Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him

Although our families are now hours away, they still make a huge impact on our lives (of course).  Without them, we would not be the people, and the family we are.  I will start with JTom’s side of our family, and just give a little praise for them.

His Mom is one of the most generous women I have ever known.  She gives to and serves others every. single. day.  I am not sure how she has enough of herself to go around, but there is always plenty.  God has truly given her the gift of giving.  She loves Lexie and Max beyond words.  We are so thankful to call her our Sue Sue.  (She raised a son who keeps his bathroom clean, so you know she is an amazing woman!)

His Dad is kind and brilliant.  He raised an amazing young man who can do and build anything, loves his family unconditionally, and works so hard.  Those are not things someone comes by naturally, they are traits a child grows up with and sees in their parents.  JTom’s dad has most certainly set an amazing example for JTom, and can only imagine the impact he will have on Max’s life.

His sister is one of the nicest, most warm-hearted women I know.  The impact a sibling has on your life is immense  without them your entire personality would be different.  She definitely made an amazing impact of JTom’s life and helped build the man and father he is today.  She is making that same impact on her own children, and the children of other’s through teaching.  I haven’t known her for many years, but from what I do know, she pours out everything she has into her students.  She has helped reassure me when I needed it- when I first became pregnant with Lexie and while I was in school getting my degree.  She is always willing to help when you ask, that has certainly been the case for me.

My mom has been a teacher for over 20 years; she has literally see it all in education, in children, in family dyamics.  The first two things I would tell someone about my mom are A) she has the softest heart of anyone I know. Through example, she reminds me to soften up some.  😉  Thanks mom
and B) she is the best teacher I know.  Over 20 years teaching in public school in one of the biggest counties in the state of Tennessee, and she is still fresh.  She still works hard to find new lessons and ways to reach her students.  

My Dad is the hardest working person, beside JTom, that I know.  He is also the most Biblically sound person I know; if ever I have a question about scripture, ethics, or Bible history, he can answer it all and show or quote the scripture to back it up.  Through his example I learned at an early age how to budget, work hard, and pray for my family.  He is so generous, and always does right by others.  He never puts himself first.  

My Granny has taught me how to have fun, and encourage others.  =)  She has always been my sounding board; someone I could tell anything to when things were hard.  Her house has always been home, even when I didn’t feel like I had one.  She can encourage, lift, praise, and make you laugh in a 23 words sentence (without taking a breath! haha).  😉  She never meets a stranger, and although we all tease her about it, that’s what we love about her.

My brother taught me how to accept.  He taught me that there is so much more to the world than the small amount I understood.  He showed me that because people are different, because they think outside the box really, en-truly doesn’t make them crazy or weird.  Who knew that four years after his death I would think so much like him-question everything and don’t be a sheeple. I think he would be proud.

These are the amazing people that molded mine and JTom’s life and are still making positive impacts on our family.  We all have our differences, we all do thing differently, raise our families differently, but that is the beauty of a family.  Despite the things that make us different, there are beautiful things that make us very much the same.

These accept the worst of us, without judgement (I hope! haha), and continue to love us for it.  We both come from wonderful Christian families, for that, we are thankful.

They were enrolled with all their little children, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, the whole assembly, for they were faithful in keeping themselves holy.  2 Chronicles 31:18