Wedding Wednesday: My family

I've been searching for ideas for more posts about Jesse and I, as lots have you have said you'd like to read more, but I kept coming up with nothing. I have the dreaded writers block and I just could not come up with any interesting ideas that I thought anyone would want to read. 

Yesterday I got an email from a reader, that said: 

"I really love your posts about you and Jesse. I can't wait to read more about you both because I love your story. I'd love to know how do you and Jesse get on with each others family? Have you met?? Do you get along??"

While I told you all a little about our families in my "How we met", "How we found the ring" and our "Engagement Story" posts - I didn't go into much detail.

It's safe to say that Jesse and I have both extended our families. My family adores him and he feels the same about them and I can't wait to go back to Louisiana to spend more time with his. 

This week I'll tell you about our relationship with my family - and then next week I'll tell you about ours with his family!

I am really close with my family. My mum is my (second) best friend, for one - and I feel like family should always come first. 

It was really important to me that my family liked Jesse, especially since I wanted him to be apart of my family. This was my biggest worry the first time he came to Australia. The last thing on earth I wanted to happen was that my family didn't like Jesse and I adored him and then I'd have to make a choice - or live with two separate families for the rest of my life. 

Thankfully, any second of worry I had was a complete waste of time. My family adore Jesse. I was shocked, stunned and in awe of how much my Pa loved Jesse. You see, my Pa was hmm.. let's not sugar coat this.. he wasn't the easiest man in the world to get along with or impress. He had his good moments and when he loved you, he really loved - but that was just his personality. 

My Pa, for some odd reason, had this "thing" about Americans. Having English parents, for some reason he decided he didn't like "yanks" and he was extremely traditional. His first granddaughter dating someone on the other side of the world was bad enough - but a yank?!

When Jesse first arrived, I introduced him to my Pa cautiously. I didn't know what he was going to say or how he was going to accept him - and he was wary at first too. But before long, Jesse became my Pa's ultimate "cobber" (if you're not familiar with Australian colloquialisms, that means friend/mate). Why I was surprised, I don't know - but somehow Jesse managed to make my Pa adore him too (this boy has magic powers, I swear) and once he went home the first thing Pa said to me every single morning was "Hey Kristy, how's Tex?". I think it's a little obvious that he loved him when he even gave him a nickname!

Jesse became "Tex" as a shortened version of "Texas Cowboy" or "Texas Ranger" - Pa didn't care that Jesse came from Louisiana, not Texas.. he had the southern drawl heard in Cowboy and Western movies and they were all the same to him. 

Even on the last time I saw my Pa, one of the last things he asked me was "How's Tex?". I know that he would be incredibly happy, overjoyed even, for both of us and the excitement of his twin brother Joe when I told him only secured that fact. 

Jesse impressed the hardest person in my family to impress - and I will forever cherish that fact. 

My sister calls Jesse her brother, I think that just about sums up their relationship in one. They argue, make jokes with one another and Katrina is so excited to have Jesse as her brother, officially (forget brother in-law). It actually amazes me how well they get along and how well we all get along together. 

When Katrina was in hospital and she knew that Jesse would be coming in December, she used his arrival as her drive to get off the oxygen, out of bed and walking again (after an entire month of being bedridden and too weak to walk on her own). She told me it was because she was too embarrassed to be seen like that, but I also knew it was because she didn't want to ruin his trip or our family Christmas by being in hospital. 

When Jesse was here we spent a lot of time together - Katrina bossing us around on how to do the Christmas tree (since she wasn't able to stand up and help us), playing Jenga or Creationary, joking around or totally owning Disney Universe (and both of them successfully murdering my poor character just for the fun of it). 

I hope and pray and wish that one day, my sister might find "the one" who treats her like a princess and who can join our trio so that we never lose that relationship with her.

It's thanks to Jesse that I have further discovered a friendship relationship with my sister, as well as just sisterhood - and I couldn't be more thankful.  

Quite possibly the most ridiculous picture of us, taken 4 years ago, but the only one I have on my computer - I guess it kind of shows how much fun we have together.

Like I said earlier, my Mum is one of my best friends and it was so important to me that she liked Jesse. Well, she surpassed my expectation and she too loves Jesse. 

She knows how happy we make each other and she already feels like Jesse is a part of our family. I brought her to Louisiana with me not just as a travel buddy, but because I felt it was important that she got to meet Jesse's family - and that they got to meet her too.  

She's not afraid to make mexican jokes about my dear future husband (everyone does) and she genuinely loves him (again.. everyone does) :P 

My dad on the left, our neighbour John in the middle and Jesse on the right

My dad and Jesse are so alike, it scares the absolute heck out of me at times. They have similar interests, their brains are wired the same way and they both know how to make a good joke at my expense (though Jesse knows better than to go too far!).

Dad already considers Jesse as part of our family just like the rest of us, ever since his first trip. He asks me every single day how Jesse's doing and what he's been up to and whenever I'm on the phone to Jesse he tells him to hurry up and get his ass back home. 

That word is the key in Jesse's relationship with my family. Jesse considers here and my family home - not here, not there, not Sydney. Jesse is coming home when he moves here and that makes me the happiest girl in the world!

Jesse also gets along with all of our family friends and there hasn't been a single person who's said a bad thing about him!

Christmas Day Lunch

Last Christmas, Jesse got to meet my extended family too. My grandmother and Aunts, Uncles and Cousins that he hadn't yet met. I already knew they'd love him, after all everyone does.

Since we've been officially engaged everyone has been excited. I haven't heard a single word muttered by my family and friends that we're too young or that it's the wrong idea. Those that have seen us together know that we're 110% right in what we're doing - and they'll be alongside us all of the way! 

I am so blessed to have a future husband who fits perfectly into my family and friends. I don't know how I got so lucky, but I am ever grateful that I am!

So tell me, do you get along with your significant other's family? do they get along with yours? 

and please, if you have any ideas for future posts - please let me know!

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