Reaching Roots......

That's what some of mine did two weeks ago today.
My Aunt, her Daughter and Granddaughter came from out West for a visit.
We had made plans in advance to gather at the house of our Cousin.
She has a large family and is always inviting and welcoming with everyone
so I think it was a marvelous choice for meeting up.
Everyone contributed to the delicious feast we all fed on.
There were so many good things to eat,  hamburgers, foot long hot dogs,
sausages, Greek pasta salads, nacho dip, fruit, veggies and perogies.
Any of you that know me well can guess what I brought to the party.

The day before our gathering the weather forecast called for rain but
once a few others and myself took to blowing the clouds away, sunny skies
prevailed and wonderful weather was ours for the whole day!
Our Cousin has a large trampoline that the children couldn't wait to use.
It seems that jumping on it wasn't going to be good enough for the kids though.
Before long they had water balloons and dish soap added for their
jumping, slip sliding fun.
It was sweet seeing all of the kids having a blast under the big bright ball in the sky.

This reunion of sorts was one for my Mom's side of the family.
I don't get to spend as much time with them as I do my Father's side of the family
and that's a shame because I love being around them.
Though I keep close contact with a few of my Cousins on that side, I don't often get
to visit or talk with my Aunts and Uncles.
It had been many moons since I last saw my Aunt and Cousin from out West and
it was the first time I met my Cousin's Daughter.
She is a bright, beautiful, lively girl and I'm so glad that I was able to finally meet her.
I think the most wonderful thing for me that day was seeing my Mother and
her Sisters embrace the Sister that came home for a visit.
When the oldest Sister held her in her arms and their eyes started leaking,
so did mine, actually mine were more like rivers running down my face.
It's amazing the power of the past and time away from loved ones has on
our hearts, isn't it?

My Mother and members in her family haven't always been as close as the branches
in my Dad's bunch but it's just as beautiful to see when they blossom together
like they did on July 20th of this year.
My Sister wasn't able to make the trip down and I'm sorry she couldn't be there
because she would have loved to visit with everyone again.
I feel blessed and lucky beyond to still have so many family members I love, alive
and well in life.
I hope we gather again soon because the years that past between visits was far
to many for this twig on the trees liking.

Our two Cousins and their Mother did all the dirty work in making this gathering
a great one and saying thanks just doesn't seem like enough.
I'm hoping that typing about them here will also help show my gratitude for their
never ending generosity and goodness.
I love em all so much and to be able to spend any length of time with them
always does my blood pumper proudly.
Thank you ladies, take a bow, you did dandily!

A daughter of my Cousin is thick and heavy into gymnastics and was happy
to show me her broken blister in the palm of her hand.
I was in awe of her grace and effortlessness in every step she took.
Graceful and good on my feet is something I have never been able to boast about.
Her Mother was witness to it many times.
Remember when I was running at the park with you, fell, sat on my own foot
and broke toes?
You gotta remember that one Moke.  :)

I was also very happy to see in person what a young male Cousin did with achieving
his goal of weight loss and healthier living, he looked amazing and the hard work
has sure paid off.
Way to go, Sir!
Though I thoroughly enjoyed seeing everyone I think talking with my
Cousin's Daughter touched my heart the most.
You see, she was born with Down Syndrome and I haven't seen her in years.
She is close in age to our oldest Son and I loved chatting with her about the
swim suit she had on, which I loved.
She also spoke of school and friends, was very positive, well worded and
excellent in expressing herself, I love that!
We are truly a blessed bunch and I pray we can make more marvelous memories
together in the very near future.
A Christmas in July get together for next year was mentioned and I'm surely
on board for that.
With no chance of snow, I'll be good to go!

Well things need tending to around here so I'll leave these lines with a couple of
pictures from our great get together.
Thanks for reading what's on my mind and I hope that you're well in this day.