Visiting with Sisters

The 3rd part of our journey was spent with my sisters and their families. Lou Ann's house was our first stop. She has 4 kids and another one on the way. We had a nice time with her gang. Samuel really enjoys being with Benjamin and Daniel. They did the normal "boy stuff." Hannah was so cute as she led Joseph around--he did not seem to mind. Charity finally let me hold her. We celebrated her 2nd birthday with gifts, pizza, and fudge delight. Lou Ann and I enjoyed looking at old pictures, exchanging clothes for our kids, and just being together. She made sure we were taken care of by having good meals and a place for the kids to run and play. Lou Ann and Esther live 10 minutes apart, so this made it nice to be able to spend time with both of them.

I got this bright idea that it would be fun for all of us to go to Wal-mart together. I am not sure what came over me, but I questioned my sanity later. My brother-in law Chris said that there was no way he was going with us. I wonder why? My other brother-in-law, Kevin, was at work, but I don't think he would have been up to the challenge either. Esther was comfortable with the idea, although Lou Ann was a little hesitant, but I thought she needed to get out of the house. It was a hoot--there we were with all 11 kids 10 years of age and under. I was tempted to hide and make it look like they all belonged to one of my sisters, but decided just to laugh at the parade. It was like directing traffic to get them to go down the next aisle. We finally decided that our nerves had had enough. We all got in the 2 vans--everybody strapped and buckled, when Lou Ann realized that she had an item that she had not paid for. I secretly wondered if she did not "steal" it on purpose just to get to go back in the store by herself. Just kidding. Well, we did have a lot of fun together. I went over to Esther's house and spent time with her crew after I had been at Lou Ann's for awhile. Julianna and Lydia love to play with Melanie and Alayna. All of the kids had a great time riding bikes and being outside--we have the grass stains to prove it! Joseph and Josiah are about a year apart; it is neat to hear them talk. Julianna enjoyed reading to Josiah even though he did not want her to stop. Esther and I had a nice time being together. She is a wonderful cook and I did not mind being the recipient of the delicious treats. Chris was true to his word and grilled chicken one day. I hope no one was counting how many pieces I devoured. Esther served a potato casserole to go with the chicken--so yummy. She also made some of her home-made biscuits and gravy, which I love. We even got to run in to Christopher Banks by ourselves (thanks Chris for watching the kids for a little while). Cornerstone Brass came for a Friday night concert and I got to see my honey again. It was an awesome time to see 7 churches represented in an enjoyable evening. I was surprised to see Lurlene Allen at the concert. They had moved into that area and we had become good friends while they lived in Florida.

We had planned a party for Doyle after the concert. He did another one of his tricks and had me added to the celebration. We 3 sisters, husbands, and kids got to be together for a short time at this event. I wish I could have seen my brother and his family on this trip, but that did not happen this time. Well, after saying a good-by, we parted and left for the last part of our journey.