My Family

I have a small family, by most worldly standards.  I have one brother and he has a wife and 3 kids.  Joe has one sister, and she has a husband and one child.  So I have 1 nephew and 3 nieces.  Ken, my brother, is my polar opposite.  It's amazing that 2 people can create siblings who are so vastly different.  Don't get me wrong, the things that really matter are very similar...our love of family and our faith...but our personalities are just different.  He always told me that I needed to be a lawyer because I argue so much.  I disagree.  I don't argue.  I'm just opinionated and not "skeered" to say it.  He also says that I constantly got him into trouble.  He fails to mention the various apparatus that he tried talking me into sticking into a light socket.  Yes, I did drive him into a bob-wire fence, but honest to goodness, that rooster was gonna get us!  I just HAD to look over my shoulder.  Fortunately, Ken's shrill scream let everyone know what a bad driver I was.  That rooster was mean.

Ken did save me from being scarred for life once.  I was 11 1/2 and had been telling my parents for weeks, maybe even YEARS, that I couldn't see at school.  Dad's answer was, "Sit closer to the chalk board.  You'll grow out of it."  Well, it was approaching dusk and Ken was chasing me.  I was running, obviously, and, the next thing I know, he has grabbed my very long hair and YANKED me backward by it.  My indignation quickly turned into terror when my left arm flung forward and stuck to the bob-wire fence.  If he hadn't yanked me, I would've been quite torn up.  As it was, I got 3 stitches and a very sore head.  I'm sure he regrets his basic instinct to save me.  :)  I won't mention the other times he tried to kill me because it's all moot.  We get along great now, even when we disagree, because I love him in spite of himself.  (I say that jokingly in all seriousness.  He loves me in spite of myself too.)  

Ken brought Christina to meet me when I was 7 months pregnant with Joshua.  She can't get mad at me for this because she knows his record as well as I do, but I wasn't necessarily thrilled to be meeting the next one AND she had a son already.  Jared was 4 at the time, and about as adorable as they get.  He loved his trucks and, to this day, makes the best tractor/truck/big rig noises.  He's not so good with helicopters.

Anyway, I instantly liked Christina, but she was really nervous around me.  Ken had her terrified.  He married her 4 months later.  I couldn't be there because I had Josh 10 days before their wedding.  Maybe it was 13 days.  Either way, I was staying home.  They quickly added a dog and a new baby.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Jared.  He's a great boy and I really enjoy the time I spend with him.  Raychel, though was the first BABY in the family that wasn't mine.  I got Jared at 4 (went into premature labor with Josh racing him to my mail box) and had to get to know his already existing personality.  He was shy with us at first but warmed up pretty quickly.  I got to hold Raychel around 2 weeks old and I was so in love.  There's nothing better than being an "auntie."  I tell you, you get to spoil them, love them like they're yours, then send them home when you're ready.  She looks just like my brother, but she's beautiful, which is weird.  I guess he'd make a pretty girl, not so pretty guy.  haha  Next came Jana, but Jana is Chris & Cathy's daughter (Joe's sister's kid.)  Cathy and I have always had a mutual understanding that we just tell each other what we think and go on about our lives.  We like things that way.  Chris plays golf with Joe and makes Josh love super heroes, which is fine with me.  There are much worse things to love.  He also makes a hilarious Egor.  (I don't think I spelled that right.)  We got to see Jana quite a bit because she only lived 4 hours away, so Cathy graciously let us "have" her for a week or 2 at a time.  Jana truly became my 4th child when she was with us and it made me wish I lived closer to Jared and Raychel.  Then came Hannah, my brother's 3rd child.  She can give some looks, I tell you.  As far as personalities go, she got one very similar to mine.  She is quiet and lovable, but also mischievous in her own way.  Where it's hard to get on Jared's nerves, but he lets you know right away, Raychel might just head-butt you if you get on her nerves, and Jana will yell at you, Hannah will just think about it until she decides what to do.  She spent this entire Christmas firmly planted in my lap while Raychel fixed my hair in doggy ears (and hers as well), so we could be sisters and best friends.  Hannah accidentally busted my Dad's lip playing/hugging/being a kid with him.  He was pretty hurt and, in typical PaKenny fashion, whined just a LITTLE bit.  Hannah was naturally upset, thinking it was her fault, so I encouraged her to walk up to him and pick on him a little.  I paid Hannah $1 to ask my Dad if he wanted more where that came from.  It took some coaxing, but she did it.  I hope she spent that $1 well.  

Jared and Joe like to play video games together.  It's funny to hear them talk trash to each other.  Raychel loves doing crafts with Caylea, Hannah loves playing with whoever, whenever, much like Josh, and Jana will play with anyone who will let her be the boss.  She, too, makes hilarious faces.  Some kids just have that gift.  You should see Hannah and Jana together.  We've let them "meet" twice now and they get along great.  Jana's just fortunate that Hannah is pretty laid back.  

We really love our extended version family.  My kids have wonderful grandparents and cousins that will be friends forever.