Hello friends, Mandak (Nibbles Skribbles) here! Toiny is enjoying a few days traveling and celebrating the new year, so I’m filling in!

2015 brought two amazing gifts to our family in the form of babies! Both of my brothers had their first kids, and thus, I became an Auntie for the first time. Neither of my brothers had ever planned on having kids – so I never really thought I’d get the honor of being an Aunt. But, let me tell you, what a blessing! The feeling of love that consumed me the moment I met those babies was overwhelming. My niece was born in September. She lives in Alaska with my brother and sister-in-law, so I met and got to know her via pictures for her first 3 1/2 months. My nephew was born just after Thanksgiving, and I met him when he was just a few hours old. A few days before Christmas, my brother from Alaska and his family flew into town – and at 5am I was at the airport anxiously awaiting their arrival. It had been 1 1/2 years since I last saw my brother, and he was bringing my niece! From the day they arrived until this past Thursday we crammed in as much family time as possible and I got to snuggle that little girl several times. I never wanted to let go!

And, to make these blessings even more fun – watching my 3 boys become cousins and seeing the love they instantly had for these babies was just as overwhelming as the love I felt!

It will likely be 2 years before I see my niece again – and that is hard. But, I’ll always remember this Christmas and the moments I had with her. And I so look forward to watching my nephew (who lives 5 minutes from me) grow! Yep, being an Aunt is a pretty amazing thing!

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Wishing each and every one of you a very Happy New Year! May 2016 bring joy, love and laughter to your lives!

Hugs from Minnesota, Manda