Missing You

So I guess you are waiting for the lady bug pictures, eh?  Well I only got a couple, and it was after they had dispersed through out the camper, but here you go:
 

We are still finding them one or two at a time, but thankfully not by the hundreds anymore  :-)

I am in the little town I grew up in, hanging out with my two sisters and brother. It is great having us all back together; laughing, remembering and having a good time while joking and cutting up - believe me we can do a lot of that! It is not often we are all on the same turf, and I wish our kids could be with us to see how we get along, but being together has been good for us all.

When we were young, Steve and I both lived near our families and were close to our aunts, uncles and cousins. When good or bad things happened, they happened to the family; we were all nearby to share the tears, the laughter and the closeness only an extended family could share. I guess when you are young you don't realize that if you move half a country away leaving your family behind, you also leave those moments behind. Your kids don't get to have the extended family moments, realizing the need to support family members during a family death or wedding, or other disaster.  They don't get to see the interactions of their parents and siblings, cousins and such.

I realize this every time we come home and our children and grand children have little interest in sharing these times with us; often they would rather be at home rather than with us or with the extended family.  I understand it, but it does make me sad - and it makes me realize that a decision we made so long ago has drastically changed the way our lives could have been if we had stayed near our own families and let our kids get to know everyone that loves them and would like a moment or two with them.  I am having a blast with my family, but missing the rest of my family - I wish you were here, can you tell?

Anyway, that is not where this post was going, but sometimes the mind wanders and thoughts come about that I had no intention of writing about... today is one of those days.

We found a beautiful campsite on a lake I grew up near.  We used to go there several times a week and nearly every weekend.  We are the only camper here, well, other than the host that is here, but it is quiet, dark and relaxing when we ARE there.  

This picture is taken standing outside our camper door:

And during the day:

While driving near our campsite last night, we found these little gals grazing:

 I am not a hunter to eat the meat, but I love hunting critters so I can just enjoy watching them.  God gave us so many different critters that I can never get enough of looking...

I forgot to tell you, before we left, we took punkin' to Vermillionville, a little cajun village decorated now for Christmas:

It was beautiful! 

Sis graduates on Saturday morning.  Until then we are spinning our wheels, laughing and playing...

And of course I have taken pictures just because I could...

So now that I have caught you up to date on our visit, I will hop off.  I can't get on here as often I would like to, but I keep telling myself that before long we will have a permanent home and I will be back to my old self posting again.  Until then we will be entertaining ourselves, playing games, laughing with family and visiting...


Soooo....

I am a slacker - but I am trying!  Don't give up on me!