A friend asked in a comment for clarification on 'who we all are'. I smiled at that request and realized it was a really good one. We are quite a conglomeration of folks out here and I am sure it is hard (or almost impossible!) to keep it all straight. So, here is a very quick rundown on how we all fit together. The main thing is that we are all tied together by bonds of love. Often, they are blood ties, but not always! :)
This is where everything began. Daddy and Mama on
August 4, 1954. Almost 60 wonderful years ago! They are the absolute heart and soul and center of everything that has come since - and for that, we are all so grateful.
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| Along the way… this happened. :) Kerry, Julie, Daddy, Mama, Laura |
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Faster than any of us could imagine… this happened.
Laura, Julie, Kerry, Mama and Daddy |
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| Julie with her two 'kids', Anna and James |
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| Kerry's family - Rachel, Stephen, Susanna, Hannah, Kerry and Candace |
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| Rachel (Kerry's oldest daughter) and her husband, Stephen |
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| my family - Jonathan, Laura, Marvin and Jackson |
Here is a link to give you a little more background on my dear husband, Marvin -
https://lifeatwilliscreekrancharchive.blogspot.com/2007/11/my-favorite-veteran.html
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| Jackson with his girlfriend, Brianna |
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perspective… here are the cousins a few years ago…
Jackson, Rachel, Susanna, Hannah in back as R2D2,
James holding newborn Jonathan and Anna. |
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and again a few years later…. Susanna, James, Jackson, Rachel,
Anna, Hannah and Jonathan |
You can see a recreation of the above photo at
this link...
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| And those same cousins (plus Matthew) a few MORE years later... |
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the family camaraderie goes back generations… this is a photo of my
Daddy's aunts and uncles (those alive at that time…) |
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| I love this photo! |
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Here is Daddy with his siblings mid-1970's
Mitch, Carolyn, Daddy, Marjorie and Charles
(Mitch, Daddy and Charles do the Guys Weekends, etc. -
we have lost Carolyn, Marjorie and Charles.) |
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Daddy with my cousin Charlie and his colt (Charlie is one of
Marjorie's sons) |
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Jonathan with his beloved Jennifer - Jennifer is Charlie's daughter
(from the above photo with colt) |
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| Jonathan with his beloved Jennifer! :) |
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| Laura and Julie with Pierce and Betty (Matthew's paternal grandparents) |
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| a few years back…. Matt, Melina, Brenda, Megan and Matthew |
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Anna with Matthew's family May 2013 -
Matthew, Brenda, Melina, Megan and Matt |
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Matthew's family - Megan, Matt, Anna, Matthew
Brenda and Melina |
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| Megan with her boyfriend, Jeff |
And here are a few photos to 'explain' who some of the others you see on the blog are...
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'the girls' - Jennifer, Susanna, Hannah, Anna, Rachel, Arayna and Alyssa
(Arayna and Alyssa are good friends of Anna) |
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day of the boys baptism - Jim, Linda, Laura, Marvin, Jennifer, Anna,
Julie, Mama, Daddy with Jonathan & Jackson in front |
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| Jonathan with Jim Christmas Day 2013 |
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And here is Brianna (Jackson's girlfriend)
with her family (back before she cut her hair)
Jeremy, Alaina, Brianna, Shonda and Cody |
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Dear Rojina is our wonderful friend from Nepal.
She lives at Julie's house and has
become a member of our family. :) |
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| Rojina, Julie, Anna |
**UPDATES BELOW**
As of
July 18, 2015, that lovely girl who was 'Jackson's girlfriend' is now Jackson's wife! We are so incredibly blessed to have Brianna officially part of the family - along with her precious family of Jeremy, Shonda, Alaina, Cody and the rest! So thankful!
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| Jackson and Brianna - July 18, 2015 |
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| Our dear Rev. Jim officiated |
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| Brianna and Jackson with Jackson's family |
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| Brianna and Jackson with Brianna's family |
September 2016 - we gathered to celebrate the
wedding of Jim and Lucy. :)
Another update! Dear
Rojina is now married to James!! Blessings abound!
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| Rojina and James |
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| December 20, 2016 |
I love making updates to this post!! :) As of May 20, 2017, Jeff is no longer Megan's boyfriend... he is now her husband! :)
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| Jeff and Megan - 5/20/17 |
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| Melina, Matthew, Megan, Jeff, Matt, Brenda |
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Brianna, Anna, Brigit, Melina, Megan,
Jeff, Evan, Alex, Matthew, Jackson |
Thank you, Laura! Your "immediate" family is much smaller than I thought with only 8 cousins. There are a lot of second cousins. And I see that when someone marries into your family, their whole family marries into the family as well. So neat!
ReplyDeleteYes, actually just 7 original cousins (of the younger generation) - 9 with the two married in (Stephen and Matthew). And yes, we are so blessed to have Matthew's family joined with ours! Stephen has a wonderful family, too; and we have enjoyed a visit from them a couple years ago, but they live in Oklahoma. :)
DeleteAnd now I would have to add that there are 10 cousins (with the THREE married in... Stephen, Matthew, and Brianna.) :D
DeleteAnd yes, we have been blessed with not only those three, but their wonderful families as well. We truly feel that we are ALL one family.
Thank you! This is great. I'm going to save it in Feedly so if I lose my way I can come back. I had fun seeing how accurate I was. I knew Julie was a sister. I thought Brenda was too but couldn't quite get that to fit. Now I get it.
ReplyDeleteYes, Brenda feels like a sister, but that WOULD be a bit strange, wouldn't it! :D I just added a photo of Brianna's family, as well, since I realized there may also be confusion about them. Alaina had her horse, Gracie, here for most of the summer into the fall. It is one of those things that I don't think about… but when Linda posed the question I realized we could be hard to figure out. :D
DeleteAnd I guess I should/could also add that Julie, Mama & Daddy, and my family all live out here (in different houses) on the same acreage that we call Willis Creek Ranch. It is very, very handy and wonderful! :)
ReplyDelete