Friday, January 26, 2007

What a Great Day

Don't you love catching up with your friends and family? Today was a special day, full of memories of my teenage years. A friend from our church youth group was in town and wanted to get together, catch up and introduce us to her husband! So of course we all met at our favorite ol' Mexican restaurant, Atzimbas. My parents, sister, aunt, cousin, five kids, a friend, a friend's husband and myself filled up three tables and gave the restaurant some great business!! Chowing down on chips and salsa, we told stories from our youth group days and tried to sum up all that had happened in life since then. It blessed to me look around at my family and think about the journey that each of them has been on. My parents - home from Mexico, still speaking Spanish with the waiter, pastoring a great church in Grand Junction. My aunt and uncle - retired, sold/gave away everything they owned, live in a camper, working for Disaster Relief. My sister, Melanie - excellent wife, mother of my two favorite children, getting ready to home school in the fall. My cousin, Mandi - mother of THREE precious boys, married her high school sweet heart who is now a youth minister, I remember when we were praying for his salvation.

After lunch, my family and I went to our favorite consignment shop, where another family member happens to work, and the reunion continued!! We spent over an hour trying on clothes and helping each other pick out new dresses. Then we spent our money, said our goodbyes, and went our separate ways. My sister had picked me up in Jackson so we drove home and spent a few more hours just talking.

The only sad part of the day was that several people were missing. Too many to name, but I will say that I really missed our cousins, David and Sam. They are both in the Marines and working out in California. Both have served, bravely, in Iraq. Thank you God for bring them home safely!!! I love having a big family and I love being close to my family. My cousins are like siblings to my sister and I. I wish that more days were like today.

2 comments:

MelanieStarr said...

That was SUCH a great day! You know, now that I think about it, our family has had several really special times together already this year.
And how cool was that to see Renee and her husband!!?!

Melanie

Anonymous said...

yea, that was a good day. I also thought about all the changes we'd all gone through...all the miles we have traveled...even how the owners of Atzimbas are a part of our lives and have been for such a long time. Mary