A Family Gathering

What is life without family?  I am not just talking about our spouses and children.  I am talking about our family members that live far away, that we rarely ever talk to (but are really only a phone call away.)  These people are also important people in our lives.  Our aunts and uncles, cousins, and grandparents that help to mold us into the people that we are (or show us the people that we do not want to be.)

This weekend we had a large birthday bash, at our house, with Aaron's entire immediate family (and a few extras.)  All in all, there were over thirty people gathered to celebrate "Fall Birthdays."  This is nothing new.  We are used to the noise and chaos that comes with such a large family. 

Amidst all of the disarray, I felt truly blessed to be a part of such a large family.  Even when the phone rang (and all eleven children were running through my home, screaming, with helmets on their noggins and guns in their hands) and I could not hear a single word that the receptionist at Gillette Children's Hospital was saying, I sincerely felt blessed.  Because not everyday do we get to enjoy the company of all of our family members gathered together.  Not everyday do we get to talk and laugh and eat with everyone we love.  Not everyday do we get to see our mother-in-laws dressed up like this:



This is going to haunt her for the rest of her life.

 We were lucky enough to attempt to get all of the grandchildren together to try a picture (all nine of them are under 11 years old...)



I think that this picture says a thousand words.

Whatever the occasion and however difficult it may be, it is important to gather the people that we love.  Because our days are numbered (kind of a grim thought, I know) we need to show the important people in our lives that we love them every chance that we get.

 "We love because He first loved us-"   John 4:19



"Other things may change us, but we start and end with family-" Anthony Brandt