Saturday, January 9, 2010

That sister-in-law

After my last post I think it may have left some open questions about my sister-in-law. Let me explain:
*This may be boring to those that are not a part of my family; I'm just warning you now.
Not only is my mother in law the best....the whole in-law family rocks.

Dad:
My father-in-law is a dad for me. Which is great since I'm working on the relationship with my real father. He has given me hope and inspiration. I remember when I was a kid and my teachers would have me write a paper on my hero, I never knew who to write about. Don't get me wrong, my parents are great people, but we were going through a lot as a family and having a hard time holding it together for a little while. This thought of not really having a hero would "haunt" me at times. Not knowing who you really look up to makes it hard to follow an example. Thanks to my father-in-law I now have someone to look up to and to follow their example. It's so refreshing to have a dad that is setting such a great example.

Sarah:
Sarah and I got along from day 1. We met through my roommate at a salsa class. I remember wishing my hips could move like hers. I think, though, she was just born with a dancing gene that my family didn't have to pass on. We both often recall when we first met; we both thought that it would be really cool to get to know each other better. Even though we weren't best friends she was still someone I always hoped to see. Needless to say, it was nice when I had my first dinner with the family to see her sitting at the table; it made me feel comfortable.
The other great thing about Sarah is that she was engaged at the same time as me. So, we have gone through the exact same things at the exact same time. It was fun to talk about the hardships of being engaged and the fear of the wedding...night. We cried together when we were having a hard time getting pregnant and laughed together when we would talk about how weird marriage is.
Sarah and I are at different points in our life now. She has two babies while Michael and I are waiting just a little longer to start trying. Her husband is just now starting school and Michael is just finishing. But, I still feel that she is someone that I can go to because she understands where I am at in my marriage. We are both going through the new couple struggles and trying to figure out our Mikes. She is also someone who I think really understands me. Which, in reality, is one step ahead of my husband. ;) A lot of struggles we went through in life were similar and I think we still face a lot of struggles that are similar.
Sarah...Know that I love you and I'm so grateful you are my sister. I'm so proud of you and the hard work you put into your family. I'm grateful for your example and the strength you give me by just doing what you do every day.

So, my other two sisters-in-law both thought they were that other sister-in-law I was talking about in my last post...that's funny. Sorry, Erin...or Jeigh...however you look at it but I was talking about Jeigh. This is why:

Jeigh:
I want to let all of my sisters know that I think you are all super cool and creative in your own way. You each make me smile and you each make me laugh. I admire you all for different reasons (Erin I'm still getting to your awesomeness). But for some reason I really idol Jeigh. Jeigh is someone I always wanted to be. Ever since elementary school I wanted to be someone like her. She is quarky, funny, creative, sweet, sensitive, and a good member of the church. Right from the first moment we met I was intimidated...don't ask why. It could have been that she thought I was some freako girl who was obsessed with her brother; thanks Michael, for that. She was really confused of why I was invited to Sunday dinner because Michael did not let his family know that we were dating let alone falling in love and thinking about marriage. It's a guy thing..I guess. So when we were holding hands she was really confused and I think that because of that she was a little stand offish. I was also confused why her children and herself where calling Michael Fatty (it's a family thing). Because of all this I was pretty worried. You see, I pretty much knew I wanted to marry Michael by the time I was meeting his family for the first time and I thought I had my work cut out for me; little did I know how well we would get along.
I don't know what happened or what made things flip but now it's funny to think I was intimidated by Jeigh...Jeigh?!? Jeigh and I lived in the same complex for the first few months of my marriage so she was easy to get to. We were in the same ward so we struggled with a lot of the same...people?...that's the only word I can think of. Through time Jeigh and I have become really close. I have called her for about every problem I have. She has always known what to say to make me feel better and make me realize that I'm over reacting. When we laugh together we usually end up crying. We can read the one another's mind.
Jeigh...thank you for being such a great sister. With out you I would still be stuck in a lot of ruts. You make me want to be a better person so I can "match" you. I love you and I'm so glad to know that we are related.

Erin:
The only word that I can think of when I think of Erin is amazing. I was really nervous to meet Erin because she was the "other" one. She lived far away and I don't know why but it was scary. I think I just built it all up in my head so much that I let it get out of control. But Erin is great and sweet; there was no reason of why I should have been worried.
Like I said Erin is amazing. She is a mother to three and lives on the tightest budget. She is really on top of her genealogy and I envy that. She dehydrates her own food, makes her own laundry detergent and I think soap, she even made her own rug for her bathroom. She used to home school her kids while still trying to be a great wife. She has a lot of insight to marriage that I use on a daily basis. She is also super smart. I always worry whenever I write her an email or a blog. If you couldn't tell, I'm awful at grammar; I have a math mind. Erin, on the other hand majored in English and kicks butt when it comes to this grammar crap.
Erin and I hit it off and became really close really quickly. I hate that Erin is kind of hard to get a hold of; it's because she's too busy being an awesome mom/wife. I email her for advice that I don't trust with anyone else. Whenever we are together, which isn't enough, we get into the deepest conversations and I don't want them to end.
Erin...I love you. You work so hard at your marriage and your mothering skills that I sometimes wish I had that drive. You inspire me to be better at following the Lord's commandments, even the ones that are only "kind of" important. Thank you.

So that's it...my family. They are so awesome.

3 comments:

Sarahie said...

Yay! I'm the only one who has never scared you! How many points is that? =)

You're great. And thanks for reminding me that I used to salsa. I wish I still did. Love you!

Jeigh said...

Aw, thanks for all the nice things you said. I just figured it was me because you told me that before. It's true, our family does rock, and it rocks even more because you're part of it! Love you!

Erin said...

Luanne, one thing I really admire about you is how unafraid you are to share how you care abour the people you love. I need to work harder at that. Thanks for the awesome things you said about me (and all of us) in this post. You've inspired me to do the same for you (and everyone else).
And, I'll try harder to be more available to talk to. I tend to ignore my phone. I've had several complaints besides yours, so I'll work on that.
I love you!