Tuesday, November 26, 2013

You've been so kind and generous

I have amazing in-laws. I really, really do. Blake's parents are some of the kindest, most thoughtful, and just plain fun people I know and I'm really happy I can be another one of their daughters.

They were so excited to find out Blake was dating someone and even happier to meet me, first via Skype and eventually in person. We got along swimmingly right from the start and they've been nothing but wonderful to me since.

I've heard tell that some men will complain that their wives don't cook like their mothers, but I don't have to worry about that. One, Blake has always loved my cooking (I can tell he especially loved something when he licks his plate) and two, I have the cookbook Blake's mom made for all her kids with all their favorite family recipes and then some. The thing is huge, like three inch binder huge, and is full of some great recipes. It was a real labor of love to put together and I'm super excited to have recipes from both of our families. Sometimes, we use my family's recipes for things, sometimes we use his, and sometimes we use recipes I've collected elsewhere, but I do love getting to try the things Blake grew up loving.

It's especially helpful when some of the recipes have notes like this:


Blake's dad includes us in a daily group good morning text. We're lucky enough to get them at reasonable hours of the day, usually around 9 AM, but those who live closer to the Arizona time zone risk being woken up. Either way, it's sweet and amusing and I love it. (He was kind enough not to text us during our honeymoon, though our phones were off anyway.)

Blake's parents often send us care packages or sweet cards. When we went to visit them over the summer, they sent us away on an overnight getaway that involved a bookstore, lunch, a hotel with an attached water park, and room service breakfast. They also care a lot about my family, frequently asking about them or bringing my parents oranges from an orange grove in Arizona. When we introduced our families to each other the night before our wedding, it was amazing how well everyone got along - siblings, parents, and grandparents alike. We all really feel like one big extended family that just hadn't met yet.

Most of all, I feel like they genuinely care about and love me. They are truly interested in what's going on with me and I really enjoy our weekly Skype chats and other contact we have.

Thank you for welcoming me into your family!

2 comments:

Myrna said...

Awesome family!

Giggles said...

It's great when family expands like that. I love my in-laws too.