Our giant immediate family

Above is our family tree.  This is our immediate family.  These are the people that if a hospital was restricting to immediate family, we would say these people.  This doesn't include Nate and Chris's wives because I couldn't remember their names (Sorry!!)  This also doesn't include Chad, because well technically he's not immediate family, but I'd want him in my hospital room.

This family is great and I love each and every one of you.  I wouldn't trade you for anything.  In fact, I feel very blessed to have you guys in my life.  How many people can say they have 6 dads?  Growing up in many ways I was an only child.  My brother and sister came along 7 and 8 years later respectively but my Mom and Daniel didn't live around here for the first few years (St. Louis and Chicago.)  This made for awesome Summer trips.  I still have fond memories of both St. Louis and Chicago.  Growing up as an only child I always wanted a large family.  My Mom has eight siblings and my Dad, three. I had 0 for the better part of 10 years.  Then they moved back and I had two.  Now I have ten legally and eleven spiritually (that's you Chad).  I can't describe how happy this makes me.  I think I've said before that growing up an only child in a single parent household was very lonely at times.  I've always had lots of friends but that's not the same.  This family is truly a wish come true.

I wanted to say that to give you an idea of how much I love my family, because this is the part where I have to complain just a little bit.  On June 8th we officially became our own little family of three.  It's wonderful.  I love my daughter and my wife more than I can even express.  Having such a large family now, though, it's been difficult to find time as a family of three.  Olive has been here for 18 days of those days 12 of them we've either had visitors or gone somewhere to visit people.  Maybe it's selfish of me and maybe I'm an awful person for saying it, but only getting to spend 1/3 of her life so far as our little family of 3 has been a bit rough on me.  I want to know who we are as a family.  I want to know our dynamics with each other.  I feel like we haven't been able to establish any kind of rhythm yet in that perspective.  I'm sure it will get better, because I'm sure it is the newness of her.  I feel like such a jerk for complaining because I know that everyone that wants to see her wants to see her out of love.  I'm sure there will come a day when I want someone to come and take her off my hands and I need the distraction of other people.

I just needed to get that out there and I'm sorry if I've offended anyone.  I just don't want to be resenting my amazing family and I want you all to know that I love you.