to the abares

as i was snuggled cozily into my living room, looking at my christmas tree and thinking of all the ways i'm blessed - i got a facetime call from my brother brad and while i was facetiming with him, kara and craig beeped in and said they wanted to come over. i love that every day i get to connect with at least one person from my incredible family. which leads me to this post, which will probably only get publicity from within said familia, but they're worth it - so i write on.

my dad is awesome because he knows how to be generous. and he's a christian. unfortunately in my experience those two have not gone hand in hand. when i think of the top five people who have gone out of their way to show me and others generosity - four of them would say they do not have a relationship with God and one (my dad) does.

my mom is the best mom in the world because she knows how to love. to the point where it hinders her ability to listen because she is always trying to defend the underdog and lavish grace upon the undeserving. she always smells good and has the perfect arm to sleep on when you are in a black people church service and you're blowing right through nap time (we went to a black church when i was little - this happened frequently).

my brother brad is a stealthy badass because he is actually famous in the circles he runs in, but would never, ever admit it or tell you when he is speaking at a conference, being asked for input in a book, etc... he is one of the most humble people i've ever come across - and he is hilarious. all of my brothers are hilarious, actually. brad must have taught us all.

my SIL jamaica is great because she puts herself out there. she will scrape your soul for dust at any time in the middle of the night and she is a great listener. when she is there, she is present. she's all about where she is - and that is quite an achievement these days.

my brother mark is a baller because he is a closet softy. he comes off so tough, so sarcastic, so unapproachable - but anyone who knows him will tell you... he will do ANYthing for you and weirdly enough, snuggles me and pinches my cheeks to the point where i'm trying to escape. still. as if i'm five years old. but i secretly love it. watching him make the transitions from single, to married, to dad have been so exciting and tear-inducing. he is such an amazing husband and such a sweetie dad. he's in love with his little girl and who can blame him?!

my SIL jamie is fantastic because she was like the puzzle piece we had been looking for that had fallen off the table and was face-down while we were trying to complete our puzzle. so glad we found her because this girl cracks me up. i love laying around with jamie and talking about life and boys and all that there is to talk about. and also watching her make the transition from amazing wife to amazing mama has been a blast. she sure does pop out beautiful babes!

my brother craig is incredible because he inspires me to pursue all the creativity i was born with but has yet to be unearthed. he and i were made for this city. i've tried to explain it before when someone thought he had been upholstering furniture for years since he had upholstered my couch and it looks amazing. they said they just assumed he had been an expert and i said that the thing about craig is that he is an expert at nothing, but somehow an expert at everything. no, he hasn't studied a ton of things, but whatever he touches his hand to ends up like gold. he is wild and crazy and we laugh and embarrass kara to the point of pee pants.

my SIL kara is the 1/2 a broken heart from my sterling silver necklace combo from the quarter machine because she can read me like a book. she is so talented, has the biggest heart, is hysterical, and teaches me what being a good person, apart from God really looks like. i have walked with kara through her whole faith journey and i hear her credit a lot of the things she learned about faith to me - but really i credit a lot of the things i'm still learning to her. she has held my head and heart up through the worst of pains, and skipped alongside me through the healing process.

my brother luke is such a freaking weirdo but worthy of all my affections because his heart is the size of the universe. he has this way of connecting with and making ANYone feel valued that is much desired by me. he is quick to forgive, doesn't stay mad, and will find any creative way for you to buy him a sandwich every day. he also has great teeth and a nice set a gams.

my SIL sarah is wonderful because even though she was born and raised in the south - she doesn't talk like she was. she's also wonderful because she loves luke really well and loves ava for me even though i'm so far away.

my little brother paul is a messy pot of love because he's got a tender lil' heart. he's one of those mushy boys who will buy dinner for his girlfriend and all of her friends because he wants to be a nice guy. he loves to a fault and like luke, he doesn't stay mad. which i know well because i test the theory often.

and to the littlest... my munchie niece ava is the best because she's young enough to still not be embarrassed by me. i'm going to give her approximately four years before she doesn't want to be seen with me - or will let me show people pictures of her anymore. i adore this little girl even more than i could have ever dreamed of loving a little babe that didn't even hatch from my own egg. i'd go to the ends of the earth to let her know it too.

so there it is. my family is the best. and adding more spouses to the clan is a daunting task, which now falls on my shoulders since we're obviously following the "in order" marriage rule. we'll see how this goes....