The Blessing of Family

This weekend was such a blessing. My mom, dad, and sisters came up to Duluth to visit! While my three college sisters couldn't make it, it was still so nice to spend quality time with the rest of my family. I hadn't seen them in over 2 months! That's been one of the big sacrifices and challenges of my first year as a missionary: not living in my hometown with my family just a 15 minute drive away. So when they arrived in Duluth Friday afternoon, I did my best to soak up every moment. Here's a snapshot of our weekend:

Canal Park

Friday: after piling Lauren, Andrea, and Julia's stuff into my room (we had a weekend-long sleepover!) we all headed down to Canal Park. After showing them Lake Superior and the lift bridge, we spent time checking out the shops that line downtown. Claire (age 7) of course believed that the birds were her best friends. Andrea (age 14), Lauren (age 17), and Julia (age 13) about cried when a life-size cutout of their favorite 1D member was bought before they could get to it, and Olivia (age 8) had lots of stories to share. For dinner, we went to Pizza Luce, where you can watch them make pizzas. It was so fun to just enjoy a family meal again. Afterwards, Lauren, Andrea, and I attempted the Haunted Ship, but changed plans due to the long line (and my fear of stuff like that). Instead, we joined up with Julia and enjoyed a night at Adventure Zone until crashing back at my place for the night.

Gooseberry

Saturday: We all piled in the car and drove North! It was pretty foggy, but we still got to tour Split Rock Lighthouse, enjoy lunch (and pie) at Betty's Pies, and explore Gooseberry Falls. As we climbed over rocks and logs to get to the falls, Olivia informed me that it was "the funnest day" of her life. Awesome. After taking some pictures by the falls, we drove back to Duluth, did a little shopping, then enjoyed dinner at Valentini's (a recommendation from my teammate Nicole). It was delicious and so fun! Not to mention the so-needed text updates from Jen and Beau as the Bison football team crushed USD! After dinner, it was true sleepover night. While mom and dad supervised Olivia and Claire's swimming at their hotel, the rest of us enjoyed a movie and snacks with lots of giggles before going to bed close to 1am!

Sunday: The last few hours of their trip went so fast. We all went to Mass on-campus and then to lunch at Little Angie's down at Canal Park. Then it was back to my place to load up the car and off they went, the only reminders of their visit being the wonderful leftovers and homemade goods in my fridge. 

What I realized more than anything during this weekend was how incredibly blessed I am. People often hear that I'm the oldest of us 9 girls and somewhat freak out. But I love it so much. How many other people have 8 built-in best friends? Without my sisters, I don't know who I would be. And to also have such wonderful Catholic parents... wow, thanks God! My family is a blessing He gave me before I even knew what it meant to ask Him for things. Yet He knew exactly the loving, supportive family I would need - especially as a missionary. Although it has been since August that all 11 of us have been together, and will be until Christmas that we're all back home again, I know one thing is for sure. I love my family, they love me, and no amount of distance or time can weaken that.