Nothing like family!

The festivities began on Friday August 14th. We were greeted by a yard full of balloons and signs and screeching little girls. Kathleen, as usual, had every detail covered. We had plenty of fun, rest, and delicious food. Karl and Kathleen catered to our every whim and had so many fun activities planned. There was swimming, a ping pong tournament (which Neal won), Scrabble and UNO games, crafts for the kids and best of all lots of quality family time. It was nice to spend time with everyone without the weight of daily schedules pulling at us. The kids got along with each other famously. Neal let Tommy, Christine and Armani stay with us for an extra day and I'm so glad they did. I got to spend several hours on the ride home with Tommy and Mani. We had a blast singing and dancing in our seats while Tommy played the air drums! I'm so thankful for the time that I'm able to spend with my nieces and nephews. It's proof that good things can come from bad circumstances. I believe my perspective is genuinely changing. I am looking for and finding blessings all around me. My favorite activity of the weekend was having lunch up on the mountain top. It was so beautiful and serene. I felt like I could melt into the scenery. Surprisingly, I wasn't comforted. I was confused by my emotions at first then I realized why I felt like I had an ice pick in my stomach. It made me miss my life. As beautiful as it was it can't replace my husband and my children. I miss them deeply. On this earth, there is NOTHING more important to me than them.