Nina

My sister-in-law Nina is the proverbial "surprise child" who arrived when my husband was eighteen years old and graduating from high school. Until that time, theirs had been a family of all boys - just Pedro and his brother Mateo (who was sixteen when Nina was born.) Needless to say, the arrival of a bundle of pink was cause for both shock and celebration!

Hers is a life lovingly documented by her Mom in scrapbook after scrapbook - and it is safe to say that she is the apple of her Daddy's eye!

When I first met Nina, it was eleven years ago on the fated "introducing-the-girlfriend-to-the-parents" weekend. What a weekend that was (anyone who knows my father-in-law need only imagine the embarrassment I suffered!) Nina and I shared a room and a bed that night, and my earliest memory of her is of waking up and opening my eyes to find her nose a mere inch from mine. She was a cute little six-year old and the perfect candidate for our flower girl, which she became one year later.

Over the years, we were able to visit in Texas and occasionally Nina came to spend a week or two with us. She once survived a week of family vacation with my entire family in West Virginia (or should I say my entire family survived a week of vacation with her?? Just kidding!) I remember how excited she was to become an aunt for the first time, when I flew down to Texas with 3-month old Eva. And of course, I will never forget the Christmas that Disney World plans were exchanged for trip to Texas when Nina broke her nose and required surgery!

As far as Nina's relationship with her oldest brother (my husband), it is an ever-changing one. For many years, he was the ultimate big playmate. Then he got married and she had to share his attention with another (yes, that would be me.) There were the unfortunate times when he had to play the role of rule enforcer, and the unforgettable times such as when Pedro risked sun poisoning just to fulfill her wish of swimming in the pool ALL day long ... or when he bought her an ice cream Frosty, only for her to discover the impossibility of eating it the backseat of a Ford Escort while whizzing down the highway with the windows down! (Maybe you had to be there for that one.)

These days, Pedro enjoys the role of ultimate tormenter to his little sister ... and she gives it right back (or tries to, anyway!) But then there are the occasional moments of human kindness, such as inviting him and me to her junior/senior banquet this past weekend. That is where these pictures were taken, in a beautiful fairytale garden.

As you will see, the cute little six-year old I first met has grown up quite a bit! In many ways she is still the same little girl, but looking at these I realize that a grown-up future is not too far away. In God's perfect time and plan, may be it be everything she wishes for ... and even more.