Tuesday, April 10, 2007

National Sibling Day: Ode to Kim, Kurt, and Kellee

In honor of "National Sibling Day" (at least in 27 states, but why not celebrate anyway?!!), I wanted to tell my siblings (and you, dear reader) how much I love, appreciate, and admire them (and their spouses, too, of course!) for all that they are and all that they mean to me, together and individually. There are four of us:
Kim
Kara
Kurt
Kellee
Four kids that all begin with the letter "K."
Within 6 years of each other.
Siblings and Friends.
We had a lot of fun together since we always had people to play with. They made my growing up years so wonderful. I remember a lot of happiness because of them.
Here are the three of us. In this picture, Kim is 3; I am 2; and Kurt is about 6 months. I guess Mom liked red (and having kids!!)!
Aren't we adorable?!! Kim and I used to gang up on Kurt when he was little. There's even some footage of us dropping him on his head. We stopped that when he got a little older (and a lot bigger!). I'm in the middle in this one; Kim's on the right.

Here we are again. I'm on the left. Kurt is in the middle. Kim is on the right. I think Kellee must have been in Mom's belly! The three of us were really blonde when we were little; sometimes I wish I still were!! The (in)famous "Vote for My Daddy" picture.

Kellee's born! I love the bonnet! I was looking through some of my parent's pictures when I was home recently and found several shots from this same day. We took this at a local park near our swimming pool. Though this one became famous, it's funny to see all the other shots in which either Kurt or Kim were holding Kellee. I remember that I felt so "lucky" to be able to hold Kellee in that picture. I guess it was because she was such a cute little kid (and we shared a room!). I love this picture of us fishing. It characterizes our personalities so much:
Kurt is intent on catching a fish. He is patient and will wait, and wait, and wait. And he expects others to do the same.
I'm serious about fishing. I want to catch a fish to show everyone that I have caught a fish. But I don't just wait like Kurt does. I roll in the bait and toss it out again and again because I get bored just waiting. I want there to be ACTION!
Kim is participating (her reel is in the water) and being a good sport, but she's looking around wondering how long we will have to stay out here and fish.
Kellee is a good sport, too. She wants to do what all her big siblings are doing, but she's also playful and fun. Kim and I loved to play together growing up. Anytime we were out, people always asked us if we were twins. I always liked that!One of the several pictures we took at ACU. This one is in front of the administration building. Check out my knickers!!This picture was taken at Disney World (as you can see!). What's missing from the picture?!! Kellee. She was too young to take on the trip so my parents left her at home with some church friends. Now, having a toddler, I can somewhat understand why they didn't bring her, but I never understood back then. Poor Kellee! This picture is taken in our backyard. Because there were so many of us, we could play sports. We'd divide into teams of 3 and play baseball or kickball or board games. Many of my memories involve us doing things like this together. Swim Team.
What can I say? We were on swim team for a LONG time. We liked it a lot at first, and all of us were pretty good, but it got old as we got older. I think Kellee was 3 years old when she first started swimming. Wow!The lovely church directory picture. I was a sophomore in high school at the time. Can you tell this is the early 90s?!!Here's a picture when we were home from Christmas. This picture cracks me up. We are all so RED!! This picture was taken in Cancun. We had a great time there, too!

Kellee, Me, and Kim in Breckenridge, Colorado (2000).
"Sisters by birth; friends by choice."

I LOVE my siblings! May we have many more happy years together.

Kim: thanks for your leadership and example, your forgiveness and love, and your happy and fun approach to life.
Kurt: thanks for being such a sweet, humble person, someone who is liked and admired by all. Thanks also for your wit and your strength.
Kellee: thanks for your sweet, caring heart, your sensitive spirit, and the example you are to all of us "older" siblings.

I love each of you!

6 comments:

Phillips Family said...

Please, Please, PLEASE figure out a way to post the video of the Poe children singing "Your a Grand Ole Flag" in your driveway....it is my absolute favorite!

I love how close the four of you are and how your family does such "bonding" things, like celebrating half-birthdays!

Kellee said...

This post pretty much made me cry a little--I love you, Kara! What great memories we have together as a family--even though I wasn't around for the first several years. I guess Mom and Dad decided not to get professional pictures made once I was born! Ha! The fishing picture is one of my favorites; what fun we had camping! Dad was a good sport to take all of us for the weekend several times without Mom. It was fun sharing a room with you. I know it was probably not the ideal situation for a teenager but I have always considered that such a fond memory--getting to share a room with my big sister. Remember when the kittens were born in there?!? I'll never forget all the Bible plays we would act out, especially the time when you were Samson; Kurt leading singing using the church song book or people opening their eyes during the prayer! What fun memories we were always cherish. Thanks for being who you are and being such a special part of the family. Thanks for teaching me your basketball skills and playing with me in the driveway. I appreciate your determination, independence and admire how much of a hard worker you are. Next time we are all home, we should watch some of those home videos. Oh, when I saw the picture from Cancun it made me think of, "Houston girls...Don't be sheik and don't be shy...SOS"! Good times! Love you so much.

Unknown said...

And, Lynley, don't forget "Texas Our Texas" and all the pledges to the flag. My dad sure did love to do things like that to us!

Ah, yes, Kellee. I remembered that guy at the pool when I was making the post, but I couldn't remember what he was saying. How did you remember that phrase? It sure is HILARIOUS!! What does that mean anyway?!! "SOS?" Getting hit on by the pool boy. I enjoyed sharing a room with you, too. You always were so easy to get along with. I'm proud of you, sweet girl. We'll have to watch the videos next time we're home. Love you!

Kim said...

That made me tear up too. We have a great family and I feel so blessed to have such close siblings and to be able to say my siblings are my closest friends too. Those pictures crack me up. Isn't it funny how our personalities are still the same as they were back when we were little? I was totally ready to be finished fishing!! And you know how I love the wonderful directory pic(Can we burn it please??). I love the "Vote for my daddy" pic the best, because there was so much going on behind the scene and we all look happy! As for the blond hair, you can be a blond again if you really want!
You are a wonderful sister and example to me. I admire your work ethic and your determinatation to be successful in every situation in your life. You are patient and always seeking to learn and grow. You are amazing! And I don't tell you enough.
We will definitely need to watch home videos next time we are home. We were such happy kids and I look forward to continuing to make more together as we get older and as our family gets bigger. Thanks for posting this.

Laura Scott said...

Kara,
I love all the pictures. I didn't ever realize you had a younger sister. What a sweet tribte to your siblings. I actually was at my mom's a couple of months ago helping her clean out closets and found the old Bammel directory. It was so fun to see all of us back then. By the way, I love the knickers! I believe I had some purple sparkly ones at that age. Man, I can't believe those never came back into style :)

The Houston's said...

HI!! I am glad that you found my blog so that I could read yours!! I love this post. And I love the pictures! Ya'll are such a special family!
-Heidi (Chitty)