To my sisters and family!

A little preface to my thoughts!

Being the oldest of 8 sometimes had its perks growing up and sometimes it REALLY didn't. I definitely didn't always appreciate being from such a big family but just like they say as you grow older and mature you learn to appreciate your heritage, realize how much you had to be grateful for and appreciate the lessons that come from sometimes difficult things. When we moved from our small Utah town which I had known my whole life to the huge Phoenix area it was truly a culture shock. I really struggled when I would tell people how many brothers and sisters I had and they would react like I was some kind of freak. We had really never thought anything of being from a big family. So me and my insecurities were sometimes embarrassed of my family. I was the oldest and a girl so with that came MANY responsibilities that most kids didn't have a clue about. I had more of a mother role, rather than a sister role and that somewhat affected my relationship with my younger siblings/sisters. I didn't really facilitate or nurture my relationships with them the way I should have. My four younger sisters were a lot closer in age and grew up pretty close friends and have always been a huge support system for each other. There have been times that I have felt a little jealous of their closeness but really didn't make a strong enough effort to do something about it and felt like I was doing ok on my own. as we have all grown and gotten married, started our families and faced personal challenges we have changed.
I feel so blessed to have grown up in such a diverse family. To have learned so many valuable lessons and even for the trials. The last few years have brought some real emotional challenges for all of us and was quite the process of overcoming those. For each of us it has been a different process but we have each worked through our issues and I feel we have truly come out on top, closer and more appreciative of each other. I am most thankful for family members who overlook my imperfections and quarks and love me just the way I am. I have not always been that way and I have learned more Christ like love from them.

I love my sisters, who are my dearest friends. I love how different we all are but how well we compliment each other. I am in awe of their crazy talents and creativity!!!! I am thankful for their examples and the things they have taught me. I love that our kids adore each other and will grow up to be each others friends and support system as well!! I am thankful that our family of 10 has grown by 4 brothers and 2 sisters and I love them dearly as well!!! I am looking forward to the future and all that it has in store for us and I pray that we can continue to grow stronger and closer. I pray that my kids remain as close and as good of friends as they are now forever and for always!!