My Other Sister

Many of you don't know that I have another sister besides Megan. Megan wasn't born until I was 11 1/2 so I only had brothers for a long time. Then when I was 9, Vanessa came to live with us for the school year through the Indian Placement Program of LDS Social Services. She was from the Navajo Reservation in northern Arizona where she lived with her sister and Grandmother. We were about the same age and in the same grade in school (5th grade). We were really just like sisters because we shared a room, went to the same school, were in the same church classes, had some of the same friends, did a lot of things together. We also had disagreements and fought about things just like sisters, but I really did enjoy having a sister (even after Megan was born she was so much younger than me that it wasn't the same) and I love her like a sister. Vanessa lived with us every school year until the middle of 10th grade when she was 16. I had not seen her since then (over 18 years--although we have kept in touch through letters all that time), until yesterday. On our drive from Texas to Utah we met her in Northern Arizona (at McDonald's Playland so the kids could get out all of their energy). It was so great to see her again and catch up. So here is picture of me and my sister, Vanessa (with Joey, of course).