love my life.

One thing that is always on my mind is how thankful I am for my life! Seriously, I cant picture my life any better than it is right now.

God has blessed me with an AMAZING family!!

I have three sisters who I would lay down my life for! They all help me grow closer to God in different ways. I love them with all of my heart! They are always there for me when I need someone to laugh with or cry with or dance around the house with or stand on the corner with signs that say "God is love" with, or cook with or sit with or smile at or sing to..ect..ect.ect!! I didn't always used to love my sisters so much. I used to not even care if they loved me..or even liked me, because I had friends.. and I cared for my friends wayyyy more because my friends were nicer to me. (it makes me sick to even dig up these memories..) But there came a season in my life where my friends weren't there for me when I had been counting on them. They weren't understanding me.. and I felt really alone. God did a work in my heart to be content with being alone, and then to love my friends and always be there for them anyways even when my heart felt so crushed. He taught me a lot about love. Then after that I prayed that God would help me to love my sisters in the way I had learned to love my friends! I don't even remember seeing a distinct change in things around here, but I can surly tell you that me and my sisters are now best friends! I always want them with me, and when I'm not with them, I miss them. I find myself not even wanting to get married and move out of the house because that would mean moving away from my sisters!!!! What a horrifying thought!!! haha They are truly the coolest girls I've ever known and I am proud to call them MINE.

My mom is also the BEST mom ever on the face of the earth! You may think that your mom is so much better than mine.... and in a way that's true, haha because God gave you that mom.. and God gave ME my mom, both perfect for us in their own ways!! Now, its really not easy to love, or even get along with your mom if you are expecting that she will be perfect, because she WON'T be... and she can't be, and this is just something that you have to understand. You aren't perfect either... at all. We all fall short and that's why Jesus died for us!! So, we HAVE to be forgiving. It's really not easy to love or get along with your mom if you aren't forgiving. Being unforgiving puts a blanket over our eyes and ear plugs in our ears, so that we can't truly see or hear what the truth is, and we listen to satan's lies!!! (1 John 2:9-11) This can apply to everyone and not just family. If someone ever hurt you, and you haven't forgiven them, then I urge you to!!! Right now! Ask God to help you forgive them! It's like a huge weight lifted off your chest!!!!
okay I'm getting side tracked... haha ANYWAYS.. my point is that if you are having a hard time really loving your mom, respecting her, and being proud to call her yours... then you probably need to forgive her, and ask God for forgiveness too. I am able to see now How amazing my mom is. If I wrote out a list of all the things I love about her it would take one hundred years!!!!! The biggest blessing that I know I have in her is that she BEARS MY BURDENS. God says for us to do this SO many times!!! seriously. One of my new favorite verses is Romans 15:1 which says "Now we who are strong are to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves." My mom is selfless in this way. She is stronger than me and she takes on everything that I can't handle.. before I even ask her to too! I don't even know that I need it until she is helping me and I realize I could NEVER do it on my own. She makes costumes for all my dance classes that I teach, she organizes my school work into the most convenient way possible, she takes me to all my doctor appointments and takes more time on top of that to try and figure out whats wrong with me by doing research, she cries with me, and for me, and she would never turn down a hug! She is strong. She has been through sickness with cancer before, and she knows how it is to be scared, in pain, and exhausted. Just thinking about this, tears roll down my cheeks! I am overwhelmed with feelings of pain for my mom having to go through all that... but I'm also REJOICING in the providence of our beautiful Savior!!!!!! He DOES have everything all planned out. He knows what we need. like I said it would take YEARS to write out all the things I love about my mom.. but just in general...I am beyond thankful for my mom.

I am thankful for my dad too and I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!!! He makes me laugh and he always has something cool to say about the Lord. He cares so much for all us girls!!! He goes to work every day all day doing things that I have NO CLUE how to do and he comes home completely tuckered out, but he never complains! He cooks awesome foods and has an amazing singing voice! He inspires me, and lets me know its okay to be a dork, because its who I am, and life is way more awesome when you express who you are. He doesn't even have to say this stuff. its just the way he laughs at my silliness, and acts like a dork himself. haha
I never feel out of place in my house. We have a lot of love and understand going on around here. not all the time.. we aren't perfect, haha but for a lot of the time, we live aloha.

I love my life.

Val <3