Family Pictures By Jacob Whitlow

JACOB WHITLOW is one of my favorite people in the whole world. He's very talented and the whole family loves him and Merriwether, his daughter, a.k.a. Jonathan's obsession. ;) He is the strongest person with the biggest heart, and has overcome so much with such wonderful Faith.

Weddings/Friends/Family/Everything to be Thankful for

We've been to 7 weddings this year since June (Lona Ankar, Megan Bruner, Justin LeGrand, Ann Royal, Lindsay Manning, Natalia Somoza, and Chad Chadwick). We started with Lona's beautiful wedding and have ended with Chad and Kerra's wedding. We are so blessed to have such incredible family and friends to share in their special moments with. I love weddings and Travis loves dancing, singing with the band, and acting a fool. LOL! We are such a wedding couple. Thank goodness.

To me, family is the most important thing in this world and the biggest blessing that God has blessed me with. I adore Travis and Jonathan, but the person that we are the most blessed to have in our lives is my mom. Everything she does for us on a daily basis is insurmountable. She watches Jonathan over 50 hours a week while we work and Jonathan adores her. When we are in the room, we don't exist to Jonathan. I have never met anyone as giving. She would sacrifice everything she has to be there for us and that to me is amazing and something I admire. This is a trait I hope I have and will be for my family and grandchildren one day. My parents love to spend time with him (not so much us anymore ;) ). My dad busts his butt every day so my mom can stay home and be able to help us out. My dad is INCREDIBLE and the strongest man I know. Being together, makes us so happy.

As for family getting married, Chad, my brother-in-law, and Kerra got married in November. I had the pleasure of taking Kerra to get her hair and make-up done. My mom made sure to keep us laughing the whole time we were at the salon and Ashley did a great job on her hair. She looked beautiful. She is very lucky to have Chad in her life. He is the kindest, sweetest, and most loving man that I have ever met. the wedding was so pretty. The bridesmaids were all so pretty and I loved the dresses. They were so flattering on everyone. We were so happy to be there on such a special day and such a wonderful occasion.

I am also very thankful for my sister-in-law Ashley. She is truly the best! She is an incredible mother, awesome friend, and remarkable daughter. She is someone I can always count on and always helps me see the light. I love you and I'm so thankful to have you in my life. Thank you for always being there for us.

Our Trip to Puerto Rico Continued

We got to Puerto Rico theWednesday before the wedding. We stayed with my dad's sister. She's awesome! We went to visit my grandparents. My grandmother has Alzheimers and I hadn't seen her in two years. It was so hard to see her like that. Most incredible thing is how incredible she looks physically. It was very emotional for me, but I'm so glad I got to see her. Thursday we headed to the west side of the island for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Friday, we went out on Natalia's family's yacht. Jonathan went in the ocean for the first time and it was so exciting for Travis and I. Natalia's family and extended family is amazing! We had an unbelievable time. That night, we stayed at the hotel and ate in the restaurant with my grandfather and godson. Saturday, I took the girls to a salon to get their hair done. They were having a Moroccan Oil promotion for their products. They dressed the part and even had belly dancers. I've never been so entertained. All us girls, had a wonderful time and we laughed until we couldn't laugh anymore. Then the wedding festivities continued from there.....

Sunday, we hung out at the hotel pool with Natalia's family and played at the beach. Jonathan loved it! Thank goodness gracious! We went to dinner with my mom's dad, Kikito, and my godson Alex, that night. So blessed to be able to spend those special moments with them. Breaks my heart that my grandmother, my everything, isn't around to meet Jonathan. She would have adored him. Monday-Wednesday we were at my dad's cousin's condo. Him and his wife were gracious enough to let us borrow it. The beach there was perfection for a baby. He would take off running from the sand and dive into the water. Funniest thing ever. Wednesday night we were with my aunt and uncle (the freaking best ever!). We woke up super early and went to Culebra island. One of the top 5 most beautiful beaches in the world. Travis, Titi Laly, Jonathan, and I had the best day together. Such incredible bonding time for us with such an amazing woman and I'm so lucky to have such an incredible aunt in my life. Friday, we woke up early and went to Old San Juan. We went shopping, took Travis to a restaurant he saw on one of those food shows (I think Andrew Zimmerman) and he said he had an experience there. He loved it and all the waiters loved Jonathan! That night was awesome. My youngest cousin Lily, took us out. Her boyfriend and her took us to dinner to eat traditional Puerto Rican food before we left. Then, we went bar hopping with another cousin of ours. You don't realize how old you are getting until you hang out with 22 year-olds. I hardly ever drink, so needless to say, I have NO TOLERANCE. I think I had 5 drinks total in a span of 4 or 5 hours. Well, it hit me hard. At 1 something in the morning, maybe later, Lily took us to a food truck to eat a sandwich to not feel bad in the morning for our flight. IT WAS AMAZING!!!! Best sandwich I have ever had! Perfection and an incredible end to our first vacation together in 2 years and jonathan's first time in Puerto Rico. Can't wait to go back!