A couple of nuts off the family tree.
Dawna Gennette Allred Berry.
My older sister.
My best friend.
Let me tell you a story about 2 little sisters eating a Happy Meal. (Disclaimer: I don't personally remember this due to my age, but it has been told many times at the dinner table) We were around the ages of 6 (Dawna) and 3 (myself). My dad was at work, my mom was getting ready for a wedding reception, and we were happily eating our chicken nugget happy meals at the table. For some very strange reason, Dawna thought it would be a marvelous idea to stick a piece of chicken up my nose. Now, she did have the decency to ask first, and with me being only 3 and all, I didn't know better. So I said yes. Up went the chicken into a tiny little hole. Dawna then proceeded to go get a pencil, knife (butter of course), tweezers, ANYTHING she could use to pull it out. To no avail, nothing could get that chicken out. In fact, she ended up shoving it further and further up my wee little nose. So far up to the point that it started getting painful and I started to cry. So what does any older sister do?
She went and got mom.
What did she say to mom? Something along the lines of "Mom!! Caren shoved chicken up her nose! I tried getting it out but I couldn't..make her stop crying!!"
Like any good mother (which mine was great) she came running in to see me crying at the table. NOTHING could get this dang piece of chicken out of my petite nose. What could we do? What could anyone do?? Nothing, but go to the hospital.
So off we went. My dad met us there once he heard of the news. Eventually, the doctor had to hook up a vacuum type thing to my nose and suck out the chicken. Gross, I know.
For years, this story was told during family dinners, and first meets with boyfriends and friends. The entire story was relived multiple times, with one minor tweak. Everyone thought that it was me, myself, Caren Dianne Allred (at the time) that wondered what it would feel like to have a piece of chicken reside in my nostrils and proceeded to shove it up there. It wasn't until a few years ago that Dawna finally came clean. She admitted to putting the chicken up my nose.
Why did she do it, you ask?
She wanted to be the hero of the day. In her head, if "I" put the chicken up my nose, she could get it out and say that she saved the day!! But things didn't go so well, as you could see. And to save herself from getting in MORE trouble, she blamed it all on me. She played the role of "older sister" perfectly ;)
I wouldn't be who I am today without my older sister. Yes, we fought when we were younger. Fought like crazy! We fought so much that she ended up moving out of the house when she was in high school and moved in with my grandparents. We just could NOT be under the same roof and stay sane (And a lot of that I take full responsibility). Granted, there were a few days or weeks when we were on good terms. I have fond memories of talking about life on her bed. Man I miss those talks. Anywho, shortly after she moved out, she was in a really bad accident on her way to school one day. When I found out about this, I was a mess. My eyes were a water park on a rainy day. The last words that I had said to my sister were in no way loving. And I was scared that those were the last words that I would ever get to say to her. Luckily, she survived. She had a few cracked ribs, a deflated lung, and if you know my sister, a LOT of bruises. But she lived to hear me apologize for how stupid I had been. I strongly believe that that strengthened our relationship immensely because I realized how special life is and how important showing our love for one another is.
Today, Dawna is happily married to her best friend, the man of her dreams, and the best guy I could have imagined for her. She has a beautiful daughter and another precious girl on the way. She has shown me so much and has taught me many things in life.
When mom and dad don't understand, a sister always will. ~Author Unknown
Yes, we had our differences, and still do. But I know that she will always be there for me when I need to have a girl talk, even though we live 700 miles away. Sisters by blood. Friends by choice.
And it's not just my older sister that I love so very much. My younger sisters (though a pain in the butt at times) have brought so much joy to my life. They remind me what it was like to be a kid, and I love seeing them grow up and learn new things. Both my younger sisters love playing the piano. And it is so nice to hear them play me a song over the phone once they passed it off at their piano lessons. I learned to play the piano upside down when I was in junior high. Hannah, the youngest at 10 years old, is trying to learn how to do it. And she's only in 5th grade. She's going to pass me up....
Baylee is the brains of the family. She is a living, walking dictionary, encyclopedia, thesaurus, and any other book you can think of. For her New Year's resolution (IN SIXTH GRADE) she wanted to read the dictionary. I don't know how far she got, but it certainly was much farther than anyone else in our family. And her favorite saying/word?? CHICKEN!!!! She is such a goof and brings so much laughter to my family.
All in all, I am so glad that I came from a family of 4 girls. I wouldn't change anything in the world. And I DO have an older brother! Nik, Dawna's husband, is the dictionary definition of an older brother. He gives me a hard time with things, would stick things in my ears when I would fall asleep on the couch, and threatened to beat up any guy that would break my heart. I love my family so much. And I am so grateful for my new family thanks to John! They are so wonderful and make things a lot easier being so far away from my family. They are the family I never had, and now I do!
Since it is Throwback Thursday, I thought I would include some pictures of growing up with my sisters. Enjoy :)
To start things off, we have a typical Christmas at our house growing up. The two little ones are enjoying their fun toys, while Dawna is beating me up in the background. I mean, she had to be the older brother too, right??
The two little goofs, better known as Bagel (Baylee) and Lil' Booger (Hannah) at the MTC while Nik was on his mission. You can just tell that they missed him so much!!
Me and Hannah messing around with the camera one night.
Don't you just love Christmas pictures?? :) I sure do!
My goofy family
Told you he is a good older brother
For Mother's Day one year, we got this awesome idea to lay on top of each other and make a little pyramid. We could barely hold still because we were all laughing so much!! My mom LOVED it! And then for Father's Day, we got this picture (in color) printed on a tie for my dad. He wears it only for special occasions as to not ruin it and loves it.
When I was visiting my family after I moved up to Utah, we got family pictures taken and knew we HAD to take this picture again. One of my all-time favorites of my sisters and myself :)
I just love Hannah's patience while we were all getting set up for the picture. I think this is better than the finished picture.
This picture CRACKS me up! Why? Hannah decided to have her own little laugh fest at the end.
These are my lovely sisters.
Dawna and I when we were little.
CREEPYYYYYY
We have a tradition of going out to dinner at the end of the school year. This was my sophomore or junior year. Can't quite remember.
I love my sisters so very much and would do anything for them.
What would you do for yours?
