Life may change us...

"Life may change us, but we start and end with family."

A little over a month ago we got together to celebrate the 60th anniversary of my grandparents wedding. 60 years of marriage...I cannot even begin to wrap my head around the moments spent making that marriage work. 60 years later and my grandparents have managed to remain happy, in love and a constant support to every single member of the huge family they have created. Speaking of that large family unit that I cannot seem to get enough of, let me give you an idea of the size:

That is us...every last one of us. When I look at this picture it gives me this sense of comfort that is super hard to describe. I feel so extremely lucky knowing that I have this many people behind me. I have a family the size of a small village and every single one of them would drop everything at any moment to help one another. Sure...we can be crazy:

We love to dance and sing at the top of our lungs. We love to joke and laugh and give each other a hard time. We love to act like idiots, we love singing Meatloaf and Hank Williams Jr. We love being a family and my grandparents love watching us do all of these things:

I would like to think they are proud of the family they have created because I am sure VERY proud to be apart of it. I cannot imagine my life any other way and thank God every day for this crazy family I am apart of. Onlookers might think so many people is intimidating, but when this is all you know, you don't even think twice about shoving 40 plus people into a small living room for Christmas to watch everyone open gifts...it's loud, it's crazy but it is my life and my family and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Life may change us, but we start and end with family. As much as I love my extended family, the ones that really know my every move, my dreams, my hopes, my fears, my favorite foods are the people below...and I love them more than words can describe.