The Blessing of Family

This weekend has been a reminder to me of how blessed I am to have such a wonderful family. Friday night I was able to cook dinner for my Mom and Ed at their home before they left for a week long trip to Nashville. I must admit, the meal was about as sub-par as I've ever gone. The chicken was undercooked, salad nothing great, and potatoes were over cooked. Oh well - they were grateful, and it was nice to sit down at the table with my parents for a meal at home as opposed to our usual going out.

Saturday I drove up to Kansas City to celebrate the bridal shower of Scott's cousin Melanie. I'd met her a few times before, and felt so honored to be invited to help celebrate the big wedding coming up with the other ladies in the family. I love being with Scott's family - they are so easy to be around, easy to love, and are all strong faithful women! Aunt Marilyn gave Melanie the sweetest gift which was a poem of her advice for marriage along with some props whose names matched some of the words in the poem. All of us were about in tears, and I just had to tell her after the shower how special her gift was! I stayed after for a few hours after the shower to chat with the remaining family members, then got some alone time with Linda and Paul - Scott's parents. I cherish my moments with them, and love that they are so willing to be open with me about all of the blessings and trials in their life -- and that they seem to truly care about my life as well! I could not have asked for a more meaningful opportunity to be surrounded around such a wonderful group of people!

The family love continued today as I met Esther and Larry (Ed's parents) at church for service this morning. Esther and I sat together and Larry sang in the choir. During the passing of the peace we noticed that old friends Mary Lee and Gary Mayfield were in the congregation! I grew up knowing them in the church, and Mary Lee was my first Mary Kay lady when I was a teenager. She taught me everything I know about makeup! After the service we decided to go out to lunch together and it was so fun catching up! They live such an interesting life, and hearing their stories was so entertaining. I hadn't seen them in probably 6 years or so, and it was fun filling them in on the changes that have happened in my life and letting them see me, as they put it, "all grown up"!

I am just feeling so blessed right now with my family. There are a few things that I know in my heart will always mean everything to me. First, my relationship with God, second, my relationship with my family! I cannot think of anything more important than sharing all of life's joys and sorrows with those who are closest to you. And I am lucky enough to have a big family full of wonderful people!