Family Portrait

This weekend, I got to go home and see my whole family. I saw mostly everyone that is in town...except for a few. Essentially, the trip was for one reason and one reason only. The oh so famous Family Portrait. Well...not really but a sisters and brother-in-law picture for out holiday card. Also...Shannon won't be home again for a long time so...we wanted to be able to be home all at once when it is possible.

Anyway...I wanted to take this time to give my description of my family. And start by saying that there are some GREAT pictures awaiting developing. We have gotten much better at taking these pictures...by no means does it ever run "smoothly" by other people's standards...but for us...its smooth like marble. (No, thats not a saying but I just cleaned off my granite counter-top and was thinking about the smoothness of the surface). But one picture involves us throwing leaves in the air ad looking up in astonishment....need I say more?

Ok so back to my family...there are now 7 of us and we are all so different and so similar and it becomes more and more obvious every time we come together.

Dad: Dad has the sarcastic, smart, stubborn, strong, laid back, irritable, funny and witty nature that he has given parts of to all of us. His love for animals is something that no other people but us will ever see. His German accent that we all made up about 10 years ago that he uses when talking to the cats and dogs is much funnier in person than when explained...and in no way could ever be understood in full by anyone but all of us. But overall, he has the kind of tone and mentality that lets him look at situations with such rationality that a family of girls often struggles to understand but that is often needed for him to communicate with us successfully. Now, I'm not saying, nor will I ever say, that he has a "hard" life because there are 5 girls in his family and no boys until last year. People always say when I tell them I have 3 sisters..."Oh your poor father..." to which I respond, "No no, he likes it. We were (and often are) much worse for my Mom." This is not to say we aren't and haven't been difficult for my Dad...I just find it strange that just because we are all girls that it must be harder for the father...not true. Girls are more troublesome in general...I would say...unless your sons do drugs or commit crimes, in which case...that's unfortunate for you.

Which brings me to my Mom...

Mom: is independent, strong, driven, smart, careful (yes, careful, if you know her you get it), caring, witty and has developed a great sense of humor in order to keep herself sane from the stresses of having 4 girls.  She knows what she wants, she does her best to keep things in order as much as possible...and most of all...she's good at a lot of things that she doesn't pay attention to. She runs way more that you or I will ever run and she listens to more people in a day than I hope to ever have to listen to in my lifetime (selfish? perhaps.) And...especially at this time of year, we all like to think about how good of a cook and baker she is. Pumpkin bread...ginger snaps...mmmm.

Christian: The newest member of the family who I'm sure questions this membership the most of anyone. He is soft-spoken but has a lot to say and has somehow figured out how to make his self heard in our family. He cares about people so much and one of the most important characteristics I know for most of my sisters and me...he laughs at almost anything. We all need the daily confidence boost. He can also destroy anyone on the Field Hockey field...I would know, he taught me how to play. However....I would like to see a duel between him and Megan.

Megan: The lump of talent just begging to be used. (hahaha, I've never said that before but it's funny). Megan taught herself how to read, said things like "Goody Goody Gum Drops", was a skateboarder, an artist, a piano playing genius, naturally athletic....oh and an All-American Field Hockey and Lacrosse player with 4 NCAA championships (I used to think it was 5 but I'm pretty sure it was 4...but either way...seriously?) No but...Megan uses her talents...and has made a great life for herself...she just talks more about all of the things she doesn't do well....whereas I would just walk around with all of my championship rings on and demand special treatment. I guess that shows a difference in Birth Order.

Kristin: is very funny, has a knack for bag-collecting, strong (in many ways) has platinum blonde hair, a commended merit scholar (you're welcome), an athlete, stubborn, irritable (see also: Dad) and passionate about life. I say this because she has strong feelings about everything...and that runs in the family but I feel that she exudes it the most. Kristin just led her high school field hockey team to the North Carolina State Championships as a first-time head coach. This is way more awesome than she will say...especially to me because I don't know what I would do if I ever won states in high school...that is something that was so far out of reach that it couldn't have been a dream of mine. Anyway...its awesome and I'm sure that entire team thinks Kristin is really cool....particularly because she probably told them she was sponsored by Oakley like she did at MD camps...again...very funny. And now lives in NC...once home to the terrible, gross J.J. Reddick. Ew.

Shannon: also very funny (apparently we're all funny...what a good gene), expressive, smart, talented in things that nobody else in the family is, independent, strong, short (haha) and a dog-loving fiend. I like that word...but it is also true. The whole family loves animals...the cat hair has become an acquired taste for Mom....but Shannon resembles the talents of the Dog Whisperer. She will someday be a highly regarded dog trainer...perhaps even an interpreter...like Dr. Doolittle. She is also extremely passionate about life and like Kristin and Megan....and Christian....will be good at pretty much anything she wants to do. She lives in Colorado where the air is clear and more importantly...Dumb and Dumber took place:)

I love my family. There are a lot of opinions and passions amongst all of us but if there weren't... we would be really boring...and everyone knows how much I hate boring things. I had so much fun at home and was really happy to see some of my cousins, aunts/uncles and one set of grandparents. I will be back in 2 weeks to see the rest of them that I missed this time around...  Ohhhh and...I got to see CLAUDY B and MADDIE! and the rest of the Bahar family....I love them too. And I love the vast amount of produce that is always in their house:)

Also...my pets...I love them. All 5....Rocky, Hogan, Boadie, Stinky and Babbit. I've never seen all their names spelled out in a row...they're even funnier in a group. Babbit is somehow in some form of remission from whatever type of cancer he has...we don't know....but he is a plump little furr ball once again:)