Wendy Wortham- Family Photos Featuring Everyone Smiling Aren’t Easy To Come By…

Visits to my twin sisters home are always interesting and fun because something is always going on over there, Cindy has a new project going on every week from outfits for the Little Pawners aka Maryssa and Makenna Mahaney or remodeling one thing or another.  My brother in law, Steve Daniel is surrounded by women including Stephaney Mahaney and Leigh Ann Blais (expecting our latest Little Pawner any day now).  I think Steve is pretty funny with his “one liners” about living in a house with my sister and everybody else around there asking him to fix something all the time.  He “hides out” working in the yard, hunting squirrels and repairing fishing poles in his coveted shed on the back forty of the Daniel Diva Diggs.

For a good ole country boy that loves to go fishing and play with the tiny Texas Twins, watch YouTube, and old cartoons on the television, Steve doesn’t have a lot of “alone time” unless he’s outside Steve Daniel at Home YouTube today I stopped in to drop him off dinner as I often do and “visited” for a bit in the driveway where he was (as usual) “getting outta the house for a bit.”

 We went over legal documents pertaining to the KBR Burn Pit Litigation that I had left for him to fill out last week so I could get them back to the Law Office of Motley Rice.  Steve doesn’t like crowds or loud noises after spending 8 years as a fuel tank driver at Camp Anaconda in Balad, Iraq after Albertsons laid thousands of drivers off in 2003-04.  Steve Daniel is often called “Real Fast” because he instructed the 22 drivers in the Good Friday Roadside Attack to “drive real fast and get the Hell outta there.”  The drivers took shelter at Balad AFB under mortar attack for 11 days and news reporters arrived at my sisters home believing that Steve had been kidnapped during the attack which would be horrifying to any wife waiting for her husband to return home.  It was Steve’s friend Tommy who was taken and later wrote a book regarding the attack.  Loud noises upset my brother in law who suffers PTSD and sleep disorders even now.

From the toxic burn pits to the contaminated water and daily mortar attacks-Steve Daniel went to Iraq to save the farm and enjoys peace and quiet now and again.  Steve lost most of his teeth in Iraq and hates to smile for photos too.  It’s never “Peaceful” at my twin sisters house however because there is a hub of activity going on morning, noon and night.  I’m often handed a paintbrush or project upon arriving at Cindy’s house and in turn, I have her model eBay items at WorthamWorld or help me on a project- we are both workaholics. 

Steve loves to pick out his own “outfits” and recently, my son Robert Hafele has taken to wearing similar plaid shorts with Hawaiian shirts himself, much to my dismay after dressing him perfectly for as long as I could into his teens.  The only “perfectly dressed” people in our family are Maryssa and Makenna Mahaney, Cindy selects their clothing daily and prides herself on their always being “photo ready!” 

Although I would love to tell you that my son listens to my advice on attire and facial hair, tattoos and piercings, I would be lying.  The more that I complain, the more something “new” pops up around here! It’s been said that I can be somewhat bossy and over organized by everyone I know- perhaps my desire for everyone to stay freshly groomed with monthly haircuts and no facial hair is “over the top?”  Our family can be somewhat goofy and fun loving along with opinionated.  Everyone around here has their own “idea” regarding this or that but, when you do weddings and events with your “crew of adventurers” someone has to get everyone in line and that somebody is me.

I love the way my son looks with smooth skin but, he thinks he has a baby face and often grows a beard until my continued “harping” gets him to either trim or shave it and I often take him for a haircut too because he is a handsome young man and I strive to get  the “preppy look” on him.

Stephanie Hafele always dresses up for events and yesterday while attending the Pride Parade in Dallas, my son told me photos I had posted on FB were making him “look fat.”  Now, everyone in my family fights with their weight around here and complains about posting a photo without showing it to the person in it first.  Posting a “not approved photo” is termed a “blackmail pic.” 

Occasionally, I can get my son to smile for photos but it’s a rare event to not see him sticking out his tongue or giving me a goofy look.  After two rounds of braces, I would like to see his teeth!  Today, the tiny Texas Twins went back to the dentist and may need braces, Makenna Marie (my little mini me) asked if her teeth would look funny after braces because “uncle Robert” doesn’t smile very much.  I assured her that her teeth would be beautiful and she would smile all the time to show off her perfect teeth.

These “looks” are not the photos of my handsome son that show his “warm, funny and lighthearted side” anyone meeting him would experience.  Since kindergarten, getting the “money shot” on a photo of my son has been a hit and miss for me along with other family members.  My son is frowning because I’m often asking him to do several things at the same time with him responding with “which one do you want me to do first Mom?!”  You see, my son believes that I’m barking orders at everyone most of the time which obviously isn’t true because I’m fairly busy myself at events and when I am otherwise occupied, it’s my twin barking the orders and not me.

At hundreds of events, I’ve attempted to get a classic, smiling pose and failed but, I will continue my quest for my handsome son to warm up to being in front of the camera rather than being behind it.  You see, Robert and Stephanie Hafele are the photographers for Texas Twins Events/Pawning Planners and my son is happiest “behind the lense.” 

Leigh Ann is the “selfie Queen” and loves to have her photo taken- you would be hard pressed to find a “blackmail pic” of Leigh Ann because everyday is a photo day with my niece and she’s never caught “off guard!”  Leigh Ann has already instructed my twin and I that no photos are allowed at the birth of Maddy unless she’s “ready” for a selfie.

Cindy shot this “surprise photo” of my son goofing around with Ann Alexander at a wedding and “got lucky.”  We have the same problems with the tiny Texas Twins and Steve, one twin will smile and act goofy and one won’t or Steve will turn the other way because he hates to pose for a photo.  For a family of photo crazy lunatics like my twin and I, finding that money shot has become a journey of family members “ruining our shot!” 

Everyday, thousands of our social media followers wait for the morning photo of the twins to he posted by my twin sister.  Few of them realize that these daily photos are often taken several times prior to getting the perfect “posted pose.”  Daniel Diva Diggs photos of Cindy and I covered in paint or grout are rarely posted (if we find them on the older kids phones, we delete them).  Holidays around here feature Cindy and I looking haggard while doing all the work with the older children taking photos of each other freshly groomed.  Often, a small fire occurs when someone forgets to wait on putting the marshmallows on the sweet potatoes which is why I have 8 fire extinguishers at my home since patience when cooking is a trait that only I posses. 

When working on a project for Texas Twins Events my sister and I are usually working with floral designs, pillars or decorating chalkboards but, when we are in the “Pawning Process”  of flipping an item taken in trade through my sister site Pawning Planners we are often covered in furniture stain, fabric and tacks.

You see, helping my twin around the house requires “diving into” the project at hand and my brother in law “hides out” to keep from doing the honey do list around there. Steve appreciates being “out of the loop” regarding home repair issues.  Cindy Daniel gets “bored easily” with home remodel plans and quickly moves to another project which leaves the entire house in a perpetual state of chaos and continued “under construction” areas are my goal to finish once and for all in order to have some degree of peace and quiet when visiting my sister at home.  I never being my purse upstairs or set my keys in a different location because anything can be lost “within minutes” under the piles of clothes Cindy is working on for the twins or a new “project” on the dining room table.  It’s quite easy to lose your keys at Cindy’s house and once my daughter in law lost her cell phone, five years later we still haven’t found it! I have no idea how my sister finds anything but if I’m attempting to move it- she will jump right in to stop me for it is only my sister who knows where everything is and no one else.  The twins clothing takes up 2/3 of the Daniel Diva Diggs closets and accessories take another chunk of storage.  Steve Daniel has two dressers to accommodate his classic mismatched wardrobe and prides himself on never buying something new since some of his “outfits” are older than my son and “still look great!”  Never mind that torn pocket in the shirt because it “adds character.” 

The reason all the girls in our family have perfect makeup and hair while Cindy and I don’t is that while we are working, organizing and packing- the rest of our team is “getting camera ready” around here! Which is why the majority of our blackmail photos have Cindy and I make up free and often with our hair going “Hong Kong Phooey” to boot!  Getting ourselves ready is always the “last thing on the list” when we are looking for Leigh Ann’s phone, Stephaney’s sunglasses, Roberts keys, the twins backpacks etc.

You see, Cindy and I don’t mind getting dirty if it gets the job done and can smile at the drop of a hat in order for the older kids to not get a blackmail pic of us.  I’m hoping one day this smiling gene will be passed down to my darling son but, don’t plan to hold my breath. 

Some of my least flattering photos have been taken while helping my sister or, deep into a project for an upcoming project in my workroom for Texas Twins Treasures but, I always try to smile anyway because I’m happy and enjoy working with my family on our projects and events even if I’m not dressed up and “ready to strike a pose!” 

Hopefully, our newest addition to the Texas Twins Events Team will be born smiling and “camera ready” but, if she isn’t, Cindy and I will take a “daily photo” anyway because we have so few photos of our own childhood and want to document their lives on film.  I’m certain the older kids could care less about all the times we couldn’t get them to smile but, Cindy and I refuse to give up on them. 

While everyone in my family thinks I’m so “serious” all the time, I can (on rare occasions) be goofy myself and mug it up when my twin sister is taking the photo.  From the Daniel Diva Diggs to WorthamWorld and our many adventures in between, I guess you could say that my family is my business and giving the gift of a beautiful ceremony for anyone regardless of their income has brought my family closer together as a “team” with our quirky habits and occasional arguments, hundreds of ceremonies later, we’ve shared special moments together, goofy moments together and frowning moments together with someone always on hand to “take a photo.”  Smile baby, life is short and you’re with people who love you and making dreams come true from Fort Worth, Texas! 

Wendy Wortham Pawning Planners