The blessings of family

Well, with much sadness, I dropped my mom at the airport today so she could head back to Arizona after a 5 day visit here in Houston. We had a great time, though it did fly by! We did all sorts of fun things like rollerskating (yes, I have lived here 2 years and just found out there is a roller rink 5 minutes away!) How cute is Eden, my little 2 yo, in a pair of skates?

Yes, she actually did skate, though she kept trying to dance in the skates, so she kept losing her balance. Here's the big boys getting ready to have a race around the rink. Matthew won!

Here's Grandma and John, my 5 yo, taking a spin around the rink.

The kids had a great time, as did Grandma. I was happy that it was Christian music night at the rink, so we had good wholesome music to skate to-and no "couples only" songs! (okay-if you're anywhere near my age, you remember these when you were growing up!)

The kids and Grandma also played board games....

We had a popcorn/candy/movie nite that everyone loved!

And we at plenty of junk food during her visit!

Did I mention the junk food?

Matthew celebrated his 16th birthday Saturday with a party and a few other friends in attendance.

Here is everyone, all ready to head out the door to church Sunday. Too bad we didn't end up going since the car battery was dead. :-(

We had a great time with Grandma-all that fun sure wore us all out!

Having my Mom here really made me realize what a joy and blessing my family is. I do long to be able to see our families more often and wish there wasn't such a distance between us. How nice it would be to have weekly dinners or outings together! If you have family nearby, be thankful for the wonderful opportunity to build strong family bonds. And if you're like me and are far away from family, treasure all the moments you have with them-they are truly blessings!