The Strength of a Woman

Ok, so I come in this morning to an e-mail my mom forwarded to me. It is from my beautiful Aunt Laurie.

As you all probably know, she is battling breast cancer, and last night she lost her hair.

Without going into every little detail - I just felt I needed to brag about her for just a minute.

My Aunt Laurie is amazing. She is one of those women that you would meet and NEVER forget - no matter how short of a time she might have touched your life. She is STUNNING - how one woman can be so beautiful is just pretty much not fair. She has an absolute and undeniable love for our Heavenly Father, His Son, and our Gospel. She is a constant example of faith for anyone who might be questioning their own. She is HYSTERICAL! She can make you laugh within the first 5 minutes of a conversation. She has the Andersen sense of humor, and as we all know - that right there should make you piddle your pants! She is a Mother in every sense of the word. She would be there at 2 am for you if you needed her to be. She would drop anything and everything if any one of her 8 (yes, 8 - 4 kids & 4 in-laws FYI) children needed even just a hug. She is a perfect wife and eternal partner to my RAD Uncle Paul. Together they kind of make you a little nauseated! They always have some kind of touchy feely thing going on - ewww! They are just about as wonderful together as any couple should or could be.

I say this all because I think she needs to realize how strong she is and what an incredible example she is to me daily. I couldn't imagine going through what she is going through right now. But if I ever had to - I know that she would be my #1 supporter - and our entire family would be united as we are today. We have Gammy and Baka's eternal example of how families should be together and love each other no matter what silly mistakes we all make. The love of a family - well the love of OUR family - is unconditional, eternal and unbreakable.

If I could be there with her, I would in a heartbeat - but I just hope she knows as much as any member of my family knows - I am there for you through prayer and thoughts and I love you all so much. There is not a single person in our entire family, extended or in-law or otherwise, that I don't love with every part of my soul.

Anyway - now that I'm actually letting some sort of fluid trickle down my face - and its not a booger - I guess I had better close this post.

Thank you, Aunt Laurie, for being such a strong woman. You amaze me daily, and I love you.