Joy of Love: Cousins

Mark and I are very blessed to have a very close relationship with his cousin Dawn, her partner Lori and their children Justin and Avery. What a great family they are! Since I have gone back to work, after my maternity leave, Dawn has taken extra special care of our little girl. With the exception of the past month or so because of the weather, etc. Mia has been over at her house at least once a week since last January. And Ms. Mia loves all four of them! She is so excited to see each and every one of them each time she goes to visit. They take her to do all sorts of fun things and specifically request her when Lori will take off work for a special day. I love that they love her as much as they do!

It had been quite a while since we had seen them, but we finally got together last Sunday for the Super Bowl. On the way over, I was talking to Mia about where we were going. For a while now she has been calling Lori, Loooooooo, but on the way there she said Lowi instead. It's so cute to hear her say the names of the people in her family. As soon as we walked in the door, Mia went straight to Dawn. She hasn't grasped the concept of her name just yet, but she loves her Aunt Dawny nonetheless.

Dawn - what a wonderful person she is! She is so caring and has a very deep compassion for her family. She is a phenomenal mother and takes very good care of her children. Without hesitation she would do anything for me, Mark or Mia. She's just that warm. Dawn is one of the best cooks. She took very good care of us when we first brought Mia home and she still cooks us food every once in a while. It's such a blessing not to have to cook when I get home from work. She is similar to me in some ways, we both love to decorate (she actually gets to do it), we both love to chit chat, we both try to keep the peace (although I was challenged with this late last year), we both have ADD, we both love wine and we both love to laugh. I truly feel that Dawn was placed in my life for a very specific reason. She's a protector and Mark and I have really needed that lately.

Lori - I haven't really gotten to know Lori that well until this past year. Lori is a techy just like me and she loves movies and football, just like Mark. She is just an all around awesome person. There is no drama with Lori, which I really appreciate. Most recently, I have realized she is also a great person to go to for advice and direction. What a great Bubby she is! Her kids adore her and I love the fact that every time I am over there I see her hug one of her kids at least one time. I wish all families embraced their children as much as Dawn and Lori do. My family did and it's an amazing feeling to feel that loved. Oh my gosh and how cute are Lori (excuse me, Lowi) and Mia!!! Did I mention she likes wine too?

Photo courtesy of Lori S.

Justin - J Dawg - What a cool kid! I have been with Mark almost 10 years now and when I first met Justin he was just a little kid and now he's a teenager. His deep voice catches me off guard sometimes, but it's mostly just because I just don't want him to be that old. Justin is very independent, but it's completely understandable. He is the sole boy in the family. All the other kids are girls! Poor guy! I don't talk with him a lot, but when I do he almost always makes me laugh. Example from the end of the Super Bowl:

Justin (running into the theater room): "Who won?" Melissa: "The Packers" Justin: "crap" Mia loves Justin. As soon as she seems him, she gets so excited and runs right up to him. I think she did that at least 3 or 4 times on Sunday. Avery - or shall I say Miss Avery - what a girly girl she is and I love it! What I love best about this kid is her creativity. She is always making something or drawing something and she loves to share her works of art. She most recently made a scarf for Mia, but she also did all the banners for their Super Bowl party. I think she will be a pastry chef or a chef in some manner some day. Avery has always taken very special care of Mia. It's very cute! She loves to hug her and give her kisses. I had my first Just Dance (Wii game) experience with Avery on Sunday. What a great workout and so much fun! I kept up pretty well and she told me I wasn't old! Bonus! Thanks guys for being so great to me, to Mark and most importantly to our little Meemers. I appreciate you for all that you are and all that you do. I'm looking forward to many, many more memories.