First and foremost, I want to give a BIG SHOUTOUT to Uncle John who provided these pictures!!

WE’RE SMILING
These pictures are well over 20+ years old.  I know this because I still had braids, my twins in these pics were still crawling, and Uncle Steve had hair!! To be vulnerable for a moment,  these were also some of the toughest times of my life. If it wasn’t for two of the “Father Like” uncles in my corner (Rick & John) I’m not sure where I would be today. Nonetheless, even though we all could have been going through something in those days, I can’t help but notice that coming together as a family always made us smile, and for a moment the problems in our life seemed minuscule.

NOT PERFECT BUT GRATEFUL
Pictures like this stir up gratitude in my soul.  I’m instantly reminded about how much I appreciate this family GOD has placed me in. It’s not perfect, nor was it designed to be. That’s the whole point. There has to be problems and challenges for you and me to grow. If there was only sunshine and no rain everything would die!

As I grow older, my desire to be around family has skyrocketed and I think it’s because I understand that family isn’t just an “important thing”. Family is “EVERYTHING”!