Keeping Time: Lindsey Lou

Happy Birthday to my beautiful sister Lindsey! (Andrew's note: HAP-py birthdaaaaaaay!!)

Lindsey is one of the most special people in my life and I wanted to take this post to introduce her to all our readers. (by "all", she means both of you...and whatever poor soul who stumbles on this page by accident - shout out to some dude from Brazil!) My younger sister of four years, Lindsey has been someone I can trust and rely on for honest advice whenever I need it. Not many sisters can say that they are close friends with their sister, but I can! Lindsey is a beautiful example of a young lady who is being molded by God to do extraordinary things, and I have been so proud to watch her grow into a confident and opinionated (um...hello pot, I'm Allison. You're BLACK! :-) young woman.

For those of you who don't know her personally, you probably noticed something that I've seen for years...She is gorgeous, just gorgeous! I think God gave her such beauty as a thank you gift for putting up with Chris and me growing up. (no, seriously). I distinctly remember in high school looking at her and thinking, why can't I be that beautiful?!

Lindsey has her own distinct style and always has. It's one of my favorite things about her. (She dresses cool. Always with the big sunglasses.) She looks at the world with a completely different perspecitve than I do, and everytime I'm with her I feel like I learn somthing new. I can call her on the phone and ask her advice on anything and she will give me advice... and she's the younger one!

Notice I am the only happy child in this picture. (One of the few where Chris doesn't have a leash on...)

When we were kids, Lindsey was so quiet that she could never get a word in during dinner time conversation. Which is a real shame because I'm sure she had really great things to contribute. Once, when she was 4, she got so frustrated with the rest of the family for not listening to her that she slammed her arms down hard on the dinner table and yelled out "PATIENCE!! PATIENCE!!" This got our attention and to this day she uses the phrase ; ) (Ok. So the first time I had dinner with the whole family, Lindsey started telling a story and after 3 words was bombarded with either a subject change, unwarranted advice, flying opinions, or Chris' subtle (or not) use of button-pushing and instigation. I was confused when I suddenly realized that I was the only one looking at her and waiting patiently for her to finish her story. It never happened. Oh wait, this is EVERY MEAL)

Notice how far away Chris and I are from her.... coincidence? Nope.

Chris and I abused her relentlessly. From telling her gullible self all sorts of ridiculous stories, to giving her a hard time about interesting guys she's dated, she has put up with a lot. (Also being a somewhat quiet individual and a third child, Lindsey and I have an understanding. I listen to her stories.) I love her, inside and out (her pancreas is lovely) because she inspires me to be a better big sister, asking me hard questions and challening me to see life from a different point of view.

I love you so much Lindsey!