My birthday is this Sunday, the 12th!!  It is a pretty busy week for me doing all my normal tasks, plus prepping for all the fun of this weekend.  I have a To Do List a mile long.  Sean has taken to saying "#HaileyProblems" from time to time.  It is pretty funny.

I knew my sister mailed off a present for me, but I was shocked when it arrived on Monday!  I recorded a quick video of me opening the box so she could see my excitement.  It is always nice to do videos back and forth because we don't get a lot of time to talk on the phone or FaceTime.  She lives about 3,000 miles away and I miss her dearly.

Anyway, I opened the package and found A COACH PURSE!!!!!  I was floored.  Speechless.  It was so unexpected.  It seems that my sweet sister and my thoughtful stepdad joined forces to get me a special gift this year.  They know things have been pretty tough on me emotionally for a while and wanted to show their love.  (The purse is a beautiful shade of pink that I wouldn't have normally bought for myself.  It fits my big upper arms, has a long strap, and is big enough to hold most of my stuff but small enough that it shouldn't get too heavy.  I absolutely love it!!)


I love this purse, but their kindness and thoughtfulness and love mean more to me than anything.  So not only did I want to show off my new (and first ever) Coach handbag, I also want to say how grateful I am to have such wonderful people in my life.  Unfortunately, I am not one of those people with kind, supportive, and loving blood-related relatives who love me and encourage me no matter what.  (My grandmas are sweet like that and they keep in touch, but others not so much.)  My immediate family (minus my little sister) have all abandoned me for reasons out of my control.

Having a family that loves me sometimes seems so foreign because it isn't something I necessarily grew up with.  I don't think I can ever find the words to express how much it moves me to know that I am loved and considered family by people that don't have to be tied to me if they don't want to.  I have a saint of a husband, amazing friends, a wonderful sister-in-law and her incredible family, and my husband's family that I consider part of my own now. 

I'm still trying to forge a better relationship with my little sister.  We didn't grow up together at all, so it has taken more time to come to a point where we can talk about everything.  I definitely look forward to many years of sharing things with her.

Then there's my sister Crissy (technically my stepsister, but we don't care about that.  As far as we are concerned, she's my sister.) whom I have known since I was 12.  She's been a friend, a confidante, a shoulder to cry on, a partner in crime, an ally, and most of all, a sister to me for 64% of my life.  She's my best friend.

And while my stepdad and I haven't always seen eye-to-eye (to put it mildly), we have become closer over the past decade.  That is something that has been extremely important to me.  I don't think living with my mom was really easy on either one of us.  Being able to catch up with him on the phone or go out to lunch when he is in town have been very helpful for me.  I appreciate his love and kindness more than I have ever put into words, I suppose.

What was going to be a short blog post has turned into something far greater, but I don't want to start rambling too much.  I guess what I am trying to acknowledge, albeit not succinctly, is that I am a lucky gal and grateful and humbled by the love of my family and friends. So Happy Birthday to me!