Family Times

I just love families. Aside from being blessed to be born into a really great one, I was doubly blessed to marry into one. Splitting time between the two hasn’t always been easy -we’d like to be with BOTH at once -but it’s never been extraordinarily hard. Each side of the family is understanding.
Thanksgiving week, we spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with my husband’s family. On Tuesday, my brother and sister-in-law took group family pictures for us. SO… for an hour or so on Tuesday, we DID get to be with both families at once. The pictures turned out amazing, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
First, I have to tell you how much I love just being in my in law’s home when most all of the kids are around. My husband is a stud. He’s the man of the house -the leader of the pack. He makes decisions with confidence and he sticks by them. He provides, he protects, and he eats like a man should.
And then I take him home to his mama, and he’s a BOY all over again. I get to see him turn into more of a goof ball… it’s almost as if when he’s around his parents (and away from work) it lifts a little of his heavy responsibilities. Whatever the reason, I absolutely love it.
Tuesday morning, as we were all getting dressed for pictures, I got a little taste of what it might have been like to grow up side-by-side with my husband. I watched his brother yell for a towel from the bathroom, his sister ask Mom if one brother could cut the other’s hair (“NO!”) and I got to watch them laugh together.
It was the best. It made me think of my family and the day my brothers DID cut each other’s hair… the many mornings when there were no towels (or toilet paper). There’s something wonderful about a full house, isn’t there?
My mother-in-law was the Chief of the photo shoot. She asked us all to wear certain things, and even bought most of it herself. And, like everything else she touches, it came out beautifully.

Please excuse my son’s hand over his nose. My father-in-law met a granddaughter for the first time, and Brittany got a picture of it:

We got pictures of the little girls:
And pictures of the big girls:
Pictures of the little boys:
Pictures of the big boys:

And pictures of little, big, and biggest boys:
There are pictures of Moms:
And pictures of Dads:

And pictures of what started it all:

There were little families:
And a very little bit bigger families:

And even growing families:

There were grandpas and grandmas:

And available uncles:

There were pictures taken of little ones by little ones:

And there was even angry birds:
It’s amazing what can come from just two young people falling hopelessly in love:

In this case, it’s an arm full of grand kids.

Five BEAUTIFUL children and one, big happy family:
Thanks go out again to Mike and Brittany for their ALWAYS amazing work.