Caroline and Brams, Emily and Uncle Chadwick

We are so fortunate to have such a great family to love us and support us through all of life's ups and downs... and here are two of those people - Brams and Uncle Chadwick! Brams is Trav's Grandmother - which makes her the girls' Great-Grandmother... but to everyone she is just "Brams." Brams lives two houses down from the house where Travis grew up, so he got to spend lots of time with her as a little boy. One of my favorite stories is when Brams tells me about going to watch Travis play Little League baseball when he was five and telling him to "hit one to her." Then she would sit way out behind right field and when he would go up to bat, he'd point right to her and then proceed to do exactly what she had asked. Brams taught school for thirty years and encourages me to continue doing my very best in my work when I am ready to give up. She's a true Southern lady and we love her very much. Here's a picture of Caroline and Brams at Chandler's 2nd birthday party. In true Brams fashion, she had just finished lovingly admonishing Caroline for stuffing too much food in her mouth at one time.
On the total opposite end of the family spectrum is our dear Uncle Chadwick! Chad is our brother-in-law and he is married to Trav's big sister, Meg. Chad and I are the "outsiders" and have always seen it as our own personal duty to spice up the Thomas family (they are a very set-in-their-ways bunch!). Chad's a nut and does everything a little crazy, but his heart is huge and he is one of the most fun people to hang around. A little irreverent, a little rough around the edges, but the best brother-in-law and uncle in the world!!! Here's a picture of Uncle Chadwick with a fussy Em - it was naptime!

I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich.
~ Dan Wilcox