Wednesday, November 23, 2011

10 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 10

Today I am thankful for my wonderful family!

It seems only fitting that I conclude this post series by focusing on the most important people in my life - my family.  The older I get, the more they matter to me!  Our family has really grown through the years - there are now 17 people in my immediate family!  That sort of boggled my mind a bit!!

Sometimes I get questions like, 'wait you have an older sister?' or 'your brother lives in Minneapolis?' so I thought I'd do a little who's who blog post.

  • Mom & Dad - My parents still live in my home town in North Dakota, about 4 hours away.  They are in the midst of building a lake home which they will retire to eventually. I look forward to this because they have worked SO HARD and really deserve some R&R.
  • Chad, Emily, Kolin, and Anna - My eldest brother lives south of Chicago.  I've had the chance to go visit them on my own and those are my favorite trips because I get them all to myself!!  Kolin will be 5 in January, and Anna was born this September.  Kolin is a boy, through and through.  He loves anything with wheels!  Anna has pudgy cheeks and is a happy baby.  I can't wait to hold her this weekend!!
  • Kevin, Julie, Andrew, and Matthew - My 2nd oldest brother lives in a western suburb of Minneapolis.  I lived with Kevin and Julie at one point, so am especially close to them as a result of that.  They made countless meals for me and have done so much through me through the years!  Andrew turned 6 in June.  He has the softest heart and used to refer to me as "my Lisa".  Matthew turned 3 last April and is the comedian of the family.  He has the most expressive facial expression and is just hilarious.
  • Emily, Jason, James, and Charlie - My older sister lives about 30 minutes from my parents.  I get to see them quite a bit at the lake each summer.  My sister and I did not get along when we were younger, but have become closer as we've gotten older, especially this past year.  James is my Godson and he turned 7 in July.  He has fallen in love with reading and is now reading chapter books, which makes me SO EXCITED.  I am the book-giving aunt who tries to instill a love of reading, so it makes me so happy that he has fallen in love with reading already!  Charlie was born in May and is the sweetest, smiliest baby.  He is going to be a mover and a shaker as he has been rolling over since he was just a couple of weeks old!
  • Abby and Ryan - My youngest sister and her husband live in Tucson, AZ.  I got to spend some one-on-one time with them this past January when I flew down for a visit.  Abby and I have a REALLY tumultuous relationship when we were younger, but have since grown very close, especially since she got married.  I was the over-bearing, over-sharer-of-advice for many years, but now I have backed off and that has really helped our relationship!  I miss having them close, but also appreciate the fact that they live in an area that is great to visit during our bitterly cold winters!  
 So that's everyone!  2 parents, 4 siblings, 4 in-law, 5 nephews, and 1 niece!  15 of the 17 of us will be together (Abby & Ryan are not able to make it home for Thanksgiving).  I am so excited to see each and everyone!  My brother will be hosting Thanksgiving Dinner tomorrow and I will host dinner on Friday night, so we have lots of time together to look forward to - AND EATING! 

For my American friends, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!  I'll be back with a recap at some point next week.  I am REALLY going to try to be better about taking photos this year!!

19 comments:

Stephany said...

Oh, fun! This is a good run-down of your family. I never knew it was so large!

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Unknown said...

Happy Thanksgiving to your entire family, Lisa! You don't have to travel this weekend! Hope you get some rest!!!!

Marlys said...

Can't wait to see you tomorrow and am thankful that so many of us will be together! Abby & Ryan, we'll miss you so much! Weather is beautiful so what more could we ask!

Raquelita said...

Wow! That's a lot of family. I'm not sure I realized you had a younger sister. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy your time with loved ones!

Leigh said...

It sounds like you have a fun and awesome family :) Hope you have a great Thanksgiving Lisa!

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

aww! i bet you all with have a ton of fun spending time together! have a great thanksgiving with your family! and kiss on some baby cheeks!

Carolina John said...

17? That's a big family allright. Downright Duggerish.

We're going a bit light on thanksgiving this year, kelley's sister, mom, and maybe a couple of aunts are coming here. around 10 people total including the 4 of us.

Amber @ A Little Pink in the Cornfields said...

I'm doing the last day about family too! And, friends, because they're like family.
Great post! You have such a wonderful family!

Nora said...

I love your family and I don't even know them :) Love this so much! Can't wait to meet them!

Amber said...

Great rundown of your family! I already knew all this but it did take the last few years of friendship to get it all straight ;) ;)

I don't have that big of a family but I kind of count my aunt and her fiance, two kids and my grandparents in with my "immediate" family as I am very very close with them so I guess that makes it bigger. And now it's getting even bigger that you count Eric's side of the family! I can't wait to see them all when I'm home at Christmas.

Have a WONDERFUL time with your family! And yes, take lots of pictures please :)

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

Thanks for the rundown. I think I pretty much had it down, but I admit to not knowing who has which kids.

Have a great time with your family tomorrow! It's so exciting that you are doing the big party at your house this year!

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

Yay I love your family and I think I FINALLY had them all figured out, but this was very helpful because I was still a little unclear on the order and who was who's kids haha. I don't think I could handle having more than 2 kids, but there is really something to be said for big families because it's a lot of fun to have so many people to support you and to spend time with :)

I hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving!!!

Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks said...

Thank you for writing this post! I hear all about siblings and nephews (and now the lone niece), but never had the "legend" to figure out who belonged where and to whom. It all makes sense. And yes, you really do have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to your family!

Allison Blass said...

Wow, you have a big family! I always wanted more than one sibling, but I think that's just because I'm not terribly close with my brother.

My husband, on the other hand, has 5 half-siblings, and they are all married and they all have kids. So that definitely makes for lots of fun at weddings and family reunions.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Abby said...

What a great way to end this series! I love our family so dearly. Miss you all so very much! Have a wonderful thanksgiving! Love you guys!

Jamie and Missy said...

Happy Thanksgiving to the Dotzenrods! I'll look forward to the recap, and REMEMBER the camera, Lisa! I want to see some pictures of the family and food. Take care and give my love to all!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family :-)

Becky said...

I am super late to this post (I'm going to try and be better about commenting!), but I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving with your fabulous family!

Jeanie said...

I love "meeting" your family. I can tell you are so close. This is a wonderful "thanksgiving."