Family!

I want you all to know how much I love my family. Individually. They are all such great examples to me! I had it so easy growing up. We hardly ever fought. I think the one family member I ever got mad at somewhat regularly was Tasha, and that was probably just because we're so close in age and we're too alike. And even then we got over our tiffs in like... 5 minutes. From what I hear that is not normal, especially in a big family. I have two really good friends (not gonna say names...) who are sisters, and man, they just go at it all the time. Like, if you can't even have peace and happiness in your home, where the heck are you gonna find it?

So congratulations, mom and dad! I don't know how you did it, but you managed to pull off having an incredibly non-temperamental family. I really hope I inherited that skill so I can implement it when I start a family.

I just cannot express how grateful I am for my family. I love where we're at right now, especially. I have two adorable little nieces (credit to Leila and Josh) that I can't get over! I thought life couldn't get any cuter after Cora was born, and then Esther popped out and it just DOUBLED! Gah. It's too much.

And then we welcomed Shauna into our family last year. She is great, and her and Clayton are just so happy together. So much love.

Lars as of yet remains single, but that's okay because we have this competition going on. We're sort of... racing... to see who can get engaged first. Is that bad? Probably. I mean it's not like we're gonna get married to the first person who asks just so we can win. Why would you ever think that? But still. Secretly I hope he beats me, because he needs it more than I do. He's an RM, what else does he have to live for besides finding a wife? Seriously.

Then there's Tasha. Tasha and Ben, Ben and Tasha. Treats and snoozin', snoozin' and treats. That's about it.
Haha no but really. Hey Ben, welcome to our crazy family. Though apparently his family's bonkers too, so it's all good. With that in mind, I can't wait to see how their children end up. It could either be intensely horrifying or unbearably cute.

I come next. Hey guys! Just letting you know, I AM single. I know lots of men will be happy to hear that.

Keely. Girl, just go out there and take over the world. Don't be bound by other people's expectations of you. Especially the ones about you being just like me. You're really not, and that is a wonderful thing. I mean,  you can aspire to be like the good parts of me, that's okay. But when people say, "Oh, you're just like Rina!" I give you permission to smack them upside the head. I know I wanted to do that sometimes when people said I was like Tasha. No offense Tish-tosh.

Can I tell you all how much I love my little brother Jens? He is the funniest kid. And holy crap is he a genius. I knew something was up when at the age of 2 he could recognize and say the name of like 100 countries just by looking at their flags. He's 12 now, so everyone be looking for his name in the papers starting in the next couple of years. It'll probably have something to do with curing cancer or making an affordable, energy-efficient hovercraft.

So, family, if you're reading this, I love you all. I can't wait to see where we are in the next ten years. The rest of us could all be married by then! Shoot that's weird.

If you haven't figured this out based on my other posts yet, I'm really quite pumped to fall in love, get married, and raise children of my own; however, I know that my thoughts are not God's thoughts, and He has the master plan. Although sometimes I just really wanna peek. 

"The greatest joys and the greatest sorrows we experience are in family relationships. The joys come from putting the welfare of others above our own. That is what love is. And the sorrow comes primarily from selfishness, which is the absence of love. The ideal God holds for us is to form families in the way most likely to lead to happiness and away from sorrow.” -- Henry B. Eyring

Life's lemons

Holy crap, our whole apartment has been super emotional recently. It's like fate decided to ruin all our happiness at the same time... that's one reason that I'd be totally fine being married now. No more roommate drama or having your heart crushed by men that don't like you back. I suppose marriage comes with its own problems, too. But still. Sometimes life sucks and the only thing you can do is curl up with junk food and a chick flick and wish your love life was as perfect as it is in the movies.

My life is amazing, don't get me wrong. It could be so, so much worse, and I am incredibly grateful that I have been blessed with the life I have. But aren't I allowed to get a little blue every once in a while? I think that showing a true range of emotions is good for the soul. I mean, why should I act happy all the time if that's not really how I feel all the time? Sometimes I just need to have a pity party, okay. Deal with it. Because if the guy I've liked for a while decides to chase after some other girl, I'm gonna react, and that's that. I'm not ashamed of my feelings. Being sad about things is not a weakness, you guys! It shows that you actually care about something. At least that's what I think. So judge me all you want, but I'm gonna eat my feelings and bash on men until I drop, and it's gonna be great.

Why do we lie to ourselves? Just a question. I really don't know the answer. It just seems ridiculous because we know we're gonna have to face the facts eventually and yet we continue to tell ourselves that it's all peachy and we'll figure things out later. Stupid human nature, always trying to screw us over.

Yay depressing blog posts! This thing felt really good to write. The blog's kinda my outlet, you know? Everyone needs a way to express their feelings. Some people write poetry, some people do martial arts, and I pour out my soul to random people on the internet. It's very effective, I suggest you try it.

Genius words right here by one of my fantastic roommates:
"You can have your feelings and eat them too." --Liz

Peace out everyone. Stay classy.

We are great.

Do you ever get down on yourself because you feel like you haven't made a big enough difference in the world or because you think no one cares about you? I'd like to tell you that that's ridiculous. Haven't you ever seen It's a Wonderful Life? That guy lived in a small town and ran a small business and made a small income, but look at the huge effect he had on people's lives! And you think that you can't have that same amount of influence? Well, think again.
I can guarantee you that when you were born your mother smiled. Because you were a cute little baby and you were hers. And now you've gotten bigger and uglier and maybe your mother doesn't smile at you anymore. She should. But even if she doesn't, there is someone who is smiling because He will never stop loving you. You're His, everyone in the world is His, and if you see someone that doesn't know that then smile at them so at least they know that one person cares.

I made a New Year's resolution. It's to be there for people more. Isn't there a song that says "everybody needs somebody to love"? Well, everybody needs somebody to love them back, too. And I want to be that person for somebody. First, I'm going to love myself. That's the hardest one because I know all my own faults, but I think the more you learn to love and forgive yourself, the more you can do the same for others.

Check out my sister and her husband at their wedding:

How much love must it take to pledge your life to another human being who is as sinful and flawed as you are? Yet we do it all the time, and most of the time it works out pretty swell. Isn't that beautiful? Humans are so great! Those two goons in the picture are probably the craziest people I've ever met, and their marriage is probably the cutest thing I've ever seen. I can't wait until I find someone who can know every aspect of my character and still love me more than life itself.

It took me a while to decide whether or not I was even going to post this. It represents a lot of the things that have been weighing on my mind lately, and I just kind of let loose my thoughts without a lot of structure or organization. I hope it makes sense, but if not, that's okay. I'll still love you.

"Where there is love there is life." -- Ghandi