Day 4: Your Parents

Hi everyone! We're up to day 4 of "30 days of blogging"! Today, I'm gonna tell you a little bit about my parents, but be warned, I have quite a few.

Lets start off with my dad, Chris. He's my hero. My daddy has always been there no matter what. He's always put my needs and even my wants above his. He's the smartest man I know. He can build anything, fix anything, literally DO anything, and I have him to thank for my inquisitive mind. If I don't know how to do something, I'll google it, or find a book on it, and teach myself. I'm not afraid to jump head first into something unfamiliar and figure it out. I get that from my dad too. Growing up I was ALWAYS Daddy's girl. We'd spend every spare moment together. My fondest memories are riding around in his old work truck. I loved our fishing trips, our shiner hole, and catching bass at the spillway. I'll never forget the night I caught my record bass. I landed it, and I was beaming from ear to ear.. BUT we weren't bass fishing, we were snook fishing, and he was in the "snook zone" so, without a second thought he tossed it right back. No one ever believes me when I tell that story, it's just a "fish tail" he wasn't THAT big.. but if I had to pick one person to share that story with, I'm glad it was my daddy. He never sugar coated things. He always made sure I had common sense and understood what the "real world" was like. When he taught me to drive, he taught me the basics of course, but he also taught me what to do if I hydroplaned, or if my tire blew. He taught me always be smart, and look out for myself. I've found myself in situations more than once where I heard his voice telling me what to do. I'm truly blessed to have a father that was so present and so loving in my life. I can't imagine how I would've turned out without my dad. It's been about 4 years now since he met my step mom, Kathy. I'll admit at first things were rocky between us. I've never been good at sharing my dad, but since then I've grown to love my step mom. She's difficult at times, and hard headed, but she always has my best interest at heart. There are times that I really resented her tough love, but as I get older I realize that she never did it to hurt me. She just wanted me to appreciate what I had, and to be responsible. That was hard for me, especially considering that my dad had always spoiled me, and just given me what I wanted. I'm thankful now that she cared enough about me to be "the bad guy" when I needed a stern voice. She helped me learn to spread my wings as an adult, and rely more and more on myself. I love spending time with the two of them. Few things feed my soul like sitting around my dad's big dinner table to an amazing meal with my family. There are times we've sat around that table for hours just talking and laughing. That's what family is all about.

 Let's move on to my Momma! She's the fun one! Days spent at her house are typically finger foods all day long while we lay around watching movies and laughing, or playing video games together. I love having my "girl time" with my mom. We'll spend the whole day shopping, and then go back to her house and pamper ourselves. My mom has been a big part of my life [obviously]. She taught me to be nurturing. She has a million little tricks to cure what ails you. I remember the first time I ever had cramps, I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach and I wanted to die. My mom brought me a mason jar filled with hot water, wrapped in a towel to help ease my cramps. I know it sounds weird, but it was exactly what I needed. Just enough heat, with just enough weight, I felt better in no time. [Who thinks of that?!] She's quirky and a little bit out there sometimes, but that's why we all love her! I want to say it's been about 2 years now since she met my step dad, Ray. There was never an awkward stage with Ray. He fit right into our crazy family like he'd been there all along. He's good for my mom, and my little brothers. He's a man's man. He can build it, he can fix it, and he can make it look good. He's pretty goofy sometimes, but I suppose we can look past that.

Last, but CERTAINLY not least, is my in-laws. Lenice and Randel, my Mom-in-law, and Dad-in-law. Unfortunately my father-in-law is more than a little camera shy. He's like bigfoot, you can't catch him on film! But he's awesome. He's the "know it all", especially when it comes to living healthy. He'd cringe if he really knew how much sweet tea I drink. He's also our financial guru. I've spent many hours in his office just trying to absorb all of the knowledge he's throwing at me [literally, throwing. you'd better take notes, he doesn't slow down] He's a great father to my husband, and to me. Now Lenice [or Le-niece, for those of you wondering how that's pronounced] She's technically my "step" mom-in-law, but I'm as close with her as I am my own mom. Not many days go by that I don't talk to her. She's always got great advice, and she's always willing to listen. [Even when I'm so mad I can't see straight and she gets yelled at for 20 mins.] She's my "check out what I found on pinterest" experiment buddy. We've tested quite a few pinterest recipes [mostly desserts]. Randel never eats them. [He's all health conscious and what-not] [[he WILL however put a hurtin on some brownies.. go figure]] I actually lived with Lenice and Randel the year that my husband was in Iraq. They were my rock when my family couldn't be there. Lenice kept me occupied, and well fed ;). and I could never really repay them for everything they've done for me. I love them just like they're my own parents, and they love me like their own daughter. ---Oh and side note; the LOVELY woman you see pictured with Lenice is one of her gorgeous daughters [my sister-in-law] Leslie. :) She's pretty great too, but this is about my parents, so you'll have to learn about her later :)