Family.

Yesterday we celebrated three of my grandparents turning the big 7-0. 

It was a spur of the moment- hey! everyone's in town- kind of party.

Allow me to set the scene for you:

16 adults.

1 tween.

2 kids.

1 toddler.

1 infant.

4 dogs.

I should also mention we all seem to congregate in the kitchen.

 It was a full house.

Noisy, crowded, unorganized, and just a smidge chaotic.

 Ok...maybe more than a smidge.

Brayden decided to up the ante by introducing his eye to the bottom of the toilet.

 Cue tears, blood, and a nice little shiner.

The tears (and blood) quickly dried up as his cousins ran to his rescue, re- enacted the feat for those of us who missed his acrobatics, turned my little man's tears into smiles, and pretty soon the fits of laughter and squeals of excitement returned.

My dad grilled.

I got my Betty Crocker on and baked some delicious treats for everyone.

Umm by the way can we all say a quick Amen for fresh strawberries, homemade pound cake, and quite possibly the world's *BEST* recipe for Better Than Sex cake?! A special thanks to pinterest for that one.

I'm not even going to apologize to my waistline.

It. Was. Goooood.

We caught up on everything the kids have been up to, told work stories, discussed the latest developments on the construction projects (my family has a thing for simultaneously taking on large remodels), loved on my babies, lit candles, and sang a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday to three very special 70 year olds.

When the chaos finally died down and we said our goodbyes to everyone,

 I was left with an overwhelming sense of gratitude...and exhaustion if I'm keeping it real. Haha.

I am just so grateful to have had the

 opportunity to spend the last 27 years of my life 

calling these people my family. 

A family which is only growing as we introduce 

significant others, spouses, dogs (lol), and babies to the mix. 

A family that was created by four wonderful people-

 four people who I am lucky enough to call my grandparents. 

And I know that I didn't exactly plan on making

 them great grandparents when I did, but it is an absolute joy 

watching my children get to know them.

        I can't wait to watch Bella make cookies with her Great Grandma Sandy and play dolls and sing songs with her Great Grandma Barb just as I did when I was a child. I know that Brayden will have the best time ever when his Great Grandpa Wally teaches him how to fish,and I hope that his Great Grandpa Denny can one day share even the tiniest bit of his craftsmanship skills with my little ones. 

So thank you Lord

for bringing me into this family.

We may not always agree with one another.

We might not see one another as much as we should.

But we love each other. 

And despite the fact that we don't say this enough to one another, the love is there...

wherever our crazy bunch decides to gather.

A few older pictures of the fam:

 (I am now realizing I need to pull out the camera during gatherings a bit more)

I also want to mention that family isn't just those you are related to by blood...these three girls to my side are my sisters. For life. I love you all and am so blessed to include you in my family.

And the most recent one I took with my new camera... Doesn't it just melt your heart?!

Don't forget to celebrate your very own crazy bunch.

~ Kristin