Family

What is your family like? Mine... mine is probably mostly NUTS! But I love them for it. I've been thinking for a while about what to post next and I've come to a decision. I want to post about my family. 

{Left photo} 13 of the 17 grandkids on my mom's side with my wonderful grandparents! 

{Right photo} My sweet grandma Ball and me at Christmas when my family got to visit her in Oregon! My grandpa Ball passed away when I was 2 years old... He was an amazing man and I am excited to walk the streets of Heaven with him one day. 

Going to the family reunion last weekend reminded me how blessed I am with the family the Lord gave me. I know that I could call any one of my siblings, parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, or grandparents and ask them to pray for me and they would. I know that I can count on them to make me smile and to make me feel loved. I truly enjoy spending time with them and doing life with them! 

This family photo is from my oldest sister's wedding last September. My family, plus the first brother-in-law!

Over the years, my family has grown with the addition of two brother-in-laws and two 'sisters'! I already had 5 siblings and now I have 9 and I LOVE it!! There is so much I could say about each sibling and especially about my wonderful parents, but I believe in the phrase, "A picture is worth a thousand words." Now, you recently saw lots of photos of extended family so I won't have much of them, but here is a ton of photos of my incredible, nutty, wonderful, and full-of-love FAMILY! 

The family that travels together, stays together. All, but the two married sisters, on our way to Oregon to visit my grandma Ball. 

 I don't have many photos of my mom and dad... so I just have to pause here and brag about them a little :) My mom is such a hard worker! She has raised 6 children, started a business, runs our farm, and is the founder of a national organization. Many call her superwoman... I get to call her Momzie! My daddy is equally an incredibly hard worker! He as well owns his own business and has been the best role model of a father any daughter could ask for. He has had the privilege of traveling all around the world and we kids have had the awesome opportunity to go on several of those trips. My parents have shown me what it means to work hard in life and to follow Christ in everything that you do. I love you both more than I could ever put into words. 

The four unmarried siblings :) Ages 24 to 14... 

More traveling!! We love road trips!

All of the girls, plus G (one adopted sister), my cousin, and my older sister's sister-in-law! 

My older sister... I am number two, so she is the only sibling above me. I love her so much and I love watching our relationship mold and grow with our becoming adults. These photos are from April when mom and I went up to visit her in PA. 

My 'Twin' on her wedding day back in November... She was such a stunning bride! 

This girl and I have been twins since the moment she could walk. We got our name, 'twins', because we are the closest in age {19 months apart} and we did everything together as kids.

Needless to say... her wedding was VERY emotional for me! I love her crazy tons and I am so thankful Jesus gave me my Twin!

My bro... he is pretty much AWESOME! The only boy with 5 sisters... I think that is cause enough to praise him. He has grown up without me even noticing and I am so proud of the man he is becoming. He is an incredible dancer, a student at UGA, and I love him so very much!

My baby sisters!!! Ok, so they are SO NOT babies anymore, but they will forever be "the little girls" :) 

This one is 'my baby'. I was the first one to see her after she was born and she was my responsibility when she was little. She is an incredibly talented mixed martial artist and is about to attend college. I am so proud to be her older sister and... I freaken love her!

The baby of the family! Also, my look-a-like :) We are 10 years apart and still, everyone asks if we are twins. She is an amazing artist and has a crazy style that is all her own. I love that she is 'her' and is not trying to be anyone else. You are adorable my baby sister and I am so proud of you. I love you!

 Now, here are some photos of our family's "adopted" sisters... I seriously love these two just like they were my blood sisters and I don't know what I would do without them in my life!

You already know Lil' Chef :) and the other one is G... she is 9 months away from being a DOCTOR!! So incredibly proud of her!

Don't think I could ever do life without this girl... bestest friend anyone could ever ask for!

This was a semi-spontanious trip to do a 5k about 2 hours away! Sisters do crazy things... 

LOVE these girls so much... 

I LOVE people! I always have, but there is one particular family that the Lord placed in my life about 7 years ago who have definitely become family to me. That family would be the Q family :) I have been the family babysitter since the oldest (KQ) was 3 years old. I have watched these kiddos grow up and I am so blessed to be able to call these wonderful people family!

And then there were four... this was right after the youngest, AQ, was born!

KQ, JQ, and LQ all helping out on the farm. They love it out here!

I just love these kids! 

That was a lot of lovin'... and a lot of photos, once again! But I just wanted to share with you all the HUGE blessing God has given me in my family. They all bring something special to my life and I love them all more than words can describe. Take a moment today to thank the Lord for your family.... to tell your family members how much you love them and are thankful for them. Family truly is one of the greatest gifts Jesus has given us! Blood related or not :) 

So Blessed, 

LoLo