Beauty in Family

So it has been a little while since I have written about beauty, although I've been surrounded by it, and have been so enveloped in love that I couldn't really express what I'm thinking.

This past weekend was our Thanksgiving Break, and I got to spend it with my family! They came here, rather than me traveling to them. I felt so loved to be surrounded by them, their realness, their love, and getting to tease and eat really really good food.

One of the things that my family does when we are together is sing hymns together. The singing was so peaceful and fun. We came together, forgetting all the chaos and little fights of the day and lifted our four-part harmony (ish) voices to God in praise. My dad was trying to teach Austin and Tyreeq the bass line. Marie and I were alternating between the melody (loud and proud), the alto line (both of us not sure what exactly we were doing, and for me, sometimes just singing the harmony that I heard, but not reading the music.

"Jumping" picture
LtoR Anna, Me, Karis, Marie, Erin, Audrey

We played football together. I was a great kicker (indoor soccer skillz), and we combined all our assets to make our awesome team. People like Joe, who, although not fast, will scare the living daylights out of the other team's quarterback when he came charging.

We prepared and ate food together. I was peeling potatoes beside my great grandmother and my cousin. I snitched celery and cream cheese from my aunt and cousin.

I went running with my mom twice; she's supporting me in my training for my half marathon, and she's been really great about it.

At my grandpa's birthday celebration, we blew up balloons, some of us (not saying ANNAy names) used certain static electricity to stick them to the ceiling and succeeded, and influenced my younger cousins to do so also...

We ate Ethiopian food--ingera and wut--and Uncle Charlie's Amazing Macaroni and Cheese.

What I cherished the most out of all the time that I had with my family was the conversations that I was able to have with people. Audrey was my roomie for a couple of nights in my grandparent's house, which was truly fun for me. I got to have a conversation with my great Grandma Souder, and promised to write her. I had a good time talking with my Grandma Peg while she was preparing food on Wednesday before everyone got there. We were bonding, as I was multitasking. . .

It was amazing to see my younger sister and my parents, and I couldn't stop hugging them. That's one of the ways that people have changed me here at EMU. I'm much more of a hugging person now than I was. But here we are so open to hug and to love openly then of course I should reciprocate onto my family, whom I have known longer and loved longer.

There was so much laughter. On Saturday night, we played the game, things, and after that, I think we all felt good and de-stressed. Things you shouldn't do on your honeymoon: binge on habenero peppers, Mennonite Your way, skinny dip in an arctic pool, drink too much apple cider *gurgle*
Things you shouldn't title a children's book: "Black women's hair", "Harold Richard gets ferocious ferocious", "The Unbuttoned Shirt", "Hate and Kill your Neighbor", "How to steal from your mom's purse and get away from it", "The Day Your Parents Got Cancer", & "When Mommy and Daddy Don't Love you Anymore."

Nyquil from Anna is love. Coming and meeting my new friend right before they left was love. Affirming comments about my music is love.

And for me love = beauty. I can't deny it.