The Ties That Bind

My cousin Rachel and her family live in The Philippines as missionaries. My Aunt and Uncle have lived their my whole life and I remember with fondness their trips to the states during my childhood. When I was little I took things like my large close family for granted. I don't anymore. I treasure the chances I get to spend with my cousins and their children and I can't wait for Amelia to experience what it is to have a  numerous and loving extended family.

Yesterday Amelia and I went to the park with Rachel, her husband Clint and their two children Andrew (3yrs) and Lily (5 mouths).  I think Amelia had a lot of fun! Afterwards we hit up Half-Price Books and spent a little early birthday money.  We also spent the evening at my grandmothers and didn't make it home until midnight. Needless to say, we slept in this morning.

The times, they are a changin'...

This past week I put in notice at my retail job. It's the scariest/most exciting thing I have done in many years. I've been debating about it for months.  I've been working since I was sixteen years old and I've been at this current job for 9 years. It was always supposed to be my "college" job but college has taken me a little longer than traditional students. I feel like I've kind of grown up with that place and the people I've worked with feel more like family than just co-workers. I never thought I had a hard time with change and liked to think that I am adventurous but this has been an incredibly hard decision.

I know I won't regret it though. I will get to be home more with Amelia. I will get the chance to watch her rapidly grow and develop from my tiny infant "blob" into a little girl with definite personality. That's the exciting part! Well, that and getting more time as a family. Juggling work, school, and a very active baby sometimes my hubby gets left out of the mix. I am hoping this extra time will allow me to make sure I get to take care of him a little too. 

Plus, maybe I'll get to blog more...

The important things in life...

Playing with Great Uncle James

I have been meaning to blog, no really it's true. But sometimes life just gets in the way, you know? My uncle and cousin who live in Kansas came into town last week so we spent all our free time with them. Family has always been really important to me. In fact I would say the biggest struggle in my life has always been spending time with people I love versus all my other responsibilities. I think this stems from experiencing death at a young age. I have always appreciated the fact that I have such a large, loving family. When my great-grandmother passed away when I was in high school the thing that upset me the most was that my two youngest cousins wouldn't even remember they had met her.  I just don't want to ever have the regret that I had the chance to spend time with someone I love, didn't and now it's too late.
I hope that I can teach this to Amelia. How important and special relationships are and how blessed we are to have so many wonderful people in our lives. This is why I want to make a commitment for her to see her grandparents at least once a week. I want to be more committed to using Skype to keep up with our international family. I've recently reconnected with my father's family and while I doubt I will ever be able to do the same with my father it is nice to have even more people to love.