Graditude; Day 1 : My family

grat·i·tude [grat-i-tood, -tyood]

–noun

the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful: He expressed his gratitude to everyone on the staff.

Dictionary. com 

MY FAMILY 

when i think of family i not only think of my immediate family of Vic, Madison and Emma, but i think of my extended family. growing up family was a big thing for me.. we were a tight family. But, in some ways it's strange b/c when i say family i think of My Grandparents (Marvin and Edith Purvis) my Mom, and the Walden's (Marty, Tim, Rachel, Joshua, Stephanie and Martin).   the reason i say that it is strange is because there are a lot of people in my "family" that i just don't include... like my father for one.  These people that i mention before as my "family" are those that I spent EVERY holiday, birthday, Sunday and random days with throughout my childhood.  Family means SO much to me... the idea of family means so much to me.  When Vic and I got married i felt like I finally had my OWN FAMILY, but i was once told that it wasn't a real family until we had children... well it was a family to me... do pets count LOL.  

now that i have a "real" family of my own, holiday's, birthdays, Sunday's and random days just aren't to same.  not bad, not great, just not the same.  but i am grateful for them all the same.  well this is starting to sound depressing :(  I guess what i am getting at is that i've always had this idea in my head of what the perfect family looked like... it's was those days from my childhood that i spend with my family.. where i felt loved, wanted and supported. and although those days are gone i am grateful for the NEW FAMILY that i have and the NEW traditions that we are making.  

like eating dinner together every night.  that is one thing that my parents and i did has a family as well. and we talked about our days. (i can only remember those after i was about 10) And, with two little one's it's difficult to have a conversations about our day but we have fun watching emma try to eat with a spoon or fork and sometimes it's difficult to get Madison to eat her food, but i love it all the same. i look forward to "family time".  when vic's home from work and we can sit down together (where Vic get's to feed emma, YEAH) sometimes meals aren't pleasant, there is food thrown or spilled milk but this is my life and i love it.

bed time is my favorite because vic and i tuck the girls in together at night. we rock, we read and we sing (well i sing) and they LOVE IT.  

My Prayer:

Lord, thank you for this family that you have given me. For Vic, who challenges me, supports me and sometimes is the only one who will put up with me. Lord, thank you for allowing me to have children because they are such a blessing. I AM grateful for this family that you have given me... this simple life! I will cherish and honor you by continuing to do your work in and through them.  Amen