Family!

Well, I have a ton of things to blog about-returning to work, Cecilia turning three months and Evelyn turning three years old, but I think I'll start with what makes all of those so much better-sharing it with family.

As many of you know, Bard's family lives out of state and had not met Cici yet. Last week that changed! Bard's mom, step dad, and grandma flew up for a five day visit. We talked about it with Evelyn beforehand and she got so excited that every time a plane would fly over (about 5 times a day) she would yell, "There's Grandee!" It was so wonderful to see them, and eve more wonderful to see them with Evelyn. She had so much fun playing and visiting, and also really enjoyed having new people to boss around! Sigh. : ) I'm so blessed to have in laws whom I actually consider family-real family-not just family that you have to send a Christmas Card to every year. They were so generous and considerate, we had a great time and I wish they could have stayed longer, it went by too fast. Of course that is partly because I packed eighty events into five days. . .

We decided that since Bard's family was going to be here we would have Cici's dedication-we don't believe in infant baptism-rather our church dedicates Cecilia to being raised together in a godly community, praying for and supporting all of us as a family. So, instead of just doing a little dedication at church, I invited 50 people over to our house and hosted a brunch. Much more fun, don't you think?! Okay, so only about 30 people came ; ) These people are family to us. Their kids are the kids Evelyn and Cici will play with. They are who we go out to dinner with, who we talk about parenting with, who we pray with and who we celebrate with. These people, and more besides who weren't able to attend, are so dear to me, and have been for so many years. I honestly can't imagine my life without them. That's family.

But, besides Bard's family, and our church family, I actually have family of my own! Oddly enough, even though I live within minutes of most my family-immediate and extended-I don't see all of them all that often, so this weekend was a welcome experience for a change in that habit. In fact, I saw some family several days in a row! I'm sure that my family has its own quirks, well, one big quirk who goes in the form of my father! But I honestly like being with them. Aunts, cousins, grandparents, and more, there is just a sense of peace that comes from being with someone you have known your whole life. And who has known you. Evelyn's cousins are her age and we got to spend a good deal of time with them this weekend as well. I love that she is growing up with them, they are two of her favorite people in her whole little world and I hope that stays the same, even as her world gets bigger. She loved spending time with them this weekend, and with my parents. Since I went back to this week (!!!) my mom watched her for two afternoons. I'm so grateful that she has the opportunity to spend that much time with my mom-and that my mom is amazing with her. Each evening I came home to fun stories of what adventures they had been up to. And I really mean adventure-they dug up pirate treasure and went on safaris! Oh the fun of being three. Three!!!!

There is so much more I could say about our families. We are so thankful for them-for both us and our girls. I can't imagine being blessed in a better way than being surrounded by people who love us, and whom we love. We are blessed indeed.