This weekend was an awesome weekend!! We left Friday evening for Paducah. Saturday morning we headed to Lincoln, Il. My grandmother's sister (Billie) and her husband (Mac) were expecting us by 12-12:30. We arrived in Lincoln by 12:30. Quite shocking for the Anderson clan!! We did plan to leave much earlier so that when we did actually leave we wouldn't be late. Anyway, our trip was planned to visit family. Plus, we were going to my aunt & uncle's surprise 50th anniversary party. They were genuinely surprised!! It was so much fun seeing their faces & how happy they were that day. My cousin's wife, Lisa, planned the whole thing & did an amazing job!!! After the party Saturday afternoon, we all headed back to Billie & Mac's where we ate dinner & reminisced. I LOVE hearing old stories. Since my mother's mother died when she was a teenager, I never got to meet her. It is neat to see pictures and hear stories of those who came before me. I could sit & listen for hours! We did not have many hours though. We went to church with them on Sunday morning. I always love attending church with blood family. Church family is awesome, don't get me wrong. But, it is neat having a whole family there together to worship God! Not many people can get to do that, so it is a huge blessing to me when I get the chance. After church, we went to Cracker Barrel for some good country eatin'. We did eat good this weekend!! Anyway, that is my weekend in a nutshell. I will post pictures as soon as I get some in.

It was so neat getting to see Sydney interact with cousins. All of the cousins she's met have been older. She hasn't had any that she could sit in the floor and play with. She had a blast!! I think they did, too. Hopefully this weekend will help us keep our ties strong & not let so much time go by before another visit!

On the way home from this trip, I was driving while the other two in my little family were sleeping. I began thinking about how lucky I am. The ladies in my family commented on how lucky I am to have Ryan. They could see how amazing of a husband he is! I completely agree with them!!! I went from thinking about my blessings with Ryan to thinking about my parents and brother. Then from them to my extended family on both my mother & my father's side. I am truly blessed to have such amazing people around me. It isn't common these days to have most of your family be Christian. Mine are & I am so thankful. I have people around me that love me despite my flaws. I couldn't ask for much more than that.