Saturday, June 14.

The picture on the blog tonight is one I took of Gabe this past Tuesday. He was leaning back, resting while Nate got ready for his meeting. I figure Gabe is going to look something like this on Saturday when we get to Pigeon Forge. NOT! He has as much energy as anyone in the world. He takes time to rest, but he's full of energy. He is the 'nanny' of Tricia's family. All the kids are a big help, but Gabe is usually the first to come to anyone's assistance. He's the one all the other kids go to for help when Trish or Rob don't satisfy them. I remember when Sadie was born; he was just 2 1/2 and he went to all the neighbors' front doors to tell them, "We have a baby sister!" Since then there have been two more baby sisters and a baby brother. We look forward to having him ride with us along with Mason and Grace; I know he'll be a big help. He likes to read my books, so I'm bringing a couple to share with him.

I love it when the kids grow into big people! Gabe also loves to play hand and foot canasta with us. Nate and Sadie are more hooked than Gabe, but he's a card player. I'm taking the cards so we can play this week while we're in Pigeon Forge. I imagine there will be more things to do than we have time to do, but I'm taking the cards just in case.

This is a big day. The Fox reunion is my mother's family reunion. We are all proud to be a part of this fine family and love it when we can get together with them. It's a quick reunion, but it's a great one. My brother and sister should be there. Ruthie is not feeling her best, but I hope she'll make it. I'll report as soon as possible about the reunion.

I thank God for placing us in families. He could have made us all strangers. Ick! It's wonderful to have people who love us unconditionally! It's wonderful to have been raised in a family that knows and loves God. Everyone didn't have that good fortune, but it makes us rich, and I thank God for such a gift!

Quick note as I post this Saturday night: We've had a WONDERFUL time, so far! The drive was mostly wonderful. We drove through a nasty storm today and Trish and Rob had about 6 hours of horrible storms in Arkansas last night. God blessed us with safety, though. I taught Gabe to play cribbage on the way, so we had a great time playing that. My mom would be so proud! Cribbage was probably her favorite game, only rivaled by Scrabble. She would also be so proud that 17 of the people at her family reunion today were from her family; 12 of us were from mine! My brother looked so much like our dad; I couldn't believe it! Ruthie and Phil looked great. I got lots of pictures and will share them on the blog as time allows in the future. We got to Pigeon Forge and are split up in 3 different units. It'll be a trick to do this week, but it'll be fun! So much for which to be grateful; God is great and blesses so abundantly!