One Big Herd.

I just got back from visiting my family in North Carolina, and as usual, I returned feeling unusually blessed. Honestly, I couldn't ask for a more fun family.

Not only do I have two amazingly hospitable grandparents who love me (and are so very hilarious), but I am the oldest of 12 grandchildren. I realize you're probably cringing at that thought. Don't.

Being the oldest has always seemed some what of a nuisance, but over the past few years, I've grown to appreciate it and even love it. I have six gorgeous little girl cousins and three handsome little boy cousins, well technically one of them is a teenager, but she's still little to me.

They all have unique relationships with me, but they're all equal in my eyes...

One of the girls is relatively new to our family, like her mom, they don't know me too well yet, but we're all growing on each other.

One of the boys is my mini-me. Everyone says we look alike, but we often think alike too. Whether it's excelling in school or stressing over everything, he's a blood relative. No doubt about that.

Another of the girls, the teenager, has been with me since I was little. I love her to death and she knows it, and even though we're older now, we're not afraid to act like kids around each other.

The two youngest girls are still trying to get my name right, but they're beautiful little eyes light up when they see me, and I know they love me just the same.

The youngest boy is the "rough and tough" one one, or at least, he wants everyone to think that. But deep down, I know he's just as sweet as any of the others.

One of the girls is basically one of the guys. She's tough, loud, and opinionated, but she's beautiful and girly at the same time. I hate using Hannah Montana as an allusion, but this girl really does have the best of both worlds.

The last boy and girl are twins. The boy is probably the funniest kid I've ever met, both when he's trying and when he's not. We're best friends and always will be. The girl is a little genius. Seriously, I see her one day becoming a scientist or a novelist or something that requires alot of critical thinking. She could totally handle any of it. While twins, they are vastly different from one another.

Everyone of them is special in their own right. Everyone of them is very loved. That's my family, and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.