With Family in Houston

I have had these images loaded and ready for over a week. I have been enjoying the slower days after the holidays. Andrew is off today, and he was playing sweetly with Blanche in her room so I decided to sit down and post these. Of course as soon as there a little shift in the air, that mom may be sitting down to do something... well now Blanche is right here beside me.

The day after Christmas we traveled to Houston (Katy actually) and stayed two nights with most of Andrew's extended family. It is a fun and crazy time every other year. The last time we were all together was 2012, and since then four more babies of the next generation have been born. That means there were over double the amount of babies this year than two years ago. I think many of us adults were equally worn out. We were all there traveling with our small children and on little sleep. The time felt like it went by fast, but strangely enough on Saturday it started to feel a bit like the never ending day since Andrew and I were up with both girls at five am.

I felt a bit frazzled going straight from Christmas Day to our weekend trip. Andrew worked early Friday morning and late Sunday night so we could still go for the weekend. We all survived and I am glad that all of us were able to connect again. Andrew's family are all so kind, everyone gifting the girls something. Blanche saw these pictures and said, "Is that Houston? I want to live there again and eat cookies." That's pretty much what it was like.

One short but sweet memory that was made for me while there was when Andrew's Aunt Joan (Gigi's older sister) was showing me the furniture in her guest room. It had been Joan and Pat's growing up. Aunt Joan told me about the beautiful dresser that was in that room. She remembered what was in each drawer. I think it was in the bottom two drawers that they had their toys. One drawer for Joan and one for Pat. They had felt boards and pieces to create stories. The next two drawers were clothing for each girl, and Aunt Joan thought her mother held blankets in the top one. Aunt Joan had memories of sliding their coins of money between the different drawers and them falling into the bottom "secret storage" and acting as a piggy bank.

I took the Myers and Briggs personality test this week. I found out I was "The Idealist" (click to read mine).  Either way, my little INFP heart loved this dresser story. My idealist and imaginative world soaked it up. Part of myself wanted this simple life for my own girls.

Our time in Houston may have been short, but it was filled with good food and family. Blanche played better than ever before with her two older boy cousins. Rosemary got to know those close to her own age. Now, the holidays are behind us and we move onto a new and fresh year. Rosemary will turn one at the end of the month, and now we all get to guess and gamble on how many babies will be sitting on that couch the next Christmas together.