The People I come home to

I am still trying to catch up on past posts from my family blog challenge. So, I am going to tell you all about the most important people in my life and what they mean to me. Here goes.

Dad: I respect my dad so much. He has spent his entire life working day and night for my family and our survival and welfare. He is busy all the time and always has been. His work ethic is incredible. I never have heard him complain about how much he has to work. I never have heard him complain about not getting enough vacation, or pay or anything along those lines. He knows that we have always needed every penny that he works for so he works for as many pennies as possible. My dad is funny. His sense of humor might be lost on some people but he can make you laugh so hard at the least expected moment. Example: Once we were driving down into Grand Junction from Powderhorn in dad's truck. Jen, Holly, Lisa, and I were in the back seat and mom and Kelli were in the front with dad. Dad was starting to fall asleep at the wheel, which he used to do once in a while and we veered slightly off the road and onto the really loud grooves in the road that are there for just this occasion. He quickly snapped awake and righted the car and mom leaned forward to look at him. Dad: "What?!" Mom: "Just making sure you are awake." Dad: "Who could sleep through that?!?"

I love my dad.

Mom: Let's see. My mom is one of the most creative people that I know. She throws her heart and soul into everything that she does. Although she didn't go to school for Library Science, she landed the job as the school Librarian a few years ago and she has completely transformed the school that she works at. She is getting those kids excited about reading. She has made the library a cozy and inviting place to be and the kids like to be there now. She comes up with the best ideas. She won a very prestigious award for scouting in her region. She works in the Boy Scouts of America program through her calling at church. She has an effect on people as soon as she meets them with her smile and loud and infectious laugh. I look up to her in so many ways. Put all that aside and you have the best mother and grandmother that anyone could hope for. She is an extremely supportive and loving mom. Even if she doesn't agree with our decisions, she supports us and loves us and doesn't constantly nag or bug us about it. She is also very funny and if you ever have the chance, ask her to do the big mouth frog joke.

I love my mom.

Jen: Hmmmmm, how do I begin? Jen is 4 years older than me and I have looked up to her my entire life. When I was 12 and she was 16 I wanted to be like her so bad! I wanted to do my hair like she did. I wanted to look like her and talk like her and sing like her. I tried. It didn't work but I never gave up hope to be as cool as she is one day. Jen is my best friend. I still look up to her in so many ways. She is an inspiration. She is shouldering the burdens of a small army right now and doing an amazing job of it. What a great example she is to her daughters of what a strong woman is. Jen and I used to fight a lot. But through these experiences my mind was opened to so many things. Jen and I can laugh together like no one else. (Was that your elbow?!?) I miss her face. Thank goodness for Facetime chatting every single day!

I love Jen.

Adam: Oh man, I can't even begin to tell you all how much I love this guy. Adam got me through the first 2 years of high school when I was feeling the least confident and most insecure. He is an example to me of courage. He joined the Marines in 2001 before the world was rocked with 9/11. Once September came and everything changed we knew that he may be called to go and fight a war that we weren't even thinking about before. I remember sitting on my parents bed one day and talking to him about it. I asked him if he was regretting his decision to enlist. He said that he was just thinking about how it all had changed now. He knew that he was going to be called to do things that he didn't necessarily have in mind before but he just looked at me and said, "But, I'm ready." He had made a commitment and he was willing to follow through. I look up to that mindset. He has just recently become a daddy and I am looking forward to seeing how much more he will become in that role. I can't wait to meet sweet little Paisley! (Also, he married my best friend from high school. Who could ask for anything more??)

I love Adam.

Holly: Hmmm, if you asked me to choose one word to describe Holly, I would tell you.... No. That's impossible. She is too fantastic to be summed up in one word. Holly is 18 months younger than me so we pretty much did a lot together growing up. She and I are a lot alike. We have very similar personalities. We even chose husbands with similar personalities. She is, however, a lot funnier than me. She is an incredible writer and has a great blog. (theglems.blogspot.com) She has had many trials in her adult life that people typically expect from someone who is much older than she is. She has gone through them with an incredible sense of humor. She is super creative. I miss seeing her doodles all over the papers on the fridge. I love going to her house cause she always has an adorable calendar. I still have a lot of fun little creations that she made for me when I went off to college. She has a natural presence that draws people to her. Her beautiful smile fits her personality really well. She works really hard for her company and is an irreplaceable person to her bosses and others at work. I look up to her so much.

I love Holly.

Lisa: Lisa is blunt. And I love it. She will always say what she is thinking no matter what the expected reaction will be. I find that admirable. She is brave. Some people tend to take this at face value and judge her too quickly. But I know that Lisa is one of the most loyal, kind-hearted people that I know. She loves to take care of things that need help. She has always had a special connection with people who have special needs. She has had a great impact on some kids that she worked with over the years. Lisa and I have similar features but the completely opposite coloring. Our daughters do resemble each other quite a bit as a result of this. Lisa also is blessed with the gift of humor. She and I worked together for a summer and got a lot closer than we had ever been before that. Ever since she has become a mommy, she has opened herself up to others even more it seems and allowed her kindness to show. I appreciate her so much.

I love Lisa.

Kelli: Kelli and I shared a room up until I was in high school. I used to get onto her all the time cause she was messy and I wanted the room clean. She used to lay on the floor in front of the mirror and watch herself cry. Kelli has one of the strongest testimonies of the gospel of anyone I know. She is a great example to me of a faithful person. She has become so much more confident in the last few years and she gets more and more beautiful. She is ridiculously strong. One time we were playing in the snow and i tried to tackle her and she just stood there. Cut to a few minutes later and I lay flattened on the ground cause she tackled me back. Yeah, she is super buff. Her favorite color is orange and I love all of her orange accessories. She has been out to Nashville 3 times to visit me since I've lived here and I appreciate so much that she comes to visit. She has a little more freedom with her school schedule and unmarried status to travel and I welcome that! Kelli is awesome.

I love Kelli.

Now a quick word about my wonderful siblings in law. Nick is great at cleaning. Kara is extremely crafty and creative. Eric is perpetually ready for fun. Hondo is super sweet-hearted. (Kelli's boyfriend Tyler is great with the nieces. He gets parentheses cause they aren't married yet. haha)


Anywho, I love all of these people very much. They make me who I am and I am grateful for all of them.