Family

Today as I was driving down the road my voice mail alert went off. I know the phone hadn't rang, but I did have a message. When I checked it I heard the voice of my sister Stephanie. She left a nice message just saying that she was thinking about me. I can't tell you how nice it is to know that somewhere there is always someone at some point of the day that is thinking about you. When I was younger it drove me crazy that there were so many kids in our family, I hated going places and being counted by bystanders. I don't think I really thought the jokes were funny, but usually I would give a courteous smile anyway. The one that people thought was real funny and they thought they were real original was the "11 kids, I guess your parents didn't have a t.v.".

Now that I am older, I can appreciate how cool it is to have so many siblings. Don't get me wrong, sometimes they drive me crazy and I know that I can do the same to them. I think the thing that I like is that I know that even when there is nobody to talk to I have a long list of people that I know will listen to whatever it is that I want or need to talk about. The need to talk about part comes very seldom, but the want to talk about conversations can be pretty entertaining.
I don't know that Stephanie and I would really describe our relationship as close growing up, but I know that there is now an appreciation for each other that seems to grow stronger as we age.

Mindy is a nutcase, she just recently purchased a house and it was cool to go over and see her spot, and see how proud her and C's were with their accomplishment of purchasing and starting to fix up a home.


Reece is probably the sister that is most like me in a lot of ways. Her sense of humor is so like mine, but anyone that observes without understanding us would think we were crazy.

Brett,... I think Brett is probably the best Dad in the family. He loves his kids and it is fun to see how he interacts.

This next one is touchy, but somehow I have the need to explain. Russ and I haven't really spoken for quite a while. There are some personal issues that we hopefully will some day work out. Although we don't talk, there is seldom a day that I don't think about him and all that he has gone through. I am so proud of some of the things that he has conquered and I know that he probably faces challenges that would make me buckle, but I know that he has the strength to come out on top.

Heather is the peacemaker, and the favorite aunt. She is probably the most free spirited of us all. Mandy loves her, who else would come over bright and early on the first day of school to make sure that the hair is perfect.


Randy is the youngest and the favorite uncle. He is motivated, funny, and mature all at the same time (if that is possible). He is really young enough to be my son, but I love when we get to hang out or go for a bike ride occasionally.

Doug has the strangest sense of humor, but he is so funny. Most people don't know how deep Doug's thoughts run. I have read some of his writings and am amazed at how serious and insightful honest they are. He still has the all time best Christmas card with his whole family sitting in the back of the minivan shortly after it was rear ended in front of the house by a lady that fell asleep while driving. They even decorated the smashed rear door with Christmas stuff.

Machelle (with an A) is the oldest and my favorite mark to try to find out what is funny and how far boundaries can be pushed in a conversation. She is the nurturer of the family and everyone can go to her to just vent or hang out.

Darren, is completely whipped. just kidding. He is such a cool guy, I can talk to him about anything ranging from serious life issues, to what a witch Kate is to John. Whenever I try to describe him to someone that he works with they finally figure it out and say "The big guy".
He is a hard worker 2 days a week and a great Dad and husband the other 5.

Finally who can forget Mom and Dad. Mom is famous for everything from her cinnamon rolls to her ability to fix any household appliance with a butterknife. I don't know how she did it, but somehow she kept us all in line and feeling loved growing up.
Dad calls almost every day, and although we give him a hard time about having a dialling finger on the days that he doesn't call I sure miss him. He is in Escalante now, babysitting tomatoes and radishes and I miss him being here, but somehow I am more at ease that he is there.

Large families can be challenging, but I don't know what it would be like to not be a member of one.