We Are Family

Good morning! I take it you all survived the holiday, so, good job, you! As my previous posts would indicate, things have been pretty crazy here in Petticoat Junction. I feel like we've somehow managed to smoosh ten days of revelry into just four days, and, we are all just a bit on the tender side thanks to that dynamic.

That's how family works. You love each other, you annoy each other, you fascinate and exasperate one another; it's the way of the world.

My world would be a lot less colorful with this bunch in it, I can tell you that. And, on Saturday, we took that color on the road, driving to Oscar and Emily's place for a long-overdue family portrait session.

Organizing this many people, fretting over the weather, stressing over finding a suitable location, and then managing to pull it all together presented many challenges, but, in the end, despite frost-nipped noses and numb fingers, we managed to pull off a portrait that I felt good about sharing.

Of course, we were missing Dad something crazy, but, it felt like he was there in spirit; I could easily picture the eye-rolling and deeeeep sighs that would have accompanied the process had he been there in body.

Bless his heart.

In addition to the large family portrait, I took some additional, smaller group photos, and, one large group picture that included my niece's boyfriend, who, could be a member of the family by this time next year, assuming he ever gets around to putting a ring on it (not at Christmas, though, the Rodeo Princess was very clear that she would entertain no cliche Christmas-time proposals).

I was pleased with the results of my efforts.

I was also really pleased with the photos I took of my great-niece earlier that morning, but, that is a post for another day since this one is already so picture-heavy (wouldn't want to break the internets). Besides, my older sister and my daughter are taking off this morning and I need to squeeze every last moment out of the time we have left together.

Like family does.