Grandpa - got lots of practice shooting snakes on the porch. :)
Grandpa's Funeral
Jennifer and Jeff in Atlanta: Growing up was fun. Not only did I have a blast with my three sisters (Jamie, Jean and Jodi)... but I have these four really cool, and extremely fun cousins: Joey, Keith, Jeff and Darryl. Boy, did I love when we would all get together. You talk about FUN. We had some really great times. It seems like it was always chaos... but a good kind of chaos. Haunted houses, hide-and-seek, fishing, blowing up the fish (OK... that was really more the boys... the girls just cried a lot), swimming, flying and crashing those little rc airplanes...(remember those?). Shooting (yes, with guns), skating, bowling, volleyball, softball, badminton, football, card games, board games, any outdoor games...there were enough of us to have a "team" for every occasion, and always enough for a party! Those were good times - and they still are. We love it when we are all able to get together. One of the things I LOVE the most about my family... is how terribly honest and sincere they are... some might call it blunt... we prefer to call it "forthright". :)
EXAMPLE (from just this past week)
Tim pulls in the driveway the other night, talking on his cell phone. (a typical entrance on any given day...) This day, however... he's saying, "Sure, she's right here - I'll let you talk to her..." (I love being passed off to people when I have no clue who I'm getting on the other end of the phone. Some folks call this "sarcasm" ... again... just being forthright.) However, this time I was pleasantly surprised to find my cousin, Jeff. Never one to mince words...his first words to me...."ARE YOU CRAZY???????!!!!??????" (Ahhhh... it's good to know that my family is actually READING the blog... and not just looking at the pictures. :) He's referring to Sara... and our adopting again.)
Well, it got me thinking... there have to be more of you out there thinking this, but bless his heart, Jeff is the only one brave enough to actually say (or yell...) it to me. God Bless him... I love him to pieces! He always says what he thinks - not that I know anyone else out there like that. (ha, ha. Is that a James characteristic, or a Martin one???)
So the more I thought about it... the more I thought of how to answer him... and all the others out there that haven't asked...ARE WE CRAZY?
ANSWER
I loved my childhood. Sure, there were times when I am positive that I wanted to live with another family, ANY other family...and I'm pretty sure my family felt the same way. But we had a great time. We actually spent time together as a family...and we laughed...we had fun.
When Tim and I began our life together, did we set out and plan to adopt four children? No, I don't think so. Has it been hard? Absolutely. We could have chosen to go our merry way and live our lives with dogs and horses... nothing to really tie us down...except for the dogs and horses...? I think in the long run, we would have been OK... but we didn't want to settle for just "OK". We wanted MORE. So we adopted Ali and Rachel - and our lives were changed forever! What an amazing journey and miracle those two have been in our lives! Had we stopped after Ali and Rachel, I'm sure we would have been happy enough. We certainly would have had a larger bank account, more time, less bills... more room, less laundry... but what a blessing we would have missed in McCaleb. That little boy brings us all so much joy...I can't imagine life without him. And now... to begin this journey again...it's so exciting (and a little terrifying...) to see what God has in store for all 6 of us.
I think back on all the fun that we had growing up... and I really think that THEY (Joey, Keith, Jeff, Jamie, Darryl, Jean and Jodi... as well as Mom and Uncle Joe... and the whole slew of relatives that we so enjoyed growing up)... I think that THEY are all a little bit responsible for this wonderful, crazy and yet satisfying roller-coaster ride that we here at the Hanks House call LIFE. I grew up LOVING family... and I won't apologize for that. Mom taught us all at a very young age - that no matter what, you can count on your family. She was right then - and she's still right now. Of all the lessons that maybe didn't stick - this one stuck. I adore my family - ALL of them. I never felt cheated for not having brothers - because the boys were there... and I have loved and adored them my whole life. I still do... and I hope that my children grow up loving and adoring each other - as well as all their cousins... no matter how far away they might be! So THANK YOU to all of my family for blessing my life so fully!
(PS...Joey... sorry, you will always be Joey in my heart.)
I read the following quote recently... and I think it sums up my feelings about life and about the journey better than I can do it here:
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming, "Wow, what a ride!!!"
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