FAMFAM

I have been extremely blessed by a wonderful family. My mom, my dad, my brother, and my sister have all been so influential to me in my life. My memories of childhood are all positive, and I can barely remember fighting with my brother and sister, although they'll be the first to tell me that it wasn't all that rare of an occurence. These days, we all live within 30 minutes of each other and are lucky enough to share the occassional dinner, weekend barbeque, movie, and shopping trips. It's no question that we always celebrate birthdays and holidays together--to not would be a crime! And the best part is, I LOVE my family. My funny, crazy, nosy, sweet, knowing family will forever have my utmost love and respect. All 4 of them! Yes, even Rolly. ;-)

Not too many people can say what I just said. All too often, the word "family" means a father in one state, a mother in another, brothers and sisters spread across the globe. Whether it be unresolved conflicts or just plain distance, good, strong, loving, sharing families are hard to come by. It takes work to build a family, and even more to keep it standing strong.

Although God is the only one with control over which family you come from and belong to, you get a little bit more of a choice when choosing one to marry into! Not much more...just a little more :-) I fell in love with the Johnson Family the day I met them. I have so much to learn from the techy movie buff, Jacqui. I am reminded of kindness and thoughtfulness everytime I'm in Jessica's presence. Mark challenges me to think harder than I've ever had to think before speaking (an excellent challenge that most would let me get away with). I am blown away by the unending patience Lynette has for all of us, and will forever love her home-style cookin'! And there's never a dull moment when Don is around--the man spreads cheer like it's Christmas! The newest edition to this legacy family is little Joel, who, in his 3 weeks of existence, has been such a neat little miracle I've gotten to experience. (Thanks Mark & Jess, for sharing him with us!)

For Lynette's birthday, we all got together and gave her a series of moments to capture. Thanks to a little help from our friend Jim Farmer (the guy on the other side of the camera), here's the greatness I call the Johnson Family!