Blessed With Family

WARNING: long blog entry today......text may not keep to the appropriate tense either. This is not well thought out....just straight from my heart. Depending on the time of day you are reading this, get your cup of coffee, Big Gulp, Hugo, whatever you drink, sit back and relax. I won't apologize for the length or lack of consistent tense as I have written this. This is about something very near and dear to my heart ~ my family.

First of all, we feel very blessed with all of our family. I wanted to name names, but I better not in the interest that I may accidentally forget to name a very important person or family member, and I do not want to upset anyone. So we will talk about the special family members as things come up. But let me take a minute to tell you about how blessed we are with our Minnesota family or Uncle Luke and Aunt Lisa.

We have been making trips to Minnesota for a while now, but especially since our darling niece, Elsa, was born in 1999. Things really changed in our life then. We knew from the very first moment that we met her that she was very special. She grabbed our heart, and has had a very special place in it ever since. And not just because we are our godparents. :) She was the first niece or nephew on Eric's side of the family and the first small child in either of our families since we were married. The first time I met Elsa, I could not get enough of her. I wanted to hold her in my arms as long as I could. Elsa and I would play dress up, Barbies, share lip gloss, or play with cute little purses. She was so much fun to do girlie things with. I could tell you a million Elsa stories from the sweet homemade valentines that she would make for us (and I took to work to show my friends) to the many walks to the parks or playground to play. I have had less time to play with her each time we have gotten together since our boys have come around, but our love for her continues to grow. She still has the kindest heart, she is smart, and she is confident, and I am also so proud of how much she loves Jesus, and how much she knows about Jesus. She is getting to be such a big girl. I can not say, "young lady" yet, because I want her to stay little for a while longer. :)

Then, there is our sweet, nephew, Ethan a.k.a. the Train Expert in our family. I think his love of trains began with Thomas, but it has grown into a love of all trains. He can spot a sleeping train or hear a train sound from miles away! Ethan was lovable from the beginning, too. He is a little quieter than Elsa most of the time, but he is smart, respectful, and confident. He learns things so quickly, and likes to have fun. When he was younger, we really enjoyed reading books to him, and playing trains, of course. His love for Jesus is obvious, too. You just have to ask him more questions to get it out of him. :) I think that may just be a difference between boys and girls, though. I am not sure.

Then, there is Aunt Lisa and Uncle Luke. They are Joshua's godparents, and Uncle Luke is one of Luke's godparents. They were chosen for their deep faith and belief in God. They are kind to us, and make us feel very welcome and at home at their house. Uncle Luke and Aunt Lisa work very hard for their family. They have high expectations for Elsa and Ethan, and they instill good values in them by teaching them and modeling how to do the right thing. Aunt Lisa is a phenomenal mom to Elsa and Ethan. She is truly a super mom. I admire how she efficiently manages the house (and their big garden), teaches Elsa and Ethan, finds time to play with them....the list could go on and on. Uncle Luke is the most patient man, too. We are so glad that Uncle Luke and Aunt Lisa bring their family here to visit so often (We wish it was even more often, though.) And we are proud to be in their family. Or are they in ours?

Before Joshua came along, we made lots of trips to Minnesota to visit with their family, and unfortunately have made less trips since our darling two children have been around. I still wish we were able to see them more often, to be there for Elsa and Ethan's birthdays, first communions, piano recitals, or just stop in to see them. I know if we lived closer, we would do that. Who knows? Maybe someday we will....we still dream of that sometimes.

I know that Joshua and Luke are just as fond of this family as we are as evidenced by all of the fun from our latest trip to Minnesota. The cousins all played together pretty much non stop from early in the morning until a late bedtime. They jumped on the trampoline, played Batman and Transformers, dressed up in clothes, sang songs, played with trains, Barbies, doll houses, read books....the list could go on and on. Joshua and Luke could not ask for better cousins than the two in Minnesota (and the two in South Dakota). Elsa and Ethan were so good and playful with both of our boys. We could not have asked for a better visit. Joshua had so much fun. The night before we left, Joshua said, "Mom, if you let me stay just one more day, I promise I will not want to stay forever. " Bless his heart. He just wanted to stay one more day with the cousins. Luke had a lot of fun, too, but let me say that after about two days, he would say, "Home, Mama, Home Mama." Luke is a little guy that loves his home. He often says that to us if we are going out somewhere for the evening...no matter how much fun he is having. I know Luke had a good time chasing Rose and Pearl, the two dogs, and Joshua, Elsa, and Ethan.

And they all have to be pretty good people in that they put up with us. They must have a lot of tolerance or perseverance, right?

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(By the way, you can double click on any pictures to make them larger, or double click on the slideshow on the top right, and it will make the pictures larger and easier to see. Enjoy! Thanks to cousin Karen and Aunt Lisa for a few of the pictures!)

:)