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What I’m Thankful for in 2010 – Family

This year for Thanksgiving I want to share the things in my life that I’m thankful for and I want to do it in photos!  Some of these are snapshots, some are portraits and some are iphone pics!  Below the collage I’ve listed who these people are and different things about them and I.  It is pretty random but this is my family and I’m thankful for all of them!

ThanksgivingOkay so I’m going to go left to right starting in the top corner as number 1 and tell you who these people are and why I’m thankful for them.

1. My Gram- I think everyone has favorite people in this world, they might be a friend, husband, wife or your own child.  For me my Gram is one of my favorite people in this world, she always knows the right thing to say and she is the first one to help you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and rise above with dignity.  I love to visit her and just sit around and talk, I was so grateful this year to spend a couple days with her and hear more about her parents, my great grandparents and what it was like for them when her father was gone during the war.

2. My Grandmother and Grandaddy- Some of my favorite childhood memories are of Christmas Eve dinner at their beautiful house in Fairfax.  I loved their house with the huge fireplace and their golden retriever Sam running around.  We would get all dressed up and eat in the formal dining room and then move to the family room where I would sit with my Dad on the hearth in front of the fire.  It was always my Dad’s favorite spot to sit!  Michelle and I would listen to the radio to find out where Santa had been spotted and look out the window to see if we could see his sleigh.  My uncles would ring the sleigh bells outside the house when it was time to leave and we would have to hurry home because Santa was on his way!!  I loved those Christmas Eve’s so much that since they have moved to Lexington and I now have a house of my own I started hosting my own Christmas Eve dinner.  I don’t have a fireplace but I love being surrounded by my family on that special night!

3- My Papaw- Papaw has always reminded me of a bulldog, I’m not sure why though 🙂  I can tell you that never has a day gone by that I doubted that my Papaws love for me or my siblings.  He still tells stories of babysitting me as a kid and he can remember what toys I played with.  I remember playing in his garage while he and my Dad worked on the Model A’s and to this day the smell of old cars and a little bit of gasoline remind me of my Papaw.

4- My niece Cara- At 2 years old she couldn’t say Melissa so the nickname Missa was born and David has been calling me that ever since.  She was my model for the longest time whenever I needed to practice my photography.  Last time she came we played dress up with all my old Halloween costumes and she giggled the whole time!!  I’m so excited to see her for Thanksgiving!!

5- My husband David- I choose this photo because there he is cutting down the Christmas tree I picked last year.  After 5 years together he has learned to just let me do the picking and not to rush me.  He knows every time it might require going to several farms but he does it with a smile now and when we get the tree home he hangs the lights for me and does a really spectacular job, the tree always seems to glow from the inside out!

6- My mother in law Susan- I’m so thankful to have such a great relationship with her!  I always enjoy hanging out with her and eating whatever she is cooking!  The kitchen at her house is the heart of the home, it is where we all gather no matter the time of day to sit and talk and munch on whatever is around.  By the time this blog post goes live I will probably be sitting on a stool at the counter chatting away with her.  I’m so happy to be able to spend this Thanksgiving with my other family even when David can’t be with us.

7- Gram- It is my Gram again and here she is being an awesome Gram and sewing the covers for the new cushions for our boat.  I am an awful grandchild in that I brought down a bunch of cushions and fabric and I left them with her to sew.  I only took her half the cushions though I promise I kept some at home so I didn’t feel like a complete slacker!  She gave me the sewing machine I have now, the one she taught me to sew on many years ago.  I’m still working on an even straight stitch but I can whip up all kinds of things on my machine thanks to her!

8- Grandmother and Grandaddy- I have learned so much about my grandparents in the last 10 years since I became an adult and started asking questions.  I know that they have 1 photo from their wedding that someone took of them on a brownie camera.  It is a wonderful black and white and they look so incredibly happy, they have been married over 55 years now!  I love them very much and am so glad I got to spend a weekend with them in Sept!

9- My Mom and Dad- I took this photo after we all had lunch together to celebrate their 32nd wedding anniversary this past August.  Even after all these years they still look so in love.  As kids Michelle and I used to get so grossed out when we would catch them kissing.  After awhile though we realized that we were very lucky that they still loved each other so much.

10- David- I’m very thankful to have a husband that supports my dreams and is behind me as I push to make them a reality.  I miss him so much and I can’t wait for him to get home next year.  He is awesome and sent me some wicked good slippers as a surprise gift this week!  I love him!!!

11- My baby sister Michelle- When we were kids we hated each other and we fought all the time.  I’m sure I was pretty mean to her a lot of the time.  I’ll go on record for the world to see and say I’m sorry Michelle for being such a mean sister.  You are my best friend in the world and the person that I can count on to be there for me no matter what is going on.  I know that even as adults we don’t always agree but we do always have the others interests at heart.  I’m thankful now that I have you as my sister!

12- My little brother Alex- I was 18 when my Mom found out she was pregnant and I was just shy of 20 when I moved out on my  own for the first time.  I feel like every time I see him now he is taller and taller and pretty soon he is going to pass me.  He has freckles just like I do and according to David we make the same faces.  I don’t spend enough time with him but I’m trying to change that.  I love him very much even when he tries to make me mad by saying Michelle is his favorite sister 🙂

13- Alex- So I realized that I need to steal him away for another weekend of pizza, ice cream, coca cola, movies and Wii games.  All of that to bribe him to let me take some photos of him, yes these are the lengths I will go to!  I think a sleepover in December is on the schedule!

14- Michelle- I’m so proud of her for passing her RN test!  I still love this photo of her!  I’m thankful that she is in my life.

15- Mom and Dad- They are so cute!  I love them so much and I’m so thankful for all the support they have given my siblings and I.  They still go to our volleyball games to cheer us on even though we are all grown up!

16- Michelle and I- I just like this photo that we took together on my iphone when she invited me out with her friends one night.  It is funny because sometimes we look alike and then sometimes we don’t and I don’t think we look at all alike in this photo.  She tans while I burn!

Pet

I can’t forget my girls!

1- Chloe- I picked her out of a litter of orange tabby kittens at Petsmart last Christmas.  I was there for cat food and wandered over to the kittens by chance.  I can’t imagine this house without her now.  She rules the roost and doesn’t take any flack from the dogs.  It is her way or the highway!

2- Sadie Mae- David and I joke that we traded dogs when we got together.  Sadie liked me better then him and Maxie seemed to like him better then me.  With David gone Sadie has taken his spot in the bed and loves to cuddle up to me.  She is so sweet and always gives me a kiss even when she is stingy with David!  She is my baby girl and I love her!

3- Maxie- This February we will have been together for 9 years and I can’t even tell you how much I love her.  She is my kid, yes she has 4 legs and lots of fur but she is my baby.  You can’t come into our house without her forcing you to pet her.  Half the time you don’t even realize she has stuck her head under your hand.  When she gets excited she bunny hops around and she loves to give kisses.  I love her so much!

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