All Grown Up and Spread Out

I have always known there would come a time when we'd all grow up. I just didn't think it would happen so soon. Even when Aaron and I got married, and even after Livi was born - I still perceived myself as being 24, Lisa as 20, Michelle as 16 and Jordan, well, I still saw him as being 8. Sorry Jordan. The same was true for Aaron and his siblings.

And then it happened.
We started growing up.

Lisa graduated from BYU, worked full-time, served a mission in Florida, and is now living in Utah. Michelle went to school, worked full-time as a dental assistant, met and married the love of her life - Josh, and they have just moved out to Kirksville, Missouri where Josh will get his Masters and attend med school. Jordan is no longer 8; in fact, he's 17 and about to start his senior year at GHS, he drives, dates, and is actually going to be applying to colleges this year. Crazy.

As for Aaron's siblings...Lauren graduated from BYU and is now living in Taiwan teaching English (yes, she wins the award for being the farthest "spread out"). Allison is attending BYU, but is currently serving a mission in Houston, Texas! Chandler is attending BYU and dating a great guy (who we get to meet in August we hope!). Matthew is also going to BYU and I think he started college with more credits than I graduated with! (okay, I might be exaggerating a little) He's also preparing his mission papers and hopes to enter the MTC sometime in September, so who knows where he might end up! Sarah is no longer shorter than me, she's significantly taller, 16, driving, dating age, and is spending the summer living with our family in Bonnyville, Alberta, Canada!

Aaron and I are not only married, but have an almost 2 year old daughter, and we're living in LA - 30 blocks from the beach. My parents are in Livermore (San Francisco Bay Area) and Aaron's are in Provo, Utah. I'm hoping that we can keep everyone on the west coast as much as possible in the future - I want us to stay close as family and to become better friends; I want our kids to know their aunts, uncles, and cousins and have fun memories with them; I also want our kids to spend time with all their grandparents on a regular basis. But, who knows what the future holds for us all.

Even when I start to feel a little anxious as I watch us all growing up and moving on, I find peace when I remember that we are an eternal family. Distance doesn't determine how strong our family ties and friendships are - dedication and diligence are! I pray that we are dedicated to keeping close and diligent about keeping those communication lines open. Thankfully we live in a time when we have Skype - how cool to be able to talk/see with Lauren even when she's living in Taiwan!

Here's to growing up.