My Biggest Passion

I am in an awesome small group with a bunch of beautiful girls that love Jesus. Tonight we shared with each other about the things we are most passionate about...things we could talk for hours about. And I talked about my family. And it inspired me to write a post about them...because they are the greatest and I love them a lot. And I really could write thousands of blog posts about them (and probably will write many more), but here's this for now.

My dad is the bomb. We call him Disney Dad because he always wants to treat us to something...a vacation, dinner out, ice cream, or extra junk food at the store. I love being a daughter that will watch football with him and be weird with him. Sometimes we'll play the latest hip hop song and he'll dance along (his favorite will always be "Low" aka "Boots with the Furr"..."Everybody was lookin' at herrrr"). And he has got some moves. Other favorite memories of my dad are of us swing dancing together at wedding receptions...I'm pretty pumped for our father-daughter dance someday.

 

My mom and I are so much alike. We both love being with people but need our alone time to rejuvenate. We both grew up as pretty innocent teenagers. We both have a hard time saying "no" when people ask us to commit to something...but we're learning and getting better at that. My mom is so intentional in her relationships and loves people so well. She is incredibly selfless when it comes to making sure her kids and her husband and her parents are happy. She puts up with a goofy husband and crazy kids, and is getting funnier and more hip every day.

Cathy is nine years older than me, but it doesn't feel like it. People tell me we look alike and it always makes me proud. Over the last couple years, we have grown much closer and, even though we drive each other nuts sometimes, we have so much fun together. During my sophomore year in high school, I spent a week visiting her in Massachusetts during my Spring Break, and then another week with her in Spain. I was kind of young and awkward, but she was nice enough to hang out with me anyway. She wrote me several of the greatest letters last year while I was in Spokane and listened to me vent about my tough year. She and I share excitement about family holidays and about awesome, fun pop/dance music...and I can usually count on her to dance around the kitchen to Mariah Carey's Christmas album with me.

I have always admired Martin...my whole life. He has always been a great example of faith and loving kindness for me. When I was in junior high, Martin and I became rock climbing buddies. We would buy a month pass when he was home and would go several times a week and belay each other. I felt pretty cool hanging out with my college-aged brother. He is a little more quiet and reserved than Cathy or Matthew, but he is hilarious and crazy. He has great taste in music and is the cool teacher that shops at Zumiez. I wish I could see him in action as a teacher, because I know he is awesome at it.

Marielle was the first new addition to our family and she fits perfectly. Martin totes loved her right away. The first time I met Marielle was at the condo in Carbondale, and she was wearing a Napoleon Dynamite shirt, so I immediately knew that I would love her too. She is hilarious and brings so much laughter to our family. She also does some great black girl and Indian accents, which I love. I am amazed by her determination and motivation as she works hard to become a doctor. I LOVE the time that I get to spend with Martin and Marielle and I really wish it happened more often!

Matthew. If relationships got awards, like soccer team awards, I think our relationship would get "Most Improved." My childhood memories overflow with tales of Matthew's torture. I finally began liking him around the time he left for college. We are always overly affectionate to one another when the other one wants to be left alone. But we also have so much fun together! In the past year and a half, he and I grew much closer, and I always tell people that he was my best friend at Whitworth. I can't believe how much time he spent with me last year and I'm amazed at how well he took care of me. He'll never know how much it truly meant to me.

Alex became my second sister-in-law in August! Gosh, I love her. She and I share love for frozen yogurt, dance aerobics, the Sing-Off, Once Upon a Time, and Keith Urban, among other things. I was so blessed to be able to spend time with her the few times she came to visit in Spokane. We were great friends right away, and we've continued to spend lots of time together this year. She is sweet enough to include me in cooking nights with her mom, and doesn't complain when I stay the night at her house...almost every Friday. She and Marielle have been such awesome additions to our family...I love my sisters.

Olivia and I have always been the babies of the family, so I've spent more time with her than with anyone else. I am grateful to her because I don't think I would have liked being the youngest and I have LOVED being an older sister to her. When we were little, I think she thought I was really cool, but now she mostly just thinks I'm weird. I goof around with her and try to get her to love me, but she isn't a big fan of physical touch or any other form of affection. But once in awhile, on a good day, she'll be silly with me and it will make my day! She has been such a blessing to me and has probably been the most influential person in my life. I love her a lot.