Photographing these kids warmed my heart on this chilly, November day. I clearly remember holding the oldest one in my arms 16 years ago as a two-month-old baby. Sweet and soft as only a new baby could be, I fell in love! He and his family are a military family and switch addresses every two years. Proximity has not been a friend for many of those 16 years, so visits have, unfortunately, been few and far between. When they moved only four-and-a-half hours away, I knew I would pack up my camera and hit the road.

My brother and I each have three kids. A boy and two girls for him and two girls and a boy for me ranging from 16 years down to 18 months. We grew up around a slew of cousins. Our grandmother had 12 children, and they all had children (averaging a little less than 4 children each). Although our cousins didn't all live in our town, we lived in the same town as our grandmother who was frequently visited by her children and grandchildren. We reaped those benefits and spent many a random evening or even a special holiday enjoying the company of extended family. There is a special bond that we still have with our cousins that I pray our children will inherit.