To me family is everything. Time and time again it has been family (and friends who are loved as family) who have been the hand of God in my life. This past Christmas Justin's brother, Kevin, and his wife, Missy, were so dang good to us. It was one of those years where the company Justin was then working for had taken some really big hits and things were not good. I am not really a material person and it's never been my big focus at Christmastime. But I still hoped we could pull off a few gifts to put under the tree for the girls. Then a package showed up from Kevin and Missy and it it was Christmas morning in a box. Everyone had something and everyone was so thoughtfully considered. I was blown away. This was so much more than our usual family gift exchange. Kevin, knowing how much Justin loves taking Instagram photos, had a collage of some of our photos printed off on a poster. It was really cool. Finally this past Father's Day I had it framed for him so we can hang it up in our house. When I look at it I get such a wash of emotion. Partly because the photos tell stories about our life together as a family and places we have been. But also because it represents to me that cementing love of family, both immediate and extended, and I am again reminded that through them I know God cares.
