Gratitude: Day 9

In all fairness, my extended family isn't the only one I love. Did you know when you get married you get another family? Yeah, you do. Crazy! The husband has this family, and it is a little smaller than mine, but those people KNOW how to have a good time. I begged his brother and sister-in-law when they were pregnant with their first daughter to call me "Auntie" even though we were not married or even engaged at the time. They relented, and that almost 8 year old makes me so freaking proud. Smartest almost 8 year old on the planet, and the best fashion sense too. The husband's parents have extended me grace and kindness. He has a cousin that shares my first name, and she sometimes lets me steal her Christmas presents because we never quite know which one of us they are addressed to. I quickly claimed the husband's grandparents as my own, and I don't plan on giving them back anytime soon. What I'm thankful for most is what I've learned from all of them. The days, they haven't always been easy ones for this family, but they show a tenacity. "Giving up" does not seem to be in the vocabulary for most of them. At any rate. I'm grateful for these people. They have taught me much over the last 11 years.