FAMILY

I love my family! I have been blessed to have been born into a wonderful family. And the fact that I say that after all we have been through is a testimony to God's amazing grace, faithfulness, and redemption. I am an introvert by nature, but there are a few settings in which my introvertedness (I doubt that's a real word) is suspended and I just enjoy being with the people I'm with. My husband is definitely one of them. When I am with him I am with me. There's a Taylor Swift song that describes it perfectly--"I'm only me when I'm with you." Most of the time I really like being with my four children. . . it doesn't take long for me to feel lonely without them! And I love being with my parents and sisters and brothers and their families. . . . As my family grows the group gets larger and larger and sometimes family gatherings can get wild and crazy. But God has somehow equipped me in such a way that although I can not handle large groups in general, I relish the craziness of my family!



This past weekend we spent a "mini vacation" at my parents house. We went to spend some quality time with my new niece Eden Danae born on Feb 13. She is beautiful and peaceful and I really enjoyed getting my baby fix as I held her and cuddled her! I also enjoyed interacting with her sister, my niece Abigail Nichole :) who is 2 1/2. Abby is growing up so much, especially now that she's a big sister. She is a sweetheart who is quick to give out hugs and kissess and she is FUN!


I love for my kids to get to play with their cousins. I often wish that we lived closer so that they could play together more often. Moses adores his cousin Elijah, who is just 9 months older than him. And Hannah LOVES her cousin Israel. She was so excited to show him her lost tooth, including the tooth itself! (She lost her first tooth while we were there!) Israel and Josiah play together well. It is so nice for Josiah to have a cousin that he can call a friend. They spent most of their time playing/watching Star Wars of course! Noah really enjoyed holding the baby. "Ah hode baby?! Ah hode baby?!" He would have held her all day if we'd let him! And I do believe that someday Noah and Maddux just might be great playmates ;)


It also happened to be my sisters' birthday--they share a birthday on March 6. So we celebrated. We enjoyed good food, lots of games of double deck bid euchre, and the name game. We took walks and got to play outside!!! When we take a walk down my parents' street with 8 kids, 2 dogs and a few bike riders we look like a parade! Grace and I even went for a run! It was the first time I'd run outside since Novemeber. It was only 3 miles, but I paid for it the next few days! My brother Jacob is the calm in the midst of the chaos. Since we're not big "phone" people it's great to catch up face to face. And of course we gave my brother Seth his traditional interrogation and critique of his love life. And he got to wrestle with the nephews.



My parents love being grandparents and they are so good at it! Dad took Josiah, Hannah, and Moses to get doughnuts the first morning. My kids think doughnuts and grandpa go together! And mom made her famous blueberry pancakes and bacon for breakfast the next morning. Hannah is always so excited to share her love of Raggedy Ann with Grandma. Josiah loves that my parents love to watch movies as much as he does! Their house is grandkid friendly from the swing set outside to the playroom basement. It's the little things--even the Crayola colors that Moses was so excited to add to his bath to make the water blue! Watching my parents be grandparents makes me look forward with joy to that stage in my life. And of course it's so easy to love those who love your kids!


I have always been close to my mom and sisters. I am so blessed to call them my best friends! So I always enjoy just being with them. We are a very open family and I am most comfortable sharing just about anything and everything with them. We are a special family and I love them!!!