Clash of the J's

This week marked a milestone for my Annah-bug; she went on vacation without us! Well, sort of. Every few months, Austin's mom packs up and heads to Virginia to visit the other parts of the Lewis family; both Katherine, Austin's sister, and Derek, his brother, live there. Several times, Jonathan has made the trip with her to visit his Virginia cousins, but Annah has never ventured away from home without us. Until now! A week ago, I got her all packed up and saw them off. I keep expecting to get a tearful phone call from her, but so far, the calls have all been happy and filled with excitement. I'm thrilled for her. (I also miss her like crazy!) In her absence though, a void has been created here at home. Annah is my helper, my extra set of hands and eyes, the extra "mother" in the house. She plays well with Jonathan, and can switch gears and play just as well with Jacob. She calms the storms that often erupt between the boys; she looks out for both of their well-being. At (almost) eight years old, she is mature, caring, and responsible in ways that even Matthew (at 16) isn't. Maybe it's just a girl thing. Anyway, in Annah's absence, both boys have felt the lack of her sweet spirit in the house. As I said before, Jacob and Jonathan both play very well with her, but very rarely do all of them play together, and the boys don't play together at all; they clash horribly. Jonathan usually freaks when Jacob gets close to his room, or if he touches the TV or interferes with one of Jonathan's video games. Jacob normally emits ear piercing screams if Jonathan touches ANYTHING that Jacob considers his own. However, as the week has progressed, Jacob and Jonathan have formed a cautious friendship. Several times, Jonathan has allowed Jacob in his room, and Jacob has done the same. I've seen Jacob sitting next to Jonathan, watching him play the Wii, or the DS. I've watched Jonathan help Jacob into his car seat and buckle him up. Just small things, but stuff that I've never seen in them before. I even heard Jacob say "I love my big brother!" As their mom, it's special and heart warming! Right now, they're piled up having a sleepover on Jacob's floor! (How do they do that? My back would be killing me!!) I'm sure things will be different for them when Annah gets back, but it's nice have a break from the clash of the J's, and it's even nicer knowing of the possibility of an amicable relationship between.