We so missed Uncle Mitch and Aunt Janice this year. We are sorry they couldn't be with us and are praying for a good result from Mitch's upcoming surgery.
Friday night we met at Shannon and Stephanie's house for supper and visiting. They have a lovely home and welcomed us all with open arms. The kids found a good spot in the sunroom and played UNO while the rest of us ate, laughed and told stories.
As we were leaving a severe thunderstorm began blowing up. I seriously couldn't believe it was happening again! Remember the exact same thing happened last year? Anyway, we again found ourselves in a blinding rain with high winds - but luckily no hail this time around. Four carloads of us convoyed back to the hotel verrrryyyy slowly. Visibility ranged from a few hundred yards to just barely past the bumper of the car. :( We were sure glad to get back safe and sound. Once safely at the hotel, the kids decided to go swimming in the pool while Jennifer and I sat poolside chatting. :)
Saturday morning we had breakfast at the hotel then went to Aunt Carolyn's house for more visiting and lunch. After lunch several of us went our separate ways - some to a movie, some to Czech town, some to take a nap! :) A few of us went strolling along the downtown square in Marion. We enjoyed visiting a purse store, a cute little eclectic gift shop, a used book store (score!!) and a SUPER neat toy store. Then it was back to the hotel to clean up for dinner at the Longbranch restaurant.
After dinner Hannah, Susanna and Jackson got together in our hotel room to practice their songs for tomorrow. Jackson broke a guitar string during practice and, of course, didn't have a spare of that string. :( By then it was 10:00 pm on a Saturday night and we couldn't find any store open to get a replacement. He ended up just using a different string in that place and it worked well enough. But, I think we all learned to double check the extra strings in his case BEFORE we leave town! :)
Sunday morning we again met at Aunt Carolyn's for breakfast (yummy kolaches from Czech Village!) and family church. I think family church is one of my favorite reunion activities - whether we have it 'officially' at Oak Ridge church in Lentner or in Aunt Carolyn's living room. It is very meaningful to worship with my extended family - sharing favorite verses and scripture & singing hymns together. What a lovely continuation of the legacy of faith that has been passed down through the generations. We truly are blessed.
Aunt Carolyn shared some of her favorite verses, including this one...
“Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord! Sing him a new song. Sing his praises, all his people.” (Psalms 149:1)
She finished her reading by joyfully exclaiming, "that means we're supposed to sing!" Amen, Aunt Carolyn. I couldn't agree more. (See Aunt Carolyn read that scripture at this link.) In family church we sing hymns together with our myriad voices. But, I can also hear the singing of our hearts when stories are shared and laughter fills the room. Our family reminds me of a beautiful song with all the varied notes and keys, blending into a beautiful harmony, much richer and deeper because we are together.It was a lovely weekend - it went by way too quickly, but we got so much out of it. Already looking forward to next year!
Here is a link to the the song that Candace, Hannah, Susanna and Jackson performed called "Let's Make a Memory". Daddy had first heard this song several months ago and shared it with us. We all loved it and thought it was perfect for the family reunion. Hannah and Jackson also performed their original song from last year called "Tradition of Love". And here are a couple of hymns with Aunt Carolyn playing piano - Wonderful Words of Life and In the Garden.
I didn't include any photos in this post, but you can see several photos from the reunion at this link.
