family

All eleven of the cousins. The best picture out of 21!

Evangeline found this little bird in the gazebo. It did not want to leave her, and every time she let some one else hold it, it would chirp wildly until she held it again.

My sister and her children are here from out of state. My other two sisters live here, and so for the last three days we have all been together again. We have shopped, consumed a lot of coffee, and watched our children run around together. The cousins all get a long so well together, and truly enjoy each other's company. It always makes me happy to see them together!

We also went and checked out some retirement communities for mom, specifically places close to where we live (she is 27 miles away now) , as she has mentioned lots of times that she wants to be closer to us. We spent yesterday morning touring a few places, and when we told her about it, she said she did not want to move. This morning, before my sister leaves, we are meeting at Starbucks to talk the situation over. Obviously, the decision is my mother's to make, but we would all like her to be closer, and she is not managing her medicines on her own anymore, which concerns us! Pray for us.

My sister who lives out of state and I are both smitten by the Sephora make up counter at Penneys, and yesterday got to spend an hour trying on new lipsticks, perfume, and face powder. Great fun! The summer has seemed so busy, and we have not had any days off, |(only Sundays, and those Sundays have been whirlwinds of parties, visits with friends, and receptions-fun, but not entirely restful)!, so spending a day shopping and sipping coffee with my best girls was just what I needed!