Family Time!

Family has always been important to me and Kyle.  It's probably because we both come from fairly large extended families with lots of time to play with our cousins when we were growing up.

I definitely have more cousins on my mom's side of the family, as she has seven brothers and sisters. However, I have such fond memories of spending time with both sides of the family growing up, and I know that Kyle does too.

We have both been really excited for Grace to share some of those same experiences with our cousin's children.  And Grace will actually get her own cousin in June as Kyle's sister, Mikaela, is expecting.

Sometimes, it's hard for me at family functions to see all the little kids running around and playing with each other.  That's exactly how I remember family reunions and get togethers.  And for Grace, well, it's just not that way.

It makes me sad sometimes, but then I just stop and remember how lucky I am to have Grace in my life.

This past weekend, my cousin, Todd, brought his family down from Naperville, and we all got together for dinner at my aunt and uncle's house.  We don't get to see each other nearly often enough, so it was fun to catch up with he and his wife, Tanya, and their kids, Peter, Matthew and Abby.  I loved hearing the kids talk about what they were learning in school and what kinds of things they like to do.

They know that Grace likes books very much, and were so sweet to bring her a brand new Elephant and Piggie book.  She has one from Kyle's Aunt Karen that we love, so it was fun to get a new one.

Grace's cousins, Peter and Abby, read a new book to her!

My favorite part of the whole evening was when Peter (who is in second grade), sat right next to Grace on the couch and read her the new book.  He did an awesome job, and she just loved being a part of it.  He also let her play with his St. Louis Cardinals hat, and helped his sister, Abby, take a turn reading to Grace.  Then they all settled in to watch some Disney Junior shows together.  And it just made my heart smile.

I just love this girl and her sweet smile!

No, watching Grace with her cousins is not exactly how I envisioned it would be.  But in true Grace fashion, she found her own way to get to know them better.  And I wouldn't trade that for anything.

MLH