Blessing #11- My Aunt Mindy

This week has been such a blast with family in town. My Aunt Mindy, Uncle RAymond and their family were hanging out at our house all week, and I was happy to be able to spend a good deal of time with Aunt Mindy.

I'd never been Black Friday shopping before, and Aunt Mindy was determined to change that. So at 11:30, she and I headed to Old Navy where we waiting in line in the rain and cold for 10 minutes (we were pleasantly surprised that they let everyone in the store at once!) to purchase warm pajama pants at cheap prices. After we finished our shopping we headed out to the car only to discover that I had left my keys in my purse which was under the driver's seat. RAther than getting upset with me, she ran inside and found the lady we had been standing in line with to borrow her cell phone (ours were in our purses in the car). Then when I realized that one of the back doors might not be locked, she ran (literally ran) all the way out to the back of the parking lot and all the way back to tell me that the door was unlocked- what a relief! Then we headed out to Walmart where we fought the crowds to look for a few Christmas gifts. After Walmart we went to the outlets where we searched for a parking space for 15 minutes and then only went to 2 stores because it was so rainy and crowded. We got home with our newfound treasures around 2:45. It was a blast and I hope to do it again next year.

Aunt Mindy is such an encouragement to me. She's a nurse, so she knows how crazy nursing school can be and we were able to talk about it in the car on Friday morning. She knows how difficult it can be when all your friends are getting married and you are in school and feel like you're ready to be married and moving on with your life as well (although, she had it harder than me as she was in a 4 year nursing school and I'm only in for 2 :D). She has back pain all the time because of a bulging disk and then a failed back surgery, but she rarely complains about it even though we know that it's difficult for her. She has such a sense of humor and all the little guys love her. She picked up a ping-pong paddle yesterday and was playing with little Olivia who had an absolute blast! This evening on hour drive home from my aunt and uncle's, she was quoting lines from The Princess Bride, and joined Grace and Ian in their hunt for Christmas lights, even going so far as to yell every time she saw another display. She's a great example in my life of a godly wife and mother, and I love her to death!

So, to Uncle Raymond, Jonathon, Hudson, and Emily; I know you read my blog. Don't EVER take her for granted; she's amazing (though I'm sure you all know it)!!!!

my beautiful mother and aunt :)

I know I'd promised pictures and such from last night, but again I don't have time...tomorrow I'll hopefully get that all up.

And just as a closing note; if I haven't mentioned you specifically in my 14 Days of Thanksgiving, it certainly doesn't mean I'm not thankful for you. There are countless other things that I'm thankful for; I mentioned my dad but not my mom, whom I am very thankful for as well. I mentioned my Aunt Mindy but none of my 5 other aunts or any of my uncles; I'm very thankful for all of them too. I'm simply writing as each day brings new blessings.