Family

Family.

I kind of hit the jackpot this month when it comes to family. 

The day after Labor Day Chuck and I were able to visit with his aunt and uncle (His father's sister.) down in the Austin area. We spent the afternoon, and much of the evening catching up, and getting to tour their beautiful new home and neighborhood. Before leaving Chuck's uncle prayed a blessing over us and our travels. 

This past week I met up with two of my sisters and their families to say goodbye to my nephew who is heading off to NYC to start a new job. He's very excited about his future, and even has cousins and friends that already live there. It looks like the Big Apple already feels like home to him. 

This weekend Brittany and the kids met Chuck and I at my niece's house to spend time with her, my sister, and our precious little great neice. It was so much fun watching that next generation interact. Because of time and location constraints we don't really get to see each other as much as I would like. Watching both my daughter and niece, now mothers themselves, did my heart good. 

After our visit we headed to the square in Grandbury to celebrate Chuck's aunt's birthday. Originally I thought only one of his cousins would be meeting us, but boy did I end up surprised. Not only was he there, but his wife who is like a sister-in-law to me, and two of their sons as well. Chuck's other cousin came later, and it made for a fun evening. 

We sat out on the patio at Ketzler's Schnitzel Haus enjoying great food, great company, and great music. Our oldest grandson was surprised to learn that gold coins filled with chocolate fell out of both ears, and announced to his father the next morning Papa's magical ways. The littlest guy showed off his incredible strength as we all took turns wrestling the alligator. 

Brittany and our almost three year old grandson had prepared a cake for Chuck's aunt, and it was the perfect way to end the evening. To be honest, I had not enjoyed myself that much in a long time, and felt extremely blessed to have the love of family.

"Family is not an important thing. It's everything."

Michael J. Fox