family. 

is often more than just your God-given biological family. 

this picture happened as part of a joke...but just seemed to stick....

awhile back the jokes about megan and conway being josh and my kids began. we were the parents. they were the kids. we would call times the four of us would go places "family outings" megan drew this picture one night representing our little "family". (note a few things: how much shorter i am than everyone, the weirdness of josh's pants?? megans voluptuous lips?-i love it megan!)

over time our family has grown so much closer. we now have weekly family dinners. (that often dont happen until 10 at night...its how we roll)  where either the boys cook or the girls cook. it works out nicely since megan and i are roommates and josh and conway are roommates. our family dinners are the highlight of the week. with all of our busy schedules it is so nice to be able to sit down and just catch up on life with each other. 

it has even happened where josh and i have gone somewhere together and feel the need to buy our "kids" presents for the next time we see them. like they need a treat after mom and dad have been away...its so funny. we went to victoria gardens and felt the need to buy megan and conway their favorite candies from see's candy before we went home. and we brought back megan a prize from sacramento.... its silly i know but we actually do it... 

i just am feeling incredibly thankful for these three. josh. i dont even know where to begin on what i am thankful for about him ;-) he is amazing and a complete answer to prayer...i love him... megan. she is an incredible roommate and a beyond amazing friend. she is funny too!!! she makes me laugh and i can just be myself and feel comfortable. i love her. conway...or conwizzle :-) he is such a good friend. incredibly encouraging and supportive. and such an example to me...i love him too...

being an auntie...

...might be my favorite thing ever. it is such a fun and blessed season of life. i didn't know i could love little ones as much as i love my nieces and nephew. it is so fun to be able to love on and spoil them just because i can. i get to see some of them fairly often but it never seems often enough. i find it amazing how much they grow in the few days or a week or so that i don't see them. i am blessed to be an auntie to four precious little ones. 

this is madison. she is my sister ashley's first baby. she is five months old now. i don't get 

to see her very often which makes me really sad. she looks just like my sister did when she was this age. (at least thats what i can tell from pictures...hahaha) madison is the first grandchild for my parents. which has been such a blessing for them. she is such a calm and happy baby. i miss being able to spend days with her. hopefully it will all change.

    then theres ty. he is jer and erin's oldest (josh's brother and sister in law) he is 3. and the cutest little boy ever. so full of life and energy. it has been such an incredible blessing to watch as he has grown the last few years. his vocabulary gets bigger each and every time i see 

him. he always has new words to tell me. i love seeing the world through his eyes. he notices things and

 appreciates things i would often overlook. his laughter is contagious.

      he calls me nina. it was his attempt at auntie naya. i cant say how much joy it brings my soul hear him say "nina!" i love him so much. and wish he lived next door so i could see him every day. one of my favorite things is when he spends the night on the weekends. there is nothing like having his sleepy head come out of the bedroom and say "good morning nina" as he snuggles up to give me a big squeeze. i also like spoiling

 him :-) he may or may not get everything he wants at nina's house.

and then there is keirra and kaydin. they are 17 months old.  keirra is the one on the tray making the funny face. she is so known for her facial expressions. it amazes me how she has such a personality at this age. she is the ham of the two and is always ready to cheese it up for the camera. kaydin is the sitting on the floor lookin all cute for the camera. definitely ready to pose for the picture. 

these two girls are such a blessing and so much fun to spend time with. they are at that age where they walk and are beginning to talk. (they almost can say nina) my favorite thing that they do is say "eyes", "nose", and "mouth" as they point to their facial features (or anyones for that matter) they say so many other things too. uh-oh, mommy, daddy, josh, thank you, and almost nina are a few...

  i do hope to one day have children of my own but thats a whole other season of life...right now i love being an aunt. it is a blessing like i couldnt have imagined. i love each of them more than i could express and pray for each of them daily.