Thanksgiving With Family

Do you ever plan and look forward to something for so long that when it finally comes, you can hardly grasp its reality? The relatives came for Thanksgiving and now they've gone home and all we have left are memories. 

Thankfully we have good memories. Good food, good conversations, good singing, good coffee, good games, good times working together. Just good times. 

Joe, Verina, Melvin, Maxie, Josie, Gwn, Sylvia, Chel

Mama, Rosetta, Jean, Monica, Christopher, Carl, Joe, etc

Doris, Matthew, Tim, Keshi

Stephen, Austin, Mervin, Doris

Nick, Stephen, etc

We all sat around tables together for Thanksgiving dinner. There wasn't much wiggle room. I didn't get Daddy, Thomas and myself in the pictures. Daddy is between Mama and Keshi and Thomas and I are between Chel and Nick.

I spoke with my friend at church this morning. Her family came for Thanksgiving and stayed about 24 hrs. I'm so glad we had more time than that! 

Doris, Chel & the three girlies came Tuesday, Tim & Keshi (Kee-sha) came Wednesday evening and Rosetta & her friend Nick came Thursday. The latter four left on Sunday and the former five stayed until Tuesday.

We hosted the majority of the people at our house. Our pastor and wife so kindly lent us their camper. The boys who gave up their bedrooms and Nick made good use of it.

With our family, my parents and my sister's family who live locally, we fed two dozen people at most meals. Breakfasts were taken at our individual places. Friday and Saturday's main meals were assigned to the visitors. 

On Friday we took a hay ride. It was reasonably warm. Or tolerably cold. However you wish to term it. Nick had told Rosetta that he could hardly wait to get to WV to have a horse and buggy ride.

Prepping the baby (no, we didn't take the Kenworth)

One half of the ride

She asked him where he thought he was going? They don't have horses and buggies! Well, could he have a dump truck ride? Thus the hay ride idea was born. He said he'd take any ride he could get.

Remember that favorite aunt or uncle you had that was the youngest in the family and played with all the cousins? Well, that's kind of how Christopher is to all his little cousins.

With Gwen

Then Josie pops in

Next comes Maxie

Thomas' mother brought a puzzle over that occupied a lot of people's time. It was labeled Impossibles because it has no border and has five extra pieces. They finished it up Monday evening before everyone dispersed.

Monica and Jean

Monica, Sylvia, Stephen, Mervin, Jean

There was a giant dead oak by the field that the men cut down and cut up for some "manly time". And Thomas' mother asked for help to can some apples. Otherwise we just lived and enjoyed each other. 

Chel, Stephen and Sylvia went to Farmville, VA Wednesday evening to meet Nick and Rosetta. They had planned to do a Turkey Trot in Madison Thursday morning but gave up the idea and just partied with the Troyer side of the family until time to come our way for Thanksgiving dinner.

Sweet memories. Until next time....

Today I am thankful for...
...good drinking water.
...the truth of God's Word.
...a voice to sing with.


Correction- In the post titled Jerky, I said the boys ate most of the jerky in one day. I later discovered they had a good bit more left than I realized. They aren't quite the inhalers I believed they were.

P.S. Someday I might have a good camera. Or learn to take better photos with my phone. 

Enjoy the Little Things

This is the message in this post.....

How could I resist this planner? It is so mine!

Enjoy the big things too! Here's what you get when you're shopping for a big crowd. Sharp Shopper clerks wondered where my helpers were this day. It was a day when I needed space to think and do on my own thing even though I really did need help.

Here is part of the crowd...

A couple more.... 

 And another room full. 

The parents in the crowd- one sided. Our spouses are not in the photo. We are all first cousins, sisters/brother and/or double first cousins. I invited Troyer family to come to our place for the weekend to visit my brother Paul and his family, who were up from their Honduras home taking an extended trip through the USA. One highlight of the trip for them was the Troyer reunion that was planned in Farmville, VA and then was cancelled. So a few of the cousins from Maine and VA came. We had a party!

L-R Brenda, Rhonda, Joyce, Paul, Marie, Verina, Darlene, Rosaline

The "little" girls.... sisters, cousins, second cousins, etc.     

                 

My goofy sons and their goofy cousin.

Oh, not so goofy after all.

Here's the way to travel! Three boys and one bike.

 Brother Paul, his wife Helena and daughter Julisa look on.

Most of the children (lower 20's down to 2 yr old) who were together for the weekend. Minus the wee ones.

My brother Paul, his daughter Anne and our sons made the flowerbed look nicer than it ever has.

A random snapshot of my brother and his wife. 

We went to Gap Mills to clean out my parents' house. We had a yard sale for a couple days to get rid of excess stuff.

I made a couple t-shirt dresses for my nieces in TX.

Ever see cheese puff creations? The boys bite off one end, lick it and stick another to it.

My one Lapp niece. We got a very short visit (one evening) with her and her Mama after the trip to TX.

This is what happens when someone gets a hold of my phone.

The joy of fresh garden things. Zucchini, onions, peppers, chicken (not from the garden).

The first corn on the cob- from the farmers' market.

I just love making vegetable mixes for the oven. The colors are so beautiful and with some meat and spices the flavor is amazing.

What little things are bringing you joy?

Or big things?

You CAN choose joy!