Relationships that we develop throughout our life time have an amazing impact on who we truly are as individuals. The top picture is my Vo, she was a truly amazing and loving woman who made such an impact on me as a young child with her caring and loving ways. She always had this belief that was passed down from her mother that no matter how poor you were, you could always find a way to share with those who were without. I have never forgotten that about her because even though we are blessed with a warm place to live, food to eat and clothes to wear, it can change in an instant so we should always be thankful and appreciate life every day. The next picture is our wedding day and well as you can see by the four beautiful healthy children we now have, our relationship is working! The next picture is me with my oldest daughter. We were never so happy then to be parents and she was truly a blessing and even though now she is in middle school, I feel just as close to her as I did then. The next one is my two youngest, Tyler and Ally, they are the best of friends and quite the little comedians. The next picture is my neighbor Annie, she has been part of our family since we moved here. Annie and her husband are the kindest people you will ever meet and we have so lucky to have neighbors who are so warm and kind, you don't always find that now a days. The next picture is my oldest and youngest, Ashley and Ally, they just adore each other and I love what a great role model our oldest is for the younger children. The next picture was my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. They were such a great couple, stood by each other through wars and poverty, they were truly sole mates. The next one is my second oldest Abby and Tyler, they have that kind of sweet and sour relationship and he kind of drives her nuts but then they just love each other, depends on the day. And the last one is the four kids together, what can I say but true love and happiness.
As you can see, my family is everything and I don't know what I would ever do without them. To be honest, neither me nor my husband, planned on a big family. We didn't have a huge family growing up or anything and I think we weren't sure that we would be the best parents but our children have become the best teachers and we couldn't love them more. We try to see our parents often but they live pretty far and it is sometimes challenging to meet up with them so having extended family like our neighbors has been a blessing. I think the positive things that come from relationships is the feeling of being needed and people wanting to be around you. We don't drive fancy cars or have fancy clothes, everything is for our family and we would much rather be home with them than any place else. I think the hard part about developing relationships as an adult with a family is that everyone is just so busy, it is hard to keep in touch and with us being such a big family, it becomes a challenge visiting people whose house my not be accustomed or for that not child proof. That can be really challenging. I can honestly say that my relationships with my children is what has prepared me for work in the early childhood field. I always loved children but being a chemist was my career and it wasn't until we had four children that I made the change in careers. My children have taught me a few things about life and family but also about myself. I never would have had the nerve to make such a drastic career change but with those little smiling faces, support from my husband and parents, I made the leap to where I am today and I have never been happier.
