Day 3: Family

One of the best things about visiting my family is that it is very comfortable. We never feel rushed, or pressured, or stressed in any way. When we were in the planning stages, one of Gabe's comments about staying with my parents was something to the effect of "we'll have a good chance to relax there." The kids have lots of space to play and relatives who want to play with them, and it isn't unheard of for the lucky parents to get a chance to sit and just read a book! It is a great place to vacation. :)

Throughout my childhood, we ate dinner together around the table. So this picture just says "ok, I'm home now" to me. That's family, folks.



Jonathan had a blast with Granddad, and I think that Granddad got a kick out of J, too.



My parents have a dog, a good sized black lab mix, named Maggie. Thomas was terrified of her:



But Josiah, we have discovered, loves big animals. The bigger the better, actually. He thought Maggie was great!




We spent Sunday evening with my Susan and Gary, Grandmommy and Granddaddy, Matt and Amber and their three kids. I forgot my camera, which is unfortunate because you should have seen the DIRT the children accumulated! All four of the older children disappeared the minute we arrived, showed up for food, and then took off again. It was really neat to see the cousins having so much fun together, and we thoroughly enjoyed the time and space to catch up with the other grown-ups. Even when we don't see them very often, extended family is a great blessing.