Dear Family, I Love You.

Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts.  ~Author Unknown

Believe it or not, one of the most important things I have learned while being at college is an appreciation for my family. The saying holds true: you don't know what you have until it is gone. As much as I hate to admit it, I didn't appreciated my family as much as I should have growing up.

I have never not loved them. And I have never not known how awesome they were. And I have never been ashamed of my family.

I just simply didn't appreciate them.

Over spring break, I decided it would be fun to mess around with my camera a tad and force my unsuspecting siblings into being my models. They hesitantly agreed, and although I'm sure they'd refuse to admit it, they had fun too.

It's so intriguing to me to watch their personalities shine through the pictures. And, now, I can look through the pictures that I took whenever I am home sick and feel much closer to them--physically--because the pictures remind me so much of them in real life.

While I am at school, I miss being able to bicker with Max. I miss interrupting Connor while he is playing video games. I miss talking to Jared about OM. I miss Olivia sitting on my lap and playing with my hair while trying to watch TV. I miss talking to my mom about, well, everything. I miss my dad's cooking. And I miss my stepdad's extremely corny jokes.

So, here's the readers digest version of this post.  Dear family, I miss and appreciate you.