Family Festivities

Today was a day FULL of family and all the love that surrounds them. I am fortunate enough to come from a great family and to have married into one. The first "family" event of the day was Sunday Mass....nothing out of the ordinary, but extra special on this Sunday for some reason. Maybe it was b/c I knew Cody was leaving for Minnesota later in the day and I just wanted to take him all in. Maybe it was at one point in Mass BOTH kids were sitting on his lap (not mine) and it allowed me to FINALLY take in where I was at as well as what I have been blessed with. I looked over at them and just a true sense of peace and joy came over me. The next event was family dinner. This happens the third Sunday of every month and is rotating between my mom and her sisters. It is always a great time and I truly look forward to it. There are so many laughs and just a deep sense of belonging. These are the women I admire and the mothers I look up to. If you ask me, family dinner does not come soon enough each month. Then we were off to Norwich for a birthday party. Cody's family is very down to earth and welcoming. Although it was just another birthday party (we have lots..it is a BIG family with lots of kiddos), it was the normal everyday stuff that sticks out. How everyone helps each other without really having to speak and how you get that big family feeling just being there--you know the kind in movies, at holidays, except it wasn't a holiday. I was surrounded with lots of laughter today and my kids are very lucky to have both sides that love them tremendously. I have been trying to slow down in life and take more in. And to top it all off, my little brother Anthony went to my house before I got back and walked through it to check for bad guys:) I am a BIG whimp and freak out whenever cody is out of town. T (anthony) is one of my best friends and I would be lost if anything ever happened to him. He showed me to what extent he would go for me...well him and Cohen's Driver--golf club:) Today I stepped back and looked at what was around me and who I could lean on if anything ever happened. Who would help no questions asked? Luckily, I found a lot!