family

I love my job. I love my house. I love my city. I love the awesome girlies with whom I abide. But I love my family, too. And I miss them.

Mom pinning a boutineer on my handsome dad before my sister Rosemary's wedding. (All photo credits go to the incredible Regina of Radiant Images.)

I love how my mom texts me all the funny things my little sisters say. Yesterday they bought a parakeet (I must be a good influence) and named it Tarragon. Kelsey (age 6) wanted to name it Teargas. I owe my cooking, creativity, bookworm, and artistic genes to my mom. She can make anything. Period.

If I ever marry, I hope to marry a man like my dad. From my dad I learned dignity, perseverance, strength, and work ethic. I wouldn't trade for a universe the years I spent as a teenager in the barn with my dad. One of my proudest moments was when Dad left me to do an entire milking alone. I knew he trusted both my abilities and my dependability. Within the past year, Dad and I have gotten a lot closer. Nothing quite turns my world right-side up so much as a good phone call with Dad.

From left to right, my whole family plus the first boy to make one of my sisters lose the last name of Yoder.

Back row: Candace (16), Abby (24), Eldon & Rosemary (21), Bobbi-Jeanne (Mom), and Enos (Dad)

Front row: Lori Sue (8), Kelsey (6), Carol (12), and me (23)

I used to wish for a brother, but not having one certainly gives our family a unique dynamic. :) 

I so love these girls.

Just because they're too squinchable to be true... Kelsey and Lori Sue. 

Because I opened with a Kelsey quote, I'll close with a Lori Sue quote that was coined when I was home for a visit. Carol had made Orange Julius drinks for everyone. Lori, drink in hand, was being attacked by Kelsey. Laughing because she already anticipated her own punchline, Lori told Kelsey, "Look out! I have an Orange Julius and I'm not afraid to use it."

 They say they're going to come visit me soon. I hope so.