever did for him), he sat and laughed and laughed as Abby & I danced down the aisle of the empty theater during the closing credits. I couldn't ask for a better reaction than that.

 xoxo Dr D!

Day 9: CHLOE

Chloe is my sassy sister. A few years ago, Chris and Jodi brought their family to visit me in DC because their kids are gems and chose my city as their spring break destination (I'm still not sure how I got so lucky, or how I can be lucky enough to make it happen again). We had a blast, but one night I remember particularly well was maybe about mid-way through their trip? We were back at their hotel and the older kids had retired to their other room, while Libby had already fallen asleep and Chloe probably should've been, too. But she and I were having this back-and-forth conversation like we were stylists at a hair salon, gossiping with our clients about so-and-so and what she did and how we "couldn't even" and "she says to me, she says" and "oh no he di-n't!" and so on and so forth. This probably went on for about 10 minutes (8 minutes too long for Chris's patience, but he let us go on), and I couldn't stop laughing about this exchange as it went on. Eventually we ran out of new material and had to give up the game, but man it was so fun while it was happening!

Chloe is sassy. She is strong. And she's got a mind of her own - if she decides something, she sticks with it. That's an ability I do not have, so I fully appreciate her conviction. She can definitely do more push-ups than me, no question, and her tumbling skills are for sure the best in our entire family. I'm seriously amazed at the things she can do, and her willingness to try a new trick or skill. She refuses to trail behind her older siblings and wants to be able to do anything someone older than her can do - age is just a number for her. She truly is an old soul in a young girl's body, and I really love sitting around the firepit with her - after she's done just about everything except strike the match to get the fire going, of course, she's so invested in projects and she will take initiative to make something happen.

But mostly, I love seeing her with her younger cousins (and sister) - there's a caring nature that shines when she's watching over a toddler or younger kid. She lugs them around everywhere, getting them whatever they may want, showing them everything all around them, sitting with them and eating with them and walking slowly enough that they can easily tag along behind - because they always do. That might be one of my favorite things about her - she loves the children, and they love her.

xoxo Chlo!

Day 8: EMILIE

Dear Emilie, our actress and musician. Em has such talent and bravery, I'm in awe of her. She sings beautifully, and she's willing to sing in public, as a soloist, in front of lots of people - that's a gift I do not have but am seriously jealous about. She works on plays and musicals, and she's just a total character. She's a ham for the camera, and as I've been going through my pictures of many years, I kept running into all these close-up selfies she's sneakily taken at different ages and they crack me up! Plus those freckles?!?! {insert heart eyes emoji}

When Emilie was almost 1 year old, I lived with Ben and Laura during my off-semester of college and I nannied for Em while Ben finished his last semester of law school in Iowa. I still think of those months as precious when I consider how much of her life I got to be a part of, even if she doesn't remember it at all. She learned to walk while I was there and we practiced stairs when we were feeling brave. We had breakfast dance parties to Green Day and Kelly Clarkson on VH1, where she learned how to bounce/squat dance. We fell asleep to Baby Einstein videos (I have never once made it through a whole video awake...). We dressed up in matching BYU t-shirts. I loved being an impact in her life and even if she can't remember any part of it, I will still claim 3 months' worth of influence on who she has become and is becoming. And I will be ready for all the Dallas sunset trampoline parties she wants until I can no longer do front flips anymore. And then I'll still gladly cheer her on from the grass.

xoxo Bug-bug!

Day 7: ZOEY

Okay, this girl. Last time I went to Rolla, last Summer, Mom and Dad picked me up from the St. Louis airport and we got back to town a few hours before any of the other siblings, I think. So, after our parents, I was the first family to appear in the house. I walked through the door, and I immediately heard a pitter patter of little feet along with an adorable squeal of "Aunt Kate! Aunt Kate!! Aunt Kate!!!" 3 seconds later, Zoey ran into my arms, squeezing my shoulders in such a tight hug. I hadn't seen her in a while and wondered if she'd even remember me, so that welcome was the sweetest thing I could've asked for. Then she quickly took my hand and led me over to meet her fluffy stuffed animal friends in her room and we all became quite the squad for that afternoon.

I love that Zoey is not shy, and I love how much she loves. Her hugs come freely and powerfully. I'm so glad that Zach and Jamie keep her very aware of her extended family, even if we don't get to see each other often enough, so that when I do see her, she loves me like we're neighbors. Zoey is a free spirit and lives life in breakneck speed - I swear she's a blur more than a solid human girl when I see her. She does what she wants and does it very confidently. She's a super fancy dresser and she's just all girl - even as she's best friends with her boy cousins, she maintains a strong sense of a lady. I love seeing Zoey love her little sister to the point of suffocation and I hope that strong bond remains their whole lives. She's got her dad wrapped around her little finger, and it's so precious to me to see how they get along with one another - she has his volume and spastic excitement and it makes me so happy to see them play off each other. Her super big, open-mouth smile just kills me.

One of my favorite things, though, is watching her with her cousins and how she just follows them around and wants to be with them. She's just such a treat and I'm having so much fun seeing her personality develop. That and she has the most fabulously long, curly hair, amiright??

 xoxo!