Thursday morning I got a call from my Uncle Jimmy saying that my Aunt Anna, his wife and my father's younger sister, had fallen and was on the way to the UK Medical Center. This was totally unexpected and we were all very worried about her because she complained that she had no sensation anywhere below her waist. Fearing the worst we waited by the phone for updates.
Unable to visit her Thursday evening, my Uncle Ronald, my Dad's younger brother, and my Daddy picked me up and took me to the hospital. Anna's three children, Matt, Kim and Angie drove down from Columbus, Ohio to be with their mother. They say that everything happens for a reason and I would like to believe that the good thing that happened as a result of Anna's complications is I was able to see my cousins whom I have not seen in several years. The photo above is of Matt, myself and Angie. Not only were Matt and I born the same year, only three months apart, we both have the middle name of Aaron/Erin. We have always been fond of each other and I think he is the most handsome of all the male cousins.
Like his father, he married his high school sweetheart, a beautiful blond named Anna and they have two children, Alissa and Braydon.

After spending a few hours at the hospital Dad handed me off to my mom who drove me to the rehearsal. I will blog about this later. Not sure where to fit them in, but not wanting to forget them, I had to include photos of the girls, Mary (above) and Zu Zu (below).

In October of 2005 my Mom flew Zu Zu and Mary up to DC so they could stay with me for awhile. Aunt Stephanie was a saint and agreed to watch them while I flew home for Christmas vacation. While in Kentucky, Stephanie bought the girls playpens. They loved them and to prove how wise my best friend is, I posted this photo to show the playpens are being used two-years later.

Deciding to visit Anna instead of attend Lauren's bachelorette party, my mom drove me to the hospital after the rehearsal. I have to admit I was a little nervous about my mother visiting my Dad's family when my Dad was not around. My Aunt Linda has never been kind to my mom since my parents split almost twenty-years ago, and we both knew she would be at the hospital. The Kidds have a difficult time letting go. They often hold grudges, which is totally stupid and one of the only character flaws, besides violent tempers, they have. Other than that, they are the most generous, self-sacrificing family I know. Everyone loves them. Just don't make them mad, and lucky for most people it takes a lot to piss-off a Kidd.

Exiting the elevator we met Ginger and LaTosha, or Tosh for short, with Ginger's baby girl Allyson. Although I attended Ginger and Bryan's wedding I was unable to see Allyson as an infant. She is so cute and we bonded immediately as the photo above shows. She doesn't favor Ginger really, who has jet-black hair and hazel eyes but is super cute anyway with her light blond hair and blue eyes.

Waiting for Anna to return from additional testing, we decided to sit in the lobby. Allyson entertained herself by going through my purse. She especially enjoys playing with cell phones. The bows in her hair were made by her mother who has started her own business and makes hundreds of dollars a week from bow orders. Did I mention southern women love buying hair bows for their daughters? Yep. They do. Ginger confided that some women drop over a hundred-bucks a week for hair bows. I totally believed it.

I actually have hair bows that resemble Allyson's, that I wore in high school when I was a cheerleader. I am so excited that my cousin makes hair bows and I have an "in" now in that industry. My little girl, if I ever have children, is going to have the greatest hair and hair accessiories ever! So much to look forward to. Hooray!