Fun in New Jersey

This past weekend, Danny and I were FINALLY able to go to New Jersey to spend the weekend with my oldest sister and her family. We've been trying for a few months to see them, and it was such a blessing!

About six months ago, Danny commented on the fact that we have never spent any significant individual time with any of my siblings. Most often in my family, when we get together, everybody is there. While this is an extreme joy, and a great time, it can tend to make good conversation a little bit difficult, with between 4 and 12 kids running around. So, we've determined to make an effort to spend time with each family individually.

This past weekend, Danny had off on Friday, so we left on Thursday night for a much needed time away from Baltimore. We got to Jen's house around 11:30, and collapsed into bed! Friday morning, Danny and Doug (brother-in-law) went out to breakfast with the boys, and since the girls had a sleepover, Jeni and I actually got to spend most of the day out by ourselves! It was such a joy to have uninterrupted conversation with my sister. We wandered through an antique shop/flea market type store, talking about decorating, dreams, and plans. Then we went to McDonald's for lunch and wandered through Michael's a little bit before heading back to meet everybody at the house. The four of us adults went out to dinner on Friday night, and then came home for a movie night with the kids.

On Saturday night, we went to a concert at the church. A group called The Annie Moses Band was there, and they were phenomonal! I had not heard of them before, but it was a wonderful time! The group is comprised mostly of one family. The parents and their 5 children are all amazingly musically talented. I've never seen violins played so well. I look forward to buying some of their music, and hopefully seeing them again someday, although they are not near us anytime soon.

We were amazingly refreshed coming home, and I was reminded again of how blessed I am to have a family that enjoys being together, and while we may have our issues, we truly do love each other, and love spending time together. Thank you Lord for that blessing.