All in the Family..........

Well, I know I touched on it a little bit in my last post, but I wanted to write a little bit today about my family.

Wow! How lucky I am to have the family I have...

My father never seems to amaze me. He was generous enough to make the plans with Jordon's father to fly us home for Christmas. My dad and Jordon's dad split the difference and got us home for Christmas! My Dad and I have always butt heads. Some have gone as far as to say that I am a lot like my Dad. I share his passion for the important things in our lives, I share his stubbornness, I share his tough guy attitude and I also share his untiring dedication to family.

Dad was silly when we needed a laugh, serious when he knew I needed some guidance and amazing with Kaylee over the Christmas holiday. Overall it was really great to share a few of the moments with him that I was able to. I am grateful to have him as my Dad and feel extremely lucky for Kaylee to have the ability to get to know him.

My Mom... Wow, now there is a woman. She can cook, she can take care of a houseful, she can make you laugh, she can make you mad and she is one of those women that you always want on your side at the end of the day so you can have a hug and hear her say she loves you.

When I was visiting home in Ontario, I am pretty sure Mom smiled for every single second in a day that she was looking at Kaylee. She is just so incredibly happy to have her around. It was wonderful. Mom pulled out her pots, she pulled out her pans, she would make something special for Kaylee to try eating and if she didn't like it, Mom never let it phase her. I sat in the living room, watching Mom throw her hands in the air making silly noises all in an effort to make a cranky little girl smile (and it worked). I couldn't help but smile watching her. I am absolutely positive she would be ecstatic if I were closer and she could make those faces at Kaylee all the time.

I also want to say a little something about my little sister. Jackie is one of those people that love her or hate her, no one will ever forget her. She leaves a stamp! She is smart, she is beautiful, she is funny and she is emotional. She wears her heart on her sleeve and that has a tendency to get her in some mucky situations, her heart is pure and beautiful so anyone who sees it should feel lucky.

Jackie and I have not always seen eye to eye... (Imagine that, two sisters not always getting along). When I say that I really mean, as kids we either were getting along great OR fighting like dogs. As teenagers it was more often then not- fighting like cats and dogs... I was gone for her older teenage years, which didn't help our relationship and I know there was some tensions between us. That being said... Here we are at 25 and 21, we probably get along better then we ever have... I am pretty positive, Jackie has become a woman, driven to succeed and will do so when she puts her mind to it. She is also Kaylee's Aunt. There was mannnnny times I would look around to find Jackie on the floor with Kaylee playing or reading to her. She even woke up early one morning and let me sleep in while she fed Kaylee breakfast and played with her until I crawled my lazy bum out of bed.

You can tell when you look at Jackie, that she adores Kaylee and this is quite incredible considering a couple years ago everything in Jackie's life had to revolve around Jackie or she was very mad about it. She has grown up and seeing her with Kaylee makes me proud! I am proud that she has worked hard towards her goals, I am proud that she is such a wonderful Aunt and I am proud that she is still working towards the new goals she has set in her life.

When I was home over Christmas, my Mom, Sister and I went out for an afternoon. We drove around chatting, venting about the things in life that irk us and then stopped for an appetizer and drink. Sharing some of those moments in life are tremendously important to me. I am not able to do that with them often, so sitting there venting about life felt great!

Family clearly shapes who you are... I know this and I am now able to embrace it. I feel lucky to know that Kaylee not only has Jordon and I as her family but she also has this extended family that adores her almost as much as I do and will be able to provide her with the support, knowledge in different areas of her life and the love that they have for her.

So Mom, Dad, Jackie.... Thanks for being you... Thanks for the love, the support and the incredible Christmas you gave to us. I love you!

Jaymie