Nana & Papa's House

My Nana and Papa's house - that's where I am, and have been since Friday night. They live in a small town in a Southern state :). It's pretty neat. After going to NYC over spring break, I realized how little I truly like cities. They're loud and expensive. The loud and colorful part is cool and exciting at first... but living there? Yikes, not for me! Small towns, on the other hand, are something I do enjoy. I'm not sure if I'd move to one (well, I might if my closest friends came too! But still, I'd probably want to go anywhere with them). 

Yesterday I took bunches of pictures in my Nana's garden. I also took lots at my Nana's brother's farm. There were cats, chickens, cows, dogs, barns, haylofts... many lovely things that you'd think of  when you hear "farm" :). I even like how farms smell, no kidding. I don't think I really liked that smell when I was little... but I do now. Anyways - I don't have wifi for my laptop, so I'll post pictures from both places when I get home on my Flickr! 

I was amazed at how easy it was to get good pictures of the flowers; God makes them SO breathtaking. All we do is *snap* a picture, edit, and etc. But it's really so amazing. There's another thing about being here. It's easier to see God. More nature, less distractions. If you have family in a small town, I'd suggest visiting them and really trying to appreciate God when you go! Though, I'm sure different people feel like they can see God more easily in other places. For me, the stars always seem to spark a closeness to God right away. When I go outside at night and see stars, I talk to God. It nearly always comes as a natural reaction. Stars are SUCH an amazing and beautiful creation!

Today was our official family reunion. It didn't last very long, but it was nice. My family minus my sister (she stayed home, getting ready to star in Bye Bye Birdie :D), my Nana and Papa, and my Aunt and Uncle were there. And then there were lots of... relatives (I'm not really sure HOW I'm related to all of them, but I assume I am in some way!). I only recognized a few at first... but then I realized that I remembered more than just a few. 

There actually were some other kids, but I didn't exactly know any of them. Ian was there, he's 17. Maggie and I hung with him one 4th of July around 4 or 5 years back... but since then I haven't exactly... um... talked to him. I don't think. Kinda sad, but true. I only see him, rather in passing, every few years.

There were a father and son there who were neither Amish or Mennonite... but something similar. Forgive my politically incorrectness. The son's name was Billy, and he was about my age. My dad and Billy's dad got into a conversation about the Bible and God's authority over us and other similar things at the very end, making us the last to leave (not unusual on any occasion ;) ). I'm not exactly sure what his theology was, but it was neat to hear my dad talk to him.

There were three little brothers, ranging from ten years old to about two, I'd say. The littlest one was quite the cutie; he entertained some of us by eating a dripping slice of watermelon. Then there were a brother and sister who seemed to have picked us on the whole freckles/red hair trait of the family! They were probably... tvelvish? but not twins. Plus one other girl who was sixteen; she was the girlfriend of some other guy there. She took our family picture. 

For the picture, we all gathered around a few picnic tables. "Old" people designated to the front bench. Kids on the table. Adults standing behind. Ian and Billy stood in the back. I sat on the table. Oops. 

All in all, the reunion was nice. It was raining most of the time, which made it chilly, but we were covered by a rented pavilion. Yesterday, Independence Day, really was lovely. I like being in a small town, at least for a short time. I'll be coming home on Monday, only to start the next adventure on Tuesday morning.... Princess Camp! :D