We have south facing windows in our living room.

In the summer, the sun shines outside the windows and sends its warm rays to our front porch.

In the winter, the sun sneaks further inside to our living room and onto our rug - much to the delight of our sunbathing puppy.

It highlights the dog hair that I have yet to vacuum, and creates wondrous little pockets of warmth for us to enjoy when the outside temperature remains frigid.

It reminds me that sometimes the warmest parts of my living room are right next to the deepest shadows.

Which is probably a metaphor for something important, but I’m too busy snuggling up next to my puppy to figure that out. ;) Happy February!

Every now and then, families gather.

Whether for birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, or other lovely events, people take time out of their schedules to be with each other.

They fly, drive, walk, or even hitchhike to be with those they call family.

Sometimes families get along perfectly; never fighting, never disagreeing, and always enjoying every moment in what seems like impossibly exhausting relationships.

But not every family is like that. (Thank goodness, right?)

Most families are just like the rest of us; choosing to love those we’re related to (or even not related to) for the sake of having people we belong with. So we claim them as our own.

We choose to love them despite differences, disagreements, and (maybe) not always enjoying every single moment together. (We can be honest about that, right?) :)

Because they’re our people. And that’s what family is for.

John and Victoria (and alllll the Friend fam), thank you SO much for deciding to capture the amazing gathering of all your people! It’s so fun to have everyone in one place and I absolutely loved getting to see and document the beautiful relationships you all have. I hope you’re soaking in all the time together! :)