Being with the Mortensens

My family is close. REALLY close.  We're like a chubby child in spandex close. (I hope that wasn't too terrible an image) I'm not sure how it came to be, but for as long as I can remember I've always been a homebody. I have a built in best friend (my twin sister), two darling, doting sisters, a protective older brother and the dynamic parenting duo of my vivacious mother and father. I guess you can say, i've never found myself wanting anything more. Oh, we've had spats like any family, but life has always seemed better in the arms of my loved ones.  To find myself in college without them has been tough. REALLY tough. Like beef-jerky tough. (mmmm... beef jerky.)
So how have I managed? Truth be told, some days I don't. My heart aches for those precious moments with my family that I had taken for granted. My arms long to wrap themselves around my mother's caring form. It physically hurts, some days. On days when it hurts the most, I find myself at the Mortensens, my second home- my family away from family. 
Something about their family makes my heart swell with joy. They are heaven sent. When I miss my Sophia, I have Elijah and Joseph to play around with. When I miss Lane, Naomi plays with my hair. When I need someone to laugh with, Jacob and Emma are there. And they are there unconditionally, with Sister Mortensen's arms wide open... I hope they never get sick of me. For I am there A LOT. 


I suppose this post may seem odd and unnecessarily personal (and I suppose it is) but I simply wanted to thank Heavenly Father for his tender mercies. The Mortensens have been a gift to me, just as I can be a gift to others.