My Family

The woman in blue is my mom. She threw herself under a horse, breaking a rib and her tibia, just so I would come up to visit her. That takes special determination. She's doing better and was excited to finally get me and my kids up there to see her and where she lives. She moved to Illinois about 2 years ago.

The guy in the gray tank top is my baby brother, only 19. He's getting ready to move out on his own to Chicago.

My older brother is in the navy T-shirt on the right, with his little girl in the front, and his two boys on either side of my mom. He's a school principal during the weekdays, but a giant kid in his off-time.

The boys stayed overnight with my boys--a cousin slumber party. We brought the Wii with us, which I think my brothers used more than the kids. There was some smack-down, testosterone-driven, competition going on up there, especially with the boxing game. Lots of trash talk...that's my family.



This is my younger brother, his wife, and their two kids--who are so cute that they should star in Welch's grape juice commercials. They moved up with my mom about two years ago, and have settled nicely into Midwestern life. We visited them a few times, letting the kids chase fireflies together. My boys would capture them and bring them to the girls who would giggle and shout at the glowing bugs.



This is my lovely sister-in-law, the wife of my older brother. She is very sweet, but was out of town for the last part of my trip. She has Huntington's and is just beginning to show slight symptoms. I was happy to see her, but heartbroken as we talked about the future. She is doing well, but knows her able-bodied, able-minded years are limited. We pray that her disease won't advance significantly for many years. She doesn't deserve this, nobody does. She has a pure heart, full of kindness.

Visiting everyone makes me wish they lived closer. It was great to spend time together. Hopefully, we can make it back some time without someone having to injure themselves. :-)