we ARE family

I like to start this blog with showing you a picture of my sweet little Nakona girl. She is just one little mess, but I lover her to death! She is a year old Shih Tzu, I named her after my softball glover brand- clever, I know! :)

So today is Thanksgiving and I have so much to be thankful for. Just to name a few.......
1. I'm so thankful for my family. I have such an amazing family and I am so lucky that God chose my family just for me!
2. I am so thankful for Brandon. He is so special and I love him so much. He makes me feel like a queen 24/7 and most of all he loves me for me.
3. I am so thankful for just the little things in life such as food, shelter, clothing, transportation. I take SO many things for granted and I sometimes fail to thank my God for the little things in life.
4. I am so thankful for my pups. I love them so much! They truly bring a smile on my face everyday, always when I need it the most.

That is just a FEW things I am thankful and always will be thankful for.

When I started to think about a new post I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. A little over a year ago my Nannie died at the age of 86. She was the backbone of my family, the hero, the grandmother that everyone wanted, the Godly Christian women that everyone wanted to be like, she was the best person I have ever known. Thanksgiving and Christmas were her favorite times of the year because of the emphasis of family. She LOVED her family and when I mean LOVED, she L-O-V-E-D them. She started a tradition in our family and that was every year we gathered at her house in Baytown, Texas ( where my daddy grew up) for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Everyone looked forward to those 2 days of the year because it was that time of the year where we all got together and most of all it was that time of the year that Nannie got to see all of her kids and grandkids. I am 1 out of 2 granddaughters she had so I had a special place in my Nannies heart and she had an even more special place in my heart. Nannie was stubborn, she wouldn't let you do anything for her even at the age of 86 she in fact, would still cook some of the food for the holidays. She was an all-star cook, to this day I think she should of had a cookbook published and a restaurant's of her own. She clearly was in a league of her own when it came to cooking. Thanksgiving and Christmas was a time for fellowship, laughter, story telling, eating so much that you hurt, it was a time for family. Like I said before Nannie loved family. Nannie has been gone for 2 Thanksgivings now and although we try to keep the family tradition going, it just isn't the same without my Nannie there. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about Nannie in some way, shape, or form. She is the reason why this family is together, she is the reason why we have this family tradition. I need to correct myself when I said Nannie was in a league of her own when it came to cooking, I was wrong. Nannie was in a league of her own when it came to being a grandmother. So as this Thanksgiving draws to a close and Christmas starts to begin may every family out there start a family tradition. There is nothing better than family and nothing better than legacy's. Nannie left a legacy and I hope to continue that legacy and family tradition.

Happy Thanksgiving ya'll!

This is Nannie and I at her 85th Birthday Party.