I Heart Faces - “My Story In Photos: The Patriotic Edition”

“My Story In Photos: The Patriotic Edition”

My lil' bro, Dominick, is in the Army National Guard. In 2007, we learned that he would be heading over to Afghanistan. Before he left, my parents threw a big party for him, with lots of friends and family. My mother, ever the perfectionist, had the house decorated perfectly and had a red white and blue cake made. My sister Martha Stewart, ahem, Courtney, made red white and blue chocolate chip cookies. Even Dixie, our beloved mutt, dressed for the occasion and was more than happy to snuggle with her "brudder" for a photo op. Lil' J, whom you've seen in my I ♥ Faces entries before, didn't make it to the party but loved checking out the deocrations the next day...and, coincidentally, happened to be dressed appropriately!

There was also a farewell ceremony held at the armory for the families of all the soldiers being deployed. It was a beautiful late September day, perfect for taking some family photos. Unfortunately the lighting was poor inside the armory, so I couldn't get any really great shots in there. Naturally we were all sad that my brother was leaving, but there were some very funny moments that day...and I'm glad I managed to capture them! My brother suffers from nasty seasonal allergies (he can thank mom for that!) and they were particularly bad that day. Having run out of tissues and not in the mood to track any more down, he instead swiped a roll of toilet paper from the bathroom and stuffed it in one of his pockets. We all got a good laugh every time he pulled it out to blow his nose!!! (He also amused us with stories of all the stuff he and his comrades had pilfered from the armory to take overseas with them...but that's just between you and me!)

The entries will not be judged this week, but still be sure to hop on over to I ♥ Faces and check out everyone else's patriotic stories and photos!