Cousins

One of the fondest memories I have as a child (well, teenager) is that of my sister, my self and my cousins, Leanna and Ben, piled up on the couch together watching I Love Lucy re-runs and laughing hysterically. Our favorite was the VitaMetaVegimine one, no telling how many times we watched that episode! We were a close knit family for many years, there are 15 siblings in my dad's family so we really had no choice! I wouldn't of had it any other way, our cousins were our best friends, our compadres, our "I won't tell if you wont tell" partners in crime. They are easier to get a long with then your siblings, most times, since you don't live under the same roof. And when you are young (and sometimes old), cousins are what make family reunions and Holiday get-together's worth going to! And that is the way it should be, since cousins are bound by blood and a lot of times a last name!

Pretty much everyone who reads this blog of mine knows that Jon and I live away from our families. Our parents, our siblings, our aunts, uncles, grandmothers and cousins. We both come from big families, close families, so it has always been our mission to ensure that our children are close to their extended, far away families. Every chance we get, we scoot over to Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and up to Middle GA to see our beloved families. And every chance they get, they come visit us! James and Audrey average seeing at least one set of cousins about every 2 months and it seems that our mission is being accomplished. Whether it is Hannah and Matthew or Harrison and Isabella, the 4 compadres pick up right where they left off! Families are the ties that bind and we are so thankful that our beautiful children have cousins of their own that they can make lasting memories with!