She Makes My Life Worth Living

One reason God put me in the family He did...my lovely sister, MacKenzie Adele.

OhOhio

First trip home to introduce the love of your life to your parents and past might be exciting for some, but with dread I traveled 10 hours to Ohio. Mark means so much to me and is such a wonderful man. There are parts of my past that could have come back to haunt me, but never have I felt so completely accepted before by anyone, through and through. I knew that even if those old ghosts came out of hiding that it wouldn't phase him. He is strong and accepting in any situation. God knew what I needed and gave me so much more.

So, of course it wasn't perfect...but it went as well as it could have gone. A quick rundown: Mark almost got thrown from a horse...I witnessed a girl hike up her skirt and relieve herself in the bushes at ComFest...a family gathering where everyone was told not to take an individual slice of butter for their corn, but rather "just roll it around in the butter" and then let the next person do the same...Mark passed on the butter...the journey of scrounging up all my belongings...but by far my favorite "at home" moment was during breakfast on the day we were leaving. We all got up early and my Mom cooked us a hearty french toast meal. Mom and Dad (divorced) apparently have assigned seats at their dining room table. I was semi-aware of this, but didn't think that it would matter if a guest was visiting. Apparently Mark was welcomed and accepted: the only empty seat for my Dad--the last to the table--was next to my Mom. Rather than taking his seat or asking politely if Mark would mind changing seats, he just stood right next to Mark with his plate in his hand. And waited. "You're going to have to move, Mark, because he won't sit next to me and I sure as hell don't want him to," Mom says. Ahhhh finally, the family I'm used to comes out of hiding. Welcome to the fam, Mark. If they can show their true colors, you're in.

p.s. photo is Me, Mark, lil' sis Kenzi, and her beau Andrew (awesome guy) at ComFest...this quite possibly is the funniest face I've ever made, captured here on camera for your enjoyment.

Around the House

I realize that home videos are extremely lame. Nothin' worse than watching someone else's family vacation to Montana. But I'm sharing this video because of the history behind the sweatshirt in the photo. During a recent family visit to Ohio, my Dad asks me if I want a sweatshirt that he has kept for years that I had when I was in elementary school. For all the problems that my family has had, they are a bit sentimental. I didn't know what I was going to do with a toddler size sweatshirt that reads "Penrose Beavers," but I said sure. Sadie might have protested had she known my plans for the sweatshirt.