Since our family has grown so much in the last few years, it is almost impossible to get all the kids and grand kids into our three bedroom house. With five kids, their spouses or significant other and nine grand children it was time to find a bigger place. Luckily we were able to rent a group lodge with thirteen bedrooms and twenty six beds. This was like a dream come true for me. There was a long hall that ran from one end of the building to the other and the little kids were in hog heaven. They must have run a marathon while we were there, all of them racing up and down the hall playing tag and playing with the toys they had available to them.
The weather was really cold while we were there, but the kids managed to get out and do a little fishing, Frisbee football and John Pearson and Andrew even slept out in Andrew's new tent one night. The men watched a lot of football and the women had a little time to catch up on gossip. Sandra and I put out meals for everyone. Lucky for us it had a commercial kitchen so we were able to cook everything quicker. One morning we made about a hundred pancakes with sausage and bacon.
New Year's day we fed forty people for breakfast then that evening we had a traditional New Year's meal of hog jowl, black eyed peas and turnip greens. Just so everyone would be happy we cooked a pork loin, fried okra and Mac and cheese. We decided if anyone went away hungry, it was their own fault.
Our New Year's get to gathers have been taking place for almost forty years now. The Kriegers and Sundquist started the tradition when we had five children between us and we would take turns each year having it at each others house. Then as the kids got older we stopped staying over. Then we back on the road during the holiday and worried about someone having an accident. Now there are twenty of our family and fourteen in theirs so it was time to move on to bigger and better places.
If you want to every entertain a house full of kids let them play bingo. Monica and Suzanne bought a whole mess of gifts from the Dollar Tree and Big Lots and Sandra brought a bingo set including the roller basket and the little ones had a blast. Once they had bingoed they couldn't bingo again until everyone bingoed. You could just see the excitement as they waited for their number to be called.
I don't know how we crammed so much into four days. We even managed to have Daniel baptized after mass on New Year's eve. This is another tradition our families have. We always go to mass on New Year's eve. It gives you a sense of peace to finish the year with your family sitting next to you in church and then get up on New Year's day and have them with you to start the next year. I don't know how many more years the younger members of our families will be interested in these get-to-gethers, but as of right now, I think they are all still enjoying them.
Thank God for another blessed year and we wish for the same in the year to come.
3 comments:
On the third picture from the bottom of just you, dad and us kids...there are three "aura's" in the picture and one is right on my tummy. How funny is that.
Can't see it on my pictures. I posted more pictures on family page.
I do see the "auras" in the picture. Must be the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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