Sibs

As I was reading Adrienne's post and came to the part about everyone's family, I was compelled to go to her previous posts and read the comments. Sam (hi Sam!) had the idea that we should all write about our siblings. Good idea, I think.

I am not a first-born. I am "technically" the youngest of my siblings. I say "technically" for two reasons:
1. I am a twin, so I am the same age as my sister. She was born first, though. Five minutes before me to be exact.

2. I have a stepbrother who is younger than me. He's not my brother by genetics, but he's my brother in every way that truly counts.

The oldest is my brother, Bob. He lives in The Woodlands, Texas (30 miles north of Houston) He is one year older than my sister and me, but is not like a first-born AT ALL. He's very sweet, though a little too passive in my opinion. Because he's so kind (and too passive), he tends to get crapped on a lot. When push comes to shove, however, he knows how to stand up for himself. He's a big teddy bear – a wonderful Christian example of a husband and family man.

Next is my twin sister, Stephanie. I don't know where to begin, so I'll just say that she's a lot like me, just older :). Her kids have shaped her life to make her very different than me in one important aspect; she has more patience! She's a fantastic mother – one of the best I know (and I know some pretty darn good moms!).

Then, there's me. Five minutes after I steal all of my sister's B-12 (leaving her with Spine Abifida. Sorry, Stephie), I come into the world as the last of the Harberson siblings. I was a brat growing up. I always had to get my way and wouldn't rest until I did. Come to think of it, maybe I'm the one who taught my sister all that patience stuff. With me, God was preparing her for motherhood.

Then there is my brother, Heath. As mentioned, he's my stepbrother. When my dad remarried, Heath came to live with us – he was two years old. I've known him nearly his entire life, and he is definitely a blessing. For me, there is no distinction – he's my little brother and that is that. He is in the Navy, and he's currently stationed in Japan for two years. He's very tall and handsome, but does not have the ego that normally comes with someone who looks like him. He's very gentle and kind and loves to just hang out and talk. Unfortunately, I don't get to see him very often, but when I do, we stay up until the wee hours (that term makes me laugh. What's a "wee" hour?) and talk about everything. We laugh a lot, too.

So those are my brothers and sisters. I'm blessed to have each of them in my life.