Brothers and Sisters:

I come from a family of seven kids, and Joe comes from four. We are both the second oldest, and in terms of boys vs. girls, our families are opposite: I have all sisters with one brother and Joe has all brothers with one sister. With the arrival of their first nephew, I have had lots of photo opportunities... So enjoy! Meet the sibs!

Joe's Siblings (oldest to youngest, left to right):
Mary
David
Peter

Mary is the eldest and the only girl. She and I were friends way before Joe came on the scene. She is creative, stylish, emotional, and deeply loyal.


Dave is younger than Joe. He is currently getting his Masters in design/advertising on the East Coast. He is witty, informed, sarcastic, and creatively deep and inspired.


{the three boys, together on Christmas}


Peter is the youngest. He returned last year from a mission in the Dominican Republic. He is carefree, very outgoing, and a big lover of life.


{I love these next few of Pete with Joe!}

...And my family is (oldest to youngest):
Julina
Me
Elise
Beckie
Steven
Sarah
Kirsti

Julina is the mama bear to the rest of us. She lives in Indiana and is so good at keeping in touch and keeping up with the rest of our lives. She is brilliant, sensitive, strong, and independent.


Elise is next. She teaches Spanish in an Indianapolis high school. She is the dreamer of the group-- emotional, romantic, sweet, and guileless.


Beckie lives just three or four blocks away, and I LOVE it. When it gets warmer, there will be much more of this:


Beckie (shown below with Kyle, one of the best things about Beckie...) is authentic, opinionated, generous, funny, and true.

Steven is my lone bro. This past August he married Tamara, one of the smartest moves of his life. She is a smart, tough cookie with the best Tennessee accent. Steven is innocent, happy, informed, dedicated and spiritual. Here, they get a minute with Noah in Historic St. Charles:


{Here they are last week... Good-looking duo, eh?}


Sarah: Sarah is majoring in some kind of animal/conservation science at Mizzou, and I love to hear about the fascinating classes she takes... ones like Ornithology, Entomology, Ecology, etc. Sarah is wise beyond her years, patient, deep beneath the still surface, and full of potential. Her heart is true.


And Kirsti-- Never one to be left behind, she was walking by 9 months and hasn't slowed down since. She loves to prove to the world that she can do ANYTHING she puts her mind to. Currently, she is focused on her acting and is doing a play and a musical for school. Kirsti is stubborn, determined, multi-faceted, bright, and sweet.

... We really are so lucky to have these guys. Noah is lucky, too. Together, both sides, it is a whole pile of brains, talent, looks, and humor that is pretty irresistible.