Cousin Love

The lazy days of summer are long and sweet, the sun shining warm and bright and
stretching its rays late into the evening.  This little family has been busy floating through
the trees on the tire swing, swimming in the back yard, and tending to our garden.  We
are enjoying the freedom found only through days like these: days with no schedules,
no assignments.  Days when it feels perfectly acceptable to get into the car and head out
for ice cream at what should really be our bed time.  

Friday we spent the day with my cousin, April, and her sweet little army of boys
(3 under 3, she is a super hero).  April and her family recently moved from the big city
to the small town where her husband was born and raised.  They took up residence in
his grandmother's hundred year old farm house, trading a modern home filled with
ceramic tile and granite counter tops for a home with bead board walls,  hard wood floors,
and character galore.  This move means that she is now much closer to us and we are
better able to see each other whenever we want to, making days like this past
Friday possible.

We had a lovely lunch in April's quaint kitchen, catching up on all the family gossip over
 home made enchiladas and babbling babies.  The children cooled off in the sun with
popsicles and a ride in the boys' jeep.  We sat under her porch while the babies
napped, sharing stories and laughing and relating to each other's lives in a way that
made me so grateful to have a woman like her in my life.  It's amazing to think that just
 last summer we were both pregnant, anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little ones.
We spent so many days pondering who they would look like, what their personality
would be.  And now, one year later, here we are: our families growing and our hearts
full.  What a difference a year makes...

These sweet little babies have changed our lives in so many ways: helped us to grow
and evolve as women, opening our hearts  and changing our perspectives.  I am so
thankful that my children are blessed with the gift of cousins, just as I was when I was
a little girl.  Family is the reason Shawn and I decided to move home, we both had a
deep desire to surround our children with a community of relatives.  Watching these
babies play with one another and begin lifelong friendships reinforces to me that we
are exactly where we should be: together as a family.

It was a wonderful, lazy summer day.  As we drove home that afternoon, Brees and Belle
both napping in the back seat, I found myself smiling deep inside my soul.  I found
myself feeling so satisfied and filled with positive encouragement thanks to an afternoon
spent with a woman who spreads joy and love to all who know her.  And I felt so
blessed, driving through the beautiful Louisiana country side with a smile on my face.
Not wanting for anything but just feeling free.