My family: The ones who share all my crazy genes and love me anyway!

Hi yall!

Today, I want to share pictures, stories and dirty little secrets about some of my favorite people in the world- my absolutely, positively, crazy, awesome, perfect family! It’s so cliche, but I totally wouldn’t be here without them (thanks Mom and Dad!)

My story starts about here… well, I guess a few years earlier.

I was born in Houston and grew up in a very tight knit family who spent every holiday, and lots of just-because days together. And when I say with my family, I’m talking cousins, second cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents… everyone!

 

Let’s get to know the fam real quick:

There’s Mom and Dad (Anne and George are their grown-up names). They are pretty cute-sicles.

Then there’s my “little” brother Matt, who absolutely towers over me! He is an aspiring actor and model. I know he’ll make it, so before he does, I was smart enough to lock down a spot as his date for at least one red carpet event.

Then there’s my little sister. Meet Madelyn! She’s 7 going on 25, and she knows it. Her favorite things to do are text, Facebook and hang out with friends. I know. She’s 7.

Here’s a more recent picture of the oh-so-chic little lady in my life. She’s with my nephew Lino Antonio in this picture. You’ll meet him soon in a future post.

Now that you know them, let’s get back to the story. When I went away to college in Alabama, it was hard being 10 hours away from my family. I made it home enough, two or three times a semester, but it was hard, I’m not going to lie. Especially since Maddie, my 7-year-old sister, was only a year and a half old when I left. Of course it was a tough choice to go, and I could have stayed in Texas, but I couldn’t have looked my parents in the eyes and said, “Listen, I know I’m being offered this great full-ride-and-then-some scholarship, but I’d rather stay in Texas and make you guys pay for it… or better yet be buried in student loans forever!” No way, Jose. That just wasn’t an option. It was too good of an offer- I had to go.

Four years seemed to fly by, and when it was time to make my choice about where to go and what to do after college, I seemed to pick the not-the-best choice again by taking the first job I was offered, which was in Atlanta. By this point, my parents had moved to Arizona, and I just didn’t see myself being able to pursue the same big-agency PR career that I could in Atlanta. So again, I made the unpopular choice to move even further- now we are on complete opposite sides of the country.

Luckily for me- this is when my story really started. I met Mr. R at that “first job I was offered” and it was happily ever after. And now, I have been SO incredibly blessed to join another family that is just as crazy, amazing and loving as my own. But that’s a whole different story… Coming soon 🙂

It’s still SO hard being away from my family, but we really make our trips and visits count, and now they are even starting to think about moving here to Atlanta. I would clearly die from happiness.

 

All in all- this whole post is to say how much I love and adore my family. I don’t think I have one conversation that they aren’t brought up in. Everyone that meets my family falls in love with them, just like I do over and over again, every single time I get to talk to them.

Talk soon!
Amanda