the cutest little family you ever will meet

ok, can i just say how much i adore this family? i have been putting off doing this entry because i just don't know how to pack in all of the awesomeness that is these four people without turning it into a book.

so here's the cliff notes version. i met rick and tanya through our church, christ community in st. charles a few years ago. then when ccc opened up their south campus and we both ended up going there we got to know each other better and better. and now i consider tanya one of my closest friends. life keeps us busy, but every time we talk she's like one of those comfy old friends that feels like i've known forever. we have so much in common. she's warm and friendly, easy to talk to and always encouraging. she let's me be me and loves me for it.

rick. hmmm... where do i begin? ok first, rick is a stay at home dad. how awesome is that? i used to think that if a dad stayed at home that meant the woman wore the pants, but that is totally not how this family works. they've got a great and healthy balance of parental responsibility and marital love and respect. another thing i love about rick is his servant's heart. when we were moving down here to austin and we ran out of room on our moving truck, the next weekend rick packed and drove another moving truck with the rest of our stuff down to us. how many people do you know who would do that? his gift of his time, labor and driving saved us not only a ton of money, but also the YUGE headache that would have been the logistics of figuring out how to get the rest of our stuff down to us had he not stepped up in such a huge and significant way!

now as many of you may know because i've written about her before, sweet little 2 year old miss brooke was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia on april 20th of this year. she's been going through chemo and all of that junk ever since and has been SUCH a trooper. since we don't live nearby i've had to mostly experience her journey through her website and talking to her mom as often as i can. brooke is such an inspiration to me. just last week rick shared about brooke's bravery as she walked into a hospital visit. i know that it is intensely hard at times, but the fact that a 2 year old can choose to look leukemia in the eye and not back down is... well, i don't think i actually have words for that. i'm praying for you, brooke! i love you, sweet girl!

and last, but certainly not least, is big brother jacob. jacob is loving and kind and so caring with his little sister. you can just see it in the way he interacts with her. and tanya's always telling me what a great job he's doing in school and that the teachers all love him. well i can see why. with parents like those, how could you not be an awesome kid?

so that, my friends, is the roberts family in a nutshell. and here they are by the river. i adore brooke's expression in this one...

daddy and daughter

mommy and son

ok, this cracked me up. we wandered down by the river bank to look for animals (i could tell the kids were getting a little bored with me) and i believe this is some sort of inside joke with them, but tanya was trying to get a smile out of brooke when all of a sudden i look through my lens and see this!

worked like a charm!

sweet sweet kids



these kids are such hams!

jacob, buddy, loosen up the grip just a tad. this isn't a wrestling match.

i love this one. this is totally showing their personalities. jacob being a cheeser giving a big hug to his sister. brooke just taking it all in stride. "i know. my brother's crazy. it's fine. let's just go with it."

"ok, jacob. i think that's enough. lisa got a good picture already."

"ok. dude. that's really enough. i tried to put up with it, but this is ridiculous. can we move on please?"

we did some quick head shots for the beautiful tanya.

and the oh-so-adorable, can't do a shoot without it, illuminate trademark feet shot.

the end.

i love you guys! i miss you so much and can't wait until we can get back for another visit to see you!