Glorious Day!!!

I LOVE DAYS LIKE TODAY!!!! Following a beautiful Sunday morning with our church family and a wonderful meeting with our Creative Ministry, we felt the sadness and joy of hosting a farewell cookout for some sweet friends of ours who are moving to Tennessee. The cookout ended up consisiting of 11 adults and 11 children... 22 people who we adore!! 22 people in my 1400 sq.ft. house, but that just made it even sweeter because it caused us all to be close together! Good thing our back yard is bigger than our house for some stretching room!

I know that the Italian in my blood runs very thick... My grandmother's maiden name was Destefano and she was everything Italian! Her spaghetti and meatballs were out of this world and family meals were big and full of joy. That is where my joy of the day blossomed from... I LOVE big families, I love eating together, I love children running around smiling... I loved our big family cookout!!! Not one of the people here today were blood relatives, but it sure did feel like it!!

Let me give you just a little glimpse into one of my beaming moments...

I'm standing in the kitchen in perfect view of the living room and backyard. The breeze is blowing through the house because the back door is wide open. I hear giggles coming from every direction. From outside on the trampoline, swingset, or slip and slide... or inside from the playroom. I see four mommies, a baby bouncing in one's lap, relaxing on the couch and chairs sharing funny stories. My view to the backyard is a front row seat to the Men's Football game. The smell of the grill just flowing through the air. This is what the joy of family is all about... the sight of happiness, the sound of giggles of big and small, the smell of fresh air filling the house, the taste of yummy food, and the feeling of pure bliss.

Who's coming over for a cookout next weekend... our door is wide open!