I love Holidays because it means that I get to spend quality time with my family.  No matter how dysfunctional our gatherings may be, I still love them.  Family is irreplaceable.  The best thing we can do is laugh, and we laugh A LOT.  I am so grateful to have been able to spend another Easter with my grandparents.  I know the time we can spend together is limited so I try to embrace it as much as I can.  Seeing my little brother and sister so grown up still baffles my mind, not to mention my nieces and nephew!  They are no longer babies, they are little people with opinions!  Now i know the joy my Aunt must have had watching all of us grow up. 

I had a very nice conversation with MaMa (Greg's Grandma) about family.  In the last 6 plus years Greg's family has been my refuge.  I go there after gatherings with my family and take pleasure in their leisure.  MaMa and I got to talking about family and how we all have our quirks.  Family history runs deep and influences future generations.  As I have grown and matured, I have learned to accept my family for who they are and come to understand why they are the way they are.  I cannot change them, I can only change how I react to them and decide how I will run my own future family.  I also know that one day I will miss things for the way they are now and the way they have been. 

It got me thinking about what things will be like in the future.  I know I want kids, I used to say I wanted five like my family, but now I'm thinking more along the lines of two or three.  Growing up I had a ton of cousins within my age group and I absolutely LOVED the times we had together.  It was so much fun sharing our childhoods and now getting to see them all married and having children of their own.  I guess you could say my maternal instincts are starting to kick in.  I want my children to grow up with their cousins.  It's so funny because I am constantly whining to Greg about how "I want a babyyy."  He is the more logical one having to remind me that we are not quite ready for that....YET. 

Nonetheless, I am so grateful for the time I am able to spend with my family.  We are so lucky that we are so close and able to have these memories.  I am even more lucky to have an extended family with the McNears.  It is a small reminder of all that is good in my life.  I feel overwhelmingly blessed and happy.  I hope that everyone else's Easter Holiday was equally as great and that you created good memories while celebrating the Risen Lord. 

He is the reason for all of this after all!



On a more YUMMY note, we also baked some Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies with coconut.  They turned out delicious!  I will have to post the recipe on the Health page soon.  Hey, oats are healthy....