A couple of weeks ago I was reading a book that challenged the reader to come up with one word to describe their family. Intrigued, I pondered this idea for a while but couldn’t decide upon a valid answer; no one word seemed to entirely sum up the complexity of my family. As I tend to do with most intellectual dilemmas, I decided to ask my mom what she thought. To my surprise, she had an answer immediately.

“Crazy!” she responded, laughing and smiling to herself before she continued washing dishes or cooking or running some kid to practice just as she’s done for the last twenty-some years.

I laughed too, but also thought about her response for a little while. The more I reflected, the more I realized how much truth that one word held.

Growing up in a house with five children and five different personalities, our childhoods were a little crazy. Life was a whirlwind of basketball practices, choir concerts, and dance recitals as our parents tried to be in twenty different places at once. Due to so much activity, our youths were painted in the bright hues of creativity, with adventures including sword fights down the staircase, playground pirate ships, and hidden forts in the woods.

With so much movement and life came crazy laughter; moments of utter joy and fun and chasing each other around the kitchen counter. Our house has hosted countless crazy dance parties with the radio roaring. We’ve enjoyed too many crazy game nights, ice cream trips, and snowball fights to count.

However, I would be lying if I didn’t say that our family dynamic can go from crazy to chaotic. In the Erickson household, it is quite common to hear one sister accusing another sister of stealing her shirt or jeans or literally any tangible object imaginable. Arguments are not unheard of and, due to the sheer number of opinions accounted for, they infrequently end in complete agreement.

However, more than anything, our family is brimming with crazy love. No matter our differences, no matter how far we move from home or the time we spend apart, they are my people, and I love them with my whole heart. I hope that these pictures show you a little of our crazy fun and ridiculous love for one another.