A Month of Thanks; Family

There's something about family.  I know that not everyone has a good one.  I have been blessed with a great extended  family.  I'm closer to some than to others and I think that that is to be expected.  A lot of our family is spread all over the US, from the US Virgin Islands, to South Dakota, to Kansas, Oregon, Montana, Arkansas & Florida.  And we can't forget those in New England!

Our Family, August 2009

I'm thankful for all of our family. There are two, besides my husband and parents, that I'm closest to.  That would be my Aunt Mary and my cousin Terri.  They are amazing.  They are both supportive and loving.  I love spending time with them.  We always laugh a lot.  I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year since we'll all be together.  We're all going to be sore from laughing too much.  You get Mom, Auntie, Terri & I together and we don't stop talking and laughing.  I'm not always sure what we laugh about but it's always funny at the time.

Us in 2008

 This post would be way to long if I mentioned each family member an why I'm thankful for them.  I hope they know that I love them and am thankful for them.  I know I mentioned my cousin Terri above but I want to go into a little more detail.  Terri is the sister that I don't have.  She is so much more than a cousin; she really is like a sister.  An older sister that was sometimes irritating while we were growing (don't worry, I was the pesky little sister...the stories she can tell!)  The older we get the better our relationship gets.  In a weird way, the further apart we are, the closer we get.  Not because we don't like to spend time together ,we do.  It's just that when we're close (2 hours is close for us!) we make as much of an effort to stay connected.  With me on the other side of the country, we make an effort to talk at least twice a month (that may not sound like much, but she has 4 kids with another on the way...she's a busy lady!) and we usually talk for at least an hour and a half.  We can talk about anything.  We can share what we're struggling with and what's been going well.  Whenever something is happening and prayer is needed, she is one of the first people I think of.  I love knowing that I can talk to her about anything.  She's supportive and I'm so thankful that she's in my life.  God knew what he was doing!

Thank you Lord, for family, each and everyone of them!

What are you most thankful concerning your family?

Don't forget to link up if you've written about something you're thankful for!  You can link up here. I don't have a fancy button but I would love to read what you are thankful for!