Family in Virginia

Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Virginia with my Mommom, Aunt Tammy, and cousin, Shawna.  My older cousin, Adam, recently received custody of his two kids.  They haven't been in our lives very much and have been burdened with a very hard life.  Our trip allowed us to spend some time with them.  It was the first time I had ever met his daughter, Cierra.

We took our time getting there.  We left early Wednesday morning and drove to Knoxville, TN with A LOT of shopping a long the way.  We stumbled upon an outlet mall where we spent a couple hours and lots of money.

Mommom & me

We finally made it to Virginia late Thursday night and stayed until Sunday afternoon when we started heading home.  We finished the trip off Monday.  It all went pretty smooth until we were just east of Memphis.  The interstate was closed and we had to take a detour which involved us sitting still for an hour.  That put a little behind.  It was almost 1 AM when we got back to my grandmother's house.  I drove 20 minutes to my mom and dad's and crashed on their couch for the night.  I knew I didn't need to drive home that late.

While we were in Virginia, we enjoyed some yummy yogurt while out shopping.

We celebrated Kyle & Cierra's birthdays.  They were so sweet.  I've never seen such appreciative kids.  After every gift, they would get up and hug the person that gave the gift and tell them thank you.  Precious!!

A few family pictures....

I am so thankful for this time that God gave me with my family.  I was already missing Kyle & Cierra Sunday night after we left.  They are so sweet and well adjusted, especially for what they've been through.  It's hard when I don't know when I might see them again.

The time with Shawna was so special to me.  I've never really got to hang out with her to the extent that I did on this trip.  She is absolutely hilarious!! She made us laugh so hard.

There was a lot of laughter on this trip.  We would get back to our hotel each night pretty late and it was like a slumber party every night.  We would lay in bed and just giggle like four little girls.

I almost didn't go on this trip because of the time it meant I couldn't work on stuff for school.  I am so glad I decided to go.  All that stuff is still here waiting to be done and now I have these wonderful memories of time spent with family.