Kirsten Larson - Up Close And Personal

When Bethie blogged personally about her sister Bailey, a spark of an idea started in my mind and grew to a hungry flame. I thought about doing a personal profile on each of my sisters (and even that one cousin who has not left yet), starting with the oldest sister, and here I am doing so. So, here we go.

-KIRSTEN MARCIE LARSON-

Kirsten was the first doll to come to this family. We have her to thank for Graces love of American Girl. Without her, we would have ended up in totally different families -- which means Felicity and Elizabeth might not have been fraternal twins, Erin might not have BEEN a twin, Kit wouldnt be allowed so much sugar, and so on.

But before Kirsten came here, she had a dreadful life. We all did. Kirsten was a young Swedish girl on a strawberry farm. "I remember the strawberries, and my mother, and the way we would all sit around the fire and tell stories," Kirsten said. "I miss it so."
But one fateful day in October it all changed. Her younger brother had not yet learned the lesson of not to play with fire.. and he burned down the house in doing so. All Kirsten can remember is screaming "FIRE!" in Swedish and dragging out her younger brother, and then crying for her mother.
Her mother had been in her bedroom on the top floor, and the fire had started on the lower level. She was expecting a baby, and she was slow, and the fire took advantage of that. She died in the fire from inhaling too much smoke. Kirsten's father soon after took her little brother and her older brother and fled to America, and Kirsten stayed behind to be adopted by us. She did not want to be reminded of her mother every day.

Its a sad story, isn't it? Kirsten is amazing in a way that all these tragedies have happened and her heart is still kind and her smile is still warm.

Nowadays, Kirsten loves to knit and sit and her room and brood about whatever she likes, and secretly she loves ballet - I have seen her dance, its like art in motion.

UPCOMING: Julia Starr - Up Close And Personal!

Love,
Sonali