Growing Pains

These are my wonderful siblings at my wedding.

It is amazing to me how quickly things can change and how quick time goes by. Last night was a very exciting night in the Hudson household. The reason that this post is called growing pains is because my little brother and sister are growing up and sometimes I get a little bit emotional about the whole thing. I still remember them as just being my little sidekicks. They were there to be silly or to play house with me, they did everything with me and now they are growing up and doing their own things. This is my brother Derek. We have a fun kind of relationship. When I was 5 years old he was born on my birthday. I was so excited because I thought Heavenly Father gave me a birthday present...a little brother on my birthday.

Derek has one of the greatest personalities you could ask for...he cares about people and loves to help others. But I think one thing that makes him really unique is that he loves to tease everyone and make them laugh. He loves to tease my little sister Kaylee. I think that when Derek teases it is his way of telling us that he loves us, so he must love his sisters a lot because he never stops teasing them!
Last night Derek opened his mission call. He is going to be serving in the Brazil Ribeirao Preto mission and we are so stinking excited for him. Ben and I are especially excited because we both served in Brazil. It was fun to talk to Derek last night and tell him about all of the great things about Brazil. We couldn't be prouder of Derek and we know he will be an excellent missionary. We sure do you love Derek!This is a picture of my sister Michelle. I am not putting up this picture to embarass her or anything but this picture is one of my favorite pictures of Michelle because it show off her personality. Michelle has always been one to let loose and have fun. She was always willing to play dress-ups with me and try out my new crazy ideas. Michelle has always been right by my side doing whatever I wanted her to do. It has been a lot of fun having Michelle around. She has been one of my best friends for as long as I can remember. We have done practically everything together and I have been so grateful for her friendship throughout my life. I was especially grateful to have Michelle as a friend when I got from my mission. She was so great to be my friend and my roommate when I came back and didn't know anyone. Michelle is the kind of person who is a "true" friend. She is always there for you no matter what. She has a huge heart and loves everyone.
Last night Michelle called me to tell me that she was engaged!!! This was a huge shocker for me because I didn't know that she was that serious about Stephen. I probably didn't sound too excited last night when she told me because I think I went into shock. But I am ecstatic for her and Stephen. They are getting married at the end of the summer (hopefully in September). We love Michelle so much and we are excited for them...it is just hard for me to see my siblings moving on and getting older. In my mind they are those little kids that followed me around and did those crazy things that my imagination came up with.
We love both of you, Derek and Michelle and are so excited for you!