Hey Sug'

 

   

"Family faces are magic mirrors.  

Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future."  

~Gail Lumet Buckley

We arrived in texas late on the 28th.. We were promptly asked if we wanted coffee, tea, or margaritas by Uncle Jim. Love it! Uncle Jim and Aunt Noni are adorable. We were so exhausted, but wanted stayed up to visit for a while. Uncle Jim and Aunt Noni's house is gorgeous. Super big open rooms. Our bed was so comfy and we were out as soon as our heads hit the pillow. 

The morning of the 28th I didn't wake up until eleven. Autumn was already up with Uncle Jim and Aunt Noni chatting and making breakfast. Little did I know when I hopped out of bed we were ab0ut to have another cousin George moment. When i walked into the kitchen there was an adorable guy around my age talking to Aunt Noni. My immediate thought was crap I'm still in my jammies, haven't ashed my hair, or brushed my teeth! I look a mess! Fortunately Aunt Noni cleared all my worries saying, " Rachael, this is your cousin wes." Thank the Lord, we're related. I don't have to feel bad for looking all unkempt. Of course as soon as Autumn and I could link eyes we were speaking through ESP> We have to get wesley together with one of our friends, and we had just the one in mind. Breakfast was a lot of fun, and it was great to meet more extended family. I love how you can waltz in to people's homes that you have hardly met and be right at home, because they're family. I knew I would love being at Uncle Jim and Aunt Noni's the day I talked to Aunt Noni for over an hour on the phone months back. I got off the phone and told Autumn, " OMG- I am Aunt Noni!" Meeting her has only confirmed we are kindred spirits, and then looking through her wedding album confirmed that I am her twin. All of her  pictures from when she is 20, I look just alike. Works for me though, because aunt Noni has aged well, and married quite a looker, so there is hope. (pictures to come later.)

After breakfast, we headed out for a walk around their property. Wesley decided not to come, he had been up duck hunting since 430 am. He had already had 6 cup of coffee and was still tired, I think I would be too. Their property is about 80 acres! They use to have twice that, but they sold half their land to the county. It is beautiful here in east texas. Autumn and I pictured all of Texas looking dry and deserted with tumble weeds and old west towns and boy we we wrong. East Texas has lots of trees and lots of open gorgeous country. Uncle JIm decided to take some trash and sticks down towards the creek on his tractor so Audi and i jumped on with him. it's like we are on  farm. i would love to live on a farm some day. We walked down to the creek which will someday be a river, whenever the county gets around to finishing it. Them we wandered down to their old house. Uncle Jim and Aunt Noni have lived on this property for a while. My mom and dad came to visit them at their old house in the eighties, and this is where their kids were raised. Now it is used as the storage and guest house for when lots of people come to visit at once. Unfortunately we couldn't go in, because we hadn't brought the key down, but we will in the next few days.

On our way back we picked up some of the few scattered pecans left on the ground, but none of them were good. uncle Jim cracked them in his hands by pushing two of them together. That's the tick he said. You learn something new everyday. When we were in the middle of the hay field it started sprinkling so we hurried our step back to the house. We couldn't go too fast, because Aunt Noni is still recovering from all the surgeries she had in the last several months. Everyone, including her, has told us it is a miracle she is alive with all the complications she was having every time they repaired something. Praise the Lord she is alive, she has so much wisdom to impart on us still, along with some funny stories of her and grandma jeanines shenanigans. 

** This isn't the end of the day, but I am getting sleepy and we are at a semi sketch hotel..it is in Gallop, NM. tomorrow hopefully we can get caught up.. say a prayer we sleep well and everything is fine. Love ya'll good night