Wonder Woman; I know her.  Her disguise is amazing.  It’s so good in fact that you would never recognize her.  I didn’t and I’ve known her for years and years and years.  Gaby is blond, blue eyed, and has the best laugh.  She is the mother of three little girls, does yoga every day, and reads the Twilight series.  Sure, she sounds as if she could be your sister-in-law and actually she is mine. 

I just returned home from visiting her for a few days.  I left my two little babies behind under the ridiculous guise that I would ‘help’ Gaby after recently giving birth to her third girl - my niece.  I had the best intentions of cleaning, doing laundry, and watching her three girls while she slumbered some every day.  I know what it’s like getting up every two hours for those night feedings.  Believe me when I say that even now if someone volunteers to watch my boys so I can catch a couple zzz’s, I’m staring at the back of my eyelids before they even finish the offer.  But not my sister-in law. 

This woman bakes her own bread.  Yup, I wrote it.  I’ll even write it again so you don’t think you misread it.  This woman bakes her own bread.  I’m a witness.  In between breastfeeding, changing diapers, and teaching her 4 year old how to better wipe after she goes number two, she whips up six healthy whole wheat loaves.  She really does!  Gaby also makes her own granola, makes pastries from scratch and blends her own fruit smoothies. 

Gaby worries about the environment.  She reuses the same tin foil over and over, she uses water bottles, grows her own herbs and vegetables in her back yard and composts.  Yup, I wrote composts. You didn’t misread that either.  She saves every fruit rind, vegetable peel and other various kitchen scraps and composts them all.  She even used the soil it created to help plant her herbs this past spring – the herbs she just planted a couple of weeks after having her third child.

My sister-in-law is crafty too.  For Latham’s one year birthday, she knit him the most perfect hooded sweater with a zipper you’ve ever seen.  Really.  She should sell them in those upscale baby boutiques.  She would make a fortune.  For Reichen’s second birthday, Gaby knit him a little lamb.  Yup, she did.  I’m not making this stuff up.  She also sews clothes for her girls and crochets them sweaters too.

Gaby is musical.  She teaches piano and voice lessons every Wednesday.  She also runs the music program for young women at her church.

She is incredibly health conscience.  Gaby makes a raw vegetable tray that includes every thing from sweet potatoes and cabbage to carrots and celery which she serves to her family every night along with dinner.  She rarely makes anything from a package.  She says she doesn’t want to feed her family anything that has more than five ingredients in it.  She shops at the local farmer’s market.  She even tucks her three month old in a baby backpack and then takes her 4 and 6 year old on hikes in the mountains a couple times a week.

Gaby is the best mom, too.  She reads to her girls, sings to them, and does crafts with them.  She takes them to soccer practice once a week and plays board games with them.  She holds them responsible for their actions, gives them choices and lovingly corrects them when they need it.

Did I mention she also makes her own laundry detergent, stain removal aid, and hand soap?

What’s interesting – to me at least – is she still doubts herself.  The blond haired, blue eyed wonder woman doubts herself – even with all her super powers.  But don’t we all?  The house is never clean enough.  The laundry is never done.  The negative thoughts that spin in our minds are endless.  If I could add just one weapon to Gaby’s wonder woman arsenal or the arsenals any of  you other heroes who do not give yourselves the credit you deserve, it would be mind-reading.  Then you would know with out a doubt just how super every one thinks you really are.