Thankful Thursday: My Family

This Thankful Thursday post may be one of the harder ones for me to write and keep my composure. Every year that passes, I am more and more thankful for the parents God gave me, the upbringing they provided, the resources and LOVE they lavished on me in good measure, & the healthy marriage they demonstrated daily.

Obviously, family plays a part in anybody's business because without some kind of support, any entrepreneur would be up a creek without a paddle. But, my parents thought it fitting to provide me with my first DSLR, a Nikon D50, after I'd taken a photo class in high school, using my dad's 30 year old film Nikon. We were also approaching my sister's graduation from the Air Force Academy and Mom had gotten two prime-ly placed seats close to the stage. Perfect to get close-ups of Katie shaking Vice President (at the time) Dick Cheney's hand.

Since then, life intervened: college, marriage and, for my sister, an absolutely adorable subject to photograph:

God, I LOVE my family. The photo below was taken last Christmas and my sadness in not seeing them this Christmas for the first time ever, is only assuaged by the fact that I get to meet Katie & Eric's second child in February and hopefully, we can make a family reunion out of it. And yes, I can be the Queen of Run-On Sentences when it comes to these gorgeous people:

They've always supported me, cheered me on, trusted me to take their own photos, and I love continuing a craft that's been in my family for years. He's always been interested in how to get a great image and now we can banter back and forth over another common interest. I love that the conversation never ends! And now, even Eric has chimed in and each time we get together, he learns a little bit more about shooting in manual mode....;) Because he knows I can't document every single thing cutey Camden does.

But I digress. This holiday season, and I imagine most every year from now until I leave this earth, I will be more and more thankful for the people with whom I share DNA. Even these few words about my gratitude seem piddly in comparison to how often my heart bursts for them. God is so good in His provision and I couldn't be more thankful.

Please excuse me while I run and grab a few kleenexes now...