Saturday, May 23, 2009

30til30: day 9, papa rick and momma c

i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me.

this part of the list is in a specific order.

day 9: papa rick and momma c

i know that i cannot fully comprehend the blessing it is in my life that my in-laws are on this list in a positive way.

since i knew michael for so long before we got married, i have known his family for a long time, too. anyone who knows his parents will know this is crazy, but his mom used to intimidate me. i mean, when you’re starting to date a guy, who wouldn’t be intimidated by his mother, regardless of how sweet and kind and non-threatening she is?

papa rick and momma c did a phenomenal job raising michael and his sister. they instilled within him many of the values and convictions i also treasure and that we want to instill within our children. they parented with firmness and love, much the way we want to parent.

they have impacted me greatly as well. they encourage us and cheer us on, telling us we’re doing well raising luke. they pray for us.

and, even before luke was born, they adopted me as their own.

i will never forget our first christmas together married. we were about to celebrate our first anniversary. when we got to the christmas tree to open gifts, i was floored that i was being treated just like julie, like one of their children. i knew my parents had done the same for michael, but it blew my mind to be treated in the same way. in that moment, i felt more loved and accepted than i had the entire previous year.

momma c and papa rick have done a great job freeing us to be our own family. they don’t intrude or place expectations on us. which just might be the greatest gift they could give us.

papa rick and momma c, thanks for immediately adopting me as your own. i love you both.

2 comments:

  1. Many thanks, Katherine, for the printed "pat on the back" to us, your "gained thru marriage 'rents."

    As has been said upon marriage of a son..."one doesn't lose a son but gains a daughter!" We are thankful that this rings true for us!
    love you,
    momma c

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  2. I remember meeting them the Christmas break I flew back to Indy for school and stayed with you before heading to AU--they were teaching Sunday School, and it was back when Michael was still "Ichael with an M." I could tell that you already had a ton of respect for them, and that they were wonderful people. Here's to great in-laws!

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