Christmas is for Family

We're just getting back from a trip to Virginia to see my mom's family. Family is what makes the holidays special to me. Now we've seen all 5 of my mom's siblings in the last week and 5 of my 15 cousins.

First stop was Washington D.C. where my Aunt Sharon works a block away from the White House.My cousin Erin is home from Togo, Africa for 3 weeks in between her 2 years of service with the Peace Corps. We went to see the National Christmas tree in the freezing cold and found the smaller tree for the state of North Carolina. The White House looks awfully pretty at night with the Christmas tree out front. We also walked around the Kennedy Center but couldn't get into anything since nothing was going on that night. We saw my Uncle Ronnie while there and had my grandmother's chocolate cake. He made enough cakes for us to take to all the other aunts and uncles along the way.

We ended the trip in Waynesboro, VA where I lived from age 0-4 and the only place on earth that feels like home to me. My grandmother lived there along with my Uncle Kit's family my whole childhood so it's where we came to for most vacations and big family events. It's the only place that's never changed in my life. My uncle has Parkinson's and just had a surgery where they stick 4 electrodes in the brain that give off small shocks which help with muscle control. My uncle has a remote that he can use to turn the electrodes up or down or off. He turned it all the way off for us and you could see the tremors of Parkinson's take back over. Then when he turned it on his face contorted like he had eaten a lemon and his body got tense and then he was back to himself. As long as I can remember his face has looked like a mask, almost in a daze and he's had bad tremors. Now he smiles and laughs and can make facial expressions, and he can walk at normal speed. My cousin Lindsey, who's never known him when he wasn't sick, doesn't really even know who this dad is. It's hard to describe how amazing the transformation is, all from shocking the brain. I'm sure it will be even more amazing when my uncle gets to heaven.

So here's some pictures from the trip:


Stephanie, cousin Lindsey, and me

Although this picture doesn't do it justice, this is how I remember my childhood:
Outside in the beautiful mountains playing with my cousins.
(That is my sister and Lindsey sliding on the ice wearing trashbags by the way.)


Me and my cousin's dog Laddie (I want one of these one day!)


My favorite picture of Grandma, the person that ties us all together, just as I remember her...