Thirty Days of Thankfulness-A Countdown: #5

5. Today I am thankful for Family.
It's the annual Tulelake Fair. Though I appreciate our local fair and fairgrounds in Klamath, it is a hot piece of tar surrounded by concrete buildings and not a lot of shade.
The Tulelake Fair is a beautiful venue with lots of shade trees, very mature, that are surrounded by well-maintained grass. For people with kids, this is a big draw.
Their carnival appeals to our children and they have many family-centered free entertainment "shows" hourly.
There are a wide variety of animals and 4-H exhibits, and we just enjoy the time of year it is held as well.
Today, my husband's sister and husband and their three kids are joining us (which means an extra bit of driving for them), but my girls were ecstatic to hear that "the cousins are coming!"
Truly, coming from a family of seven (5 kids), it is in my deepest need and longing to have people around. Sadly, our family, immediate and non, all live at least 90 to 100 miles away.
The blessing we have is that our church and school family are all so dear and warm and kind and loving. They have made the distance from blood relatives more bearable.
So, even if your relationship with your own relatives is less than warm and loving, the truth is, that we are all here together on Earth. That we can reach out and be that Aunt or Sister or Grandmother to somebody that will respond and fill that empty place of relationship!
I have many friends who have been as close as sisters (and then have had to move away, *sniff*,) and we catch up right where we left off.
In Heaven, I'll need to have a mansion just so I can host all of these amazing women in one place.
And I bet the coffee up there is amazing!
So today, I am thankful for family. For all of you!