There's not one of them I'd Swap

So I'm totally stealing this idea from a very precious, little, curly haired friend of mine ...who I might add is much too far away from me right now - but that's beside the point.

There is a strange epidemic that I'm convinced hits most second semester freshman and sophomores in college. School is no longer new, and fascinating, it is simply routine. Suddenly for those of us who are very far away from home, we begin to notice a little hole we hadn't really noticed before. Family belongs there - your goofy brother, and your sympathetic mother, your wise father, and your little sister who seems to have grown up in that one second you weren't paying attention.

And as if that isn't enough, I've also discovered that saying goodbye multiple times in one year really stinks. The first time I left I said one big (okay maybe more like 2) goodbye - for close to a year. This year I've done it at least three. Every time I'm with them is so precious to me, and I'm reminded how much I love them - the ones who know me best and love me still. No wonder I've missed them so much.

But before I turn this into some kind of "woe is me" post I'll move on. Distance my make the heart grow fonder, but it's also been like a looking glass for me. I appreciate each member of my family more and more - not saying they are perfect - no one is, but I gotta tell you they are definitely my favorite!God has blessed me far beyond what I deserve with my family, something I have come to realize more and more here at college.

This post is named after one of the many silly little songs we used to sing in the car on road trips from church to church as we were raising support to go back to Brazil - I think it was from Sesame Street:

Oh there are 5 people in my family

And there's not one of them I'd Swap

There is a Brother, and two sisters,

and a Mother, and a Pop (dad says: that's me!)

Oh five is such a pretty number,

I'm awfully glad that I have 1,2,3,4,5!

I'm convinced it was written just special for us =) 

At any rate, my next several posts will be dedicated to Minha Familia - for those of you who do not know them, let me introduce you, for those of you that do - well here they are through my eyes. I love them - maybe these will show you why, though I'm not sure it's containable in words.

~Shaela