Friday's Letters.

Ya'll I am so very blessed. God placed me into an immediate family that is beyond wonderful - words can't describe my parents, siblings, their spouses and families. So thankful for being in this family.  But I also have an outstanding extended family on both sides - mom's and dad's.

A little background about my family:  My mom is one of 12 (yes, you read that right!). 12. She's number 8 in the line up so she was towards the end.  Actually, her oldest sister had children about my mom's age, so she was an aunt to people her age. ha ha! That's how it works out when you have so many kids. There were 9 girls and 3 boys in the family, (only one set of twins), from 1933-1956 (ish...I'm not too sure about the baby's birth year). All were living until this week, when my mom lost her oldest sister - the first born of the family.  It was a difficult weekend with hospice calling it down to a matter of hours.  Then she was gone.

My dad is one of 8, another rural Southern family with a ton of kids.  They had 6 boys and 2 girls - Dad is 5 in the line up and the first to be born in a hospital! Funny story - his birth certificate said, "Baby Boy" on it until he got married and had to legally change his name! Two of my dad's brothers have passed, one last year.  That one was tough because it was sudden and he had such a large personality - it didn't seem like it should have happened that way, with no chance of a goodbye.  This is why we should tell people what they mean to us today, right?

With my aunt, it was easier thanks to a wonderful service, delivered by her granddaughter.  She got choked up a few times, which were about the only times I really got choked up.  But she did a great job of presenting my aunt's personality without embellishing it or making her sound like someone she wasn't.  Because she was tough, straight-shooting, tell-it-like-it-is-whether-you-like-it-or-not, a community leader and a community MOVER.  She got things done.  Her granddaughter did her right.

So there, that's my week.  Getting back into work has been tough and overwhelming.  Not in a bad way - I'm definitely not complaining. It's forcing me to get organized and I like being organized. :)

OK, on to some letters:

Dear Mom and Dad, Happy Anniversary!  44 years is so beautiful and I'm SO GLAD ya'll went away for the weekend.  Go have a wonderful time without kids or grandkids and we'll see you when you get home.  We all love you very much!

Dear Project Life, I have spent hours working on you, trying to catch up the past several years of scrapbooking, only to realize I've left out many events that I wanted included. And it's not easy to go back and add... so I guess I'll be doing that this weekend somehow.  Let's not discuss the 100s and 100s of photos I've purchased thinking I would need them only to have them piled in a shoebox. Hmm...

Dear Big Brother, you aren't that exciting, but I'm still totally addicted. I read your feeds on Twitter every morning and every evening to make sure I'm up to date with your drama. Not that there is a lot of drama... but whatever.  Derrick, you deserve to win but Victoria, it would be hilarious if you took it all!

Dear Work, you are killing me.  It's Friday.  8:00 p.m. I'm still here.  Granted, I'm now blogging, but up until about 15 minutes ago, I was working.  2.5 more months of insanity and hopefully it will slow down.  By the way, work space, I'm loving my new desk and the new partitions that block out some of the noise!! LOVE IT.

Dear McDonalds, no more mocha frappes - I swear it was like my heart was going crazy.  No more.

Dear Neon Colored Paper Clips, you make me very happy.

Dear Far-off Friends, Ok, so I mailed out postcards from the beach today.  Work with me, ok? Don't think I'm psycho, just smile and nod.  Thanks.

Ok people, I'm heading to my HOUSE.  My couch, my twitter updates, my Project Life scrapbook... you get the picture.  Wish I have more excitement to post here, but I'm tired and don't have the energy to chase down pictures. Next week, I promise!  Adios my friends - have a great weekend and hug someone you love today!  :) :)