Wonderings of a brobdingnagian mind: Happy Easter!

I love Easter. I love the candy, I love the new dresses, I love that it's spring and always seems to be sunny on Easter. What I especially love though, is my family. There are select holidays when my entire family gets together. We always spend Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and Mother's Day as a family. By family, I mean my aunts, uncles, and cousins. We pack a house full of children and people and just eat, laugh, and have a good ole time. Times like these are what I miss the most living in Utah. I grew up as close to my cousins as I did my own sisters. I am just now realizing how rare that is. When I talk about my family, I literally mean my extended family. I wasn't just raised by my parents, I had examples in my aunts and uncles. These are the people that helped to shape my life and self just as much as my parents. I feel like that's the way it should be. I want that for my kids. It takes a village to raise a child, and I fully believe that. Going home for me, is seeing all these people, not just my immediate family. We vacation together, we celebrate holidays together, we even sometimes move away from home together. One thing is for certain though, I will never be alone in this world because I have the greatest extended family in the world to fall back on. I come from a long line of strong women that I am proud to call family. My great great great? (not sure how many greats) grandmother was the first to join the church in our family. As a result her store, which consequently was her home as well, was burnt down. This was her family's livelihood. She said, "they can take everything, but they cannot take my testimony". This is the example I have to look to. What a woman! From her and her husband, we have several families that have branched out and formed quite an impressive bunch of the Ferguson family. What a legacy! If you've ever been to an LDS church in South Western VA you have met at least one person from my family. It's the whole Roanoke VA Stake. No joke. Not even exaggerating. Our family was asked to stay behind and not migrate to Utah to build up the church in our area. We were also promised that the future generations would find worthy mates. What a promise for a family! I'm so proud of my heritage. I'm proud of the women who have come before me to show me the way. I'm proud of the family I come directly from, that still get together on holidays and keep traditions alive. I miss them terribly. I know that somehow, some day, I'll be able to sealed to them and keep our family together forever. Nothing makes me happier than that thought. Happy Easter everyone!

For an Easter snack, enjoy these pics of my crazy family.