Words by Allyson

I spent the last week at my parent's house in Texas. My brother and sister-in-law were there as well with their kids for a little summer break, and I left feeling completely full of love for this wonderful family I get to be a part of.

This morning, I got back from taking my brother to the airport, and now the house is too quiet.

I hosted my parents, brother, and sister for the Thanksgiving holiday. I have an absurd amount of leftovers and groceries in my fridge and pantry. I've just finished washing all the sheets and putting away all of the blankets.

And I'm terribly sad about it.

I had never hosted a lot of family before, and while it wasn't perfect by any stretch, it's a holiday memory that I'll cherish for the rest of my life.

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Yesterday morning, my sweet grandmother Colleen passed away.

My dad always says that we never new the mother that raised him, and so I'd like to tell you about the grandma that I knew. The Grandma I knew loved the color blue and finished every meal with ice cream. The Grandma I knew wore bright pink lipstick and loved Cinderella. The Grandma I knew loved God and Christ and once sat with me for ages and ages watching Bible videos on the Mormon Channel. The Grandma I knew loved her family - her parents, her children, her grandchildren. The Grandma I knew was lovely and told me I was beautiful.

I'm so grateful to be her granddaughter and to have had the chance get to know her in the last several years. My life and my family's life has been enormously blessed because of her goodness and love, and I can never thank her enough. I loved her very much, and I'll love her forever.

Until we meet again.

This is Mark.



He's my little brother. And he's 8 inches taller than me.

He loves country music, my mother's cookies, the Florida State Seminoles, and when you run your fingers through his hair. He wears dad shirts, but he doesn't look like a dad. He will serenade me with Phil Collins songs. He likes to play Rook. He speaks in song lyrics most of the time. He calls me
Little Sister.

This year for Christmas, he bought me a book and a Target gift card for $12.34.

Mark is a gem. I'm glad he's my brother.

I don't know how I got so lucky to be a part of my family, but I will always be grateful for it.

My mom came to visit me this month and there were a few moments where I found myself struck with how grateful I am that I get to be her daughter. Over Thanksgiving, I got to spend time with my brother and sister-in-law for what felt like the first time in a long time. These two experiences got me thinking a whole lot about how lucky I am.

I'm grateful for a family who love each other very much. I'm grateful for siblings who ask my advice, who remind me to be brave, who make me laugh, and who quote movies no one else has seen. I'm grateful for parents who love others and are kind, who taught their children truth, who always set a wonderful example for us, and still like to do fun things with us.

I'm so behind on updating my life, it's a little crazy.

I finished The Defining Decade which actually changed my life. I can't stop talking about it.
Watching a middle school kid take about twelve selfies before he caught me staring.
Research. It seems that this will be on my list until the day I die.
Staying up late with Bryan and did Sporcle quizzes for hours.
Eating delicious homemade ice cream sandwiches.
Wearing new shoes, and ended up rubbing my foot so bad I got blood in my kicks.
Wearing sandals most of the rest of the week.
Instagram-stalking Alexa Chung. Several times.
Lots of conversations about my future.
A car accident.
An awesome game of Rook with my parents and brother.
Celebrating my father's birthday.
Going to the beach and Wakulla Springs.
A ton of family in town.
My little brother's last talk in church before he leaves on his mission.
A Sunday buffet and feeling like a balloon the rest of the day.
Listening to American Authors, Sara Bareilles, and Haim on repeat.
Several phone calls and tons of emails.
Going to work with Dad.
Going to see second Hobbit movie for the second time. It's just as good the second time.
Saying goodbye to my little brother for the next two years.
Two flights and a metro ride.
And lots of smiling.

This is Cory.


He's my brother.

Once, actually twice, he bought an entire loaf of french bread at the grocery store for us to split on the drive home.  He loves to play volleyball. He looks really good in v-necks.  He introduced me to the TV show Shark Tank, for which I am forever grateful. Sometimes he calls me on his way home from work.  This Christmas, he and my sister-in-law decorated our house with snowflakes, paper chains, and even made a fireplace. It looked like that scene in Elf when Buddy decorates the toy store.

And his wife is a total gem. He chose well.

This morning, while looking for something in one of my drawers, I came across a letter that he wrote me about a year ago. It made me cry to read it.

He's just wonderful and I'm glad he's my brother.

My grandfather passed away last night.

So, my family really likes Chopped.  My parents, Erin, Bryan, and I decided to have our own Chopped competition, well without the whole chopped thing. We worked in teams and were assigned a course and 4 ingredients we had to include.  Overall, we were really happy with the meal.

Appetizer: Erin and Bryan
Ingredients: lemon cookie mix, canned salmon, Thin Mints, broccoli slaw.
They made a fish taco with a lemon cookie tortilla, broccoli slaw, and chocolate cocktail sauce.  If I'm totally honest, I was not excited to eat this.  But it was pretty dang good.


Entree to Dad (who had to work alone)
Ingredients: Smoked sausage, mango habanero sauce, jicama, refrigerator fruitcake.
Dad made hash two ways, one sweet and one savory. The sweet hash was apples and fruitcake with the mango habanero sauce and shredded jicama.  The savory had the sausage, jicama, and potatoes. Absolutely delicious.


Dessert:  Mother and myself
Ingredients:  Bitter oranges, canned strawberry pie filling, spaetzle, and chocolate fruit chews.
Mom and I made a parfait with an orange graham cracker crust, spaetzle vanilla pudding, strawberry sauce and chocolate crumble on top.

This is Steve.



Well, his name is Steven.  But we're gonna go with Steve.

We're siblings. The picture is from our brother's wedding.

Steve is delightful.  His taste in music is top notch, and he always gives me good recommendations.  He is a die-hard Florida State Seminoles fan.  And he has a FAMU Marching 100 t-shirt, just to keep things interesting.

Steve does fun things.  He is really good at bowling.  He will try just about any food on the planet.  One time, Steve convinced me to play inner tube water polo.  And he took me to lunch once when we ran into each other on campus.

I miss him, now that I live across the country, because he's the jam.

The interior decor of the Ettal Abbey, located in in Bavaria, Germany

I know Thanksgiving was last week, but I am feeling particularly grateful today.

I'm grateful for professors who give you feedback, and no just a check on the top of your paper.
I'm grateful for airplanes, that get you back home in a matter of hours rather than a whole day.
I'm grateful for quiet libraries and productive mornings.
I'm grateful for my alarm, that I just changed to sound like the beach so it's awesome to wake up.
I'm grateful for dry shampoo when I'm looking a little rough.
I'm grateful for over-sized sweaters and fuzzy socks.
I'm grateful that Auburn beat Alabama, and FSU is ranked #1 :)
I'm grateful for books to help me wind down at the end of the day.
I'm grateful for my hairdryer that I use to warm up my sheets before I climb into them.
I'm grateful for my parents and siblings.
I'm grateful for Jesus and Heavenly Father.

Today, I'm just grateful.

This is Bryan.

He's my brother.  And he's just swell.

Several months ago, I went to take his picture off my apartment's fridge, and my roommate said, "No, he's my favorite thing on there!"

He is a master at ping-pong and badminton, but not so good at Disney Trivia.

He's obsessed with the show Vikings and has not stopped talking about it for months.

He tweets hilarious things.

And he can eat a burger and fries the day after he gets his wisdom teeth out.

Basically, he's the jam.

This weekend, this happened.


 Congratulations to my wonderful brother and his sweet bride. I love you two so much and may God bless y'all!

1992

Baptism Day - 2000

2012

You always call me in the car on your way home from somewhere interesting.

Shopping together.

"Peas Porridge Hot" and "My Grandfather's Clock"

Your sneeze that shakes the whole house.

The fact that you'll give Isabell Tootsie Rolls during church, but not your own children.

You laugh when I get excited about silly things.

You push me on the tire swing.

Remember when you acted in a play with me?

Your garden and grapefruit in the wintertime

The bone in your finger.

How you always get fun jams or cheeses and want me to try them.

Happy Father's Dad; I love you and hope you have the most wonderful day!

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Do you ever dream of your future home?  I do.  All the time.  But especially when I visit my parents' house.  I like to think abou thow they created their future house and the feeling of their home. I'm interested about what my house will feel like. Will my house be red brick?  Will I have the same green carpet for years?  Will a ping pong table take up my whole garage?  Will I have the world's best tire swing in the backyard?  I certainly hope so, at least to the last two.  But I'm so grateful for my parent's home.  And I'm excited to build my own.