The Family Tree

When most people think of a Family Tree, they picture a cute way to represent geneology and the complexities surrounding the search for a family's extensive lineage. I have a different picture in my mind of The Family Tree. Our parents, strong & steadfast, like the trunk of the tree, branching off into smaller, but almost as powerful, "sibling branches", blooming with the even smaller branches and leaves that are their own children. The roots of the Family Tree in my mind are complex, and possess their own kind of strength, popping up sometimes where I least expect them to-similar to our loved ones who have passed on. We always know that they are "here", but we can't always see them. Then, just when we think that the roots are somewhere else, we see one poking out from the ground in a unique place, to remind us that they are still here, and close by.
When I picture my Family Tree, I can see myself sitting on the ground, leaning against the trunk for support, protected from harm by the umbrella that the branches and leaves provide. I can look around and see the variations in the ground, shaped by the root system of my tree and marvel at the distance that it covers. I know now, without a doubt, that the worst part of living in New York was being so far away from family. We were too far away from our Tree to feel that protection and, therefore, love. There were times when I felt so alone and removed from all the interaction of our families in Idaho & Utah that I physically ached.
While we are now only 432 miles closer to most of our family, we are only a hop, skip and a jump away from others. My Joe's uncle Dan and his family live outside of Detroit, which is an easy 2 hour drive from our new home. Given this scenario, we completely threw ourselves their way a couple of weeks ago! We literally called and asked if we could come to see them, then proceeded to invite ourselves the very next day. They graciously accepted our invitation to invade them, and we did just that!!
Imagine our delight when we got there, only to find out that we were also going to get to see Lisa and Brian and his family. We were finally able to enjoy being around family, and the Boriches made certain that we enjoyed every minute of our time with them.
Uncle Dan & Aunt Mary Jane welcomed us into their beautiful home with open arms. Nevermind that we had never been there before, we felt like we belonged there with them in about 2 minutes! Lisa came next, and was a refreshing burst of energy and love. Mykah, Max & Josh were soon competing for her attention. Being the multi-tasker that she appears to be bode well for our children, because she had no trouble dividing her time & energy between all 3! Uncle Dan took us on a boat ride around their beautiful lake and when we arrived back at the house, Brian and his family had arrived! We finally got to meet beautiful Carmelina & precious Gioia (pronounced Joya)and no one would've ever guessed that some of us had just met~because we are family. That's what families do, and that's what we've missed for the last 3 years! I forsee many, many more trips to Waterford, MI, but here are some pix from that 1st one:

Uncle Dan & Aunt Mary Jane went out & bought the cutest little table for the kiddos. I was pleasantly surprised when Joe & Uncle Dan got it put together on their 1st attempt. That must've been Dan's influence;) There were only about 5 leftover screws, but it did stay together and supported 3 toddlers, so mission accomplished!


Maxie fell in love with this bench that overlooks the lake~the bird poop on the corner held his attention longer than I care to admit...


Uncle Dan slipped easily into a Grandpa-type role with our kids~putting on their life jackets and bandaging soccer wounds!



The boat ride was stunningly beautiful and provided lots of time to visit while taking in the scenery.




After the boat ride came time to play! The kids (of all ages)enjoyed playing with all of Gioia's toys outside while Aunt Mary Jane made us and incredible dinner.




Gioia was so stinkin' cute when she had a ball in one hand, and her baby in the other! You can always tell a sport's family when everyone is trying to coax a little girl to put the baby down so she can play ball;) She held her ground, though, and this baby spent the day in her arms!



Solving all the world's problems, I'm sure!


Maxie dragged anyone that would let him over to check out the water, and Brian was the lucky one this time!


Tickle, tickle!


Joe & Uncle Dan


Joe with cousins, Lisa & Brian


Thank you, Borich family, for this beautiful day! We feel so blessed that our next chapter includes having you close by. We won't take for granted this opportunity.