Over the river and through the woods, to Aunt Penny’s house we go…

Actually, it was eleven hours by interstate and the prairie farm backroads of Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas…but the end result was definitely worth it!  It had been two long years since we’d all been together in one place…my children, my grandchildren and myself. Not since the summer of 2010 when we all met in Chicago.  At that time, my oldest and his family were returning home from almost 7 years on the medical mission field in Peru.

We all drove from three different directions to meet in Memphis…where I had grown up…where my children were born and, sadly, where their father is buried.  My children’s paternal Aunt Penny and Uncle Mike graciously hosted our family in Memphis…along with their three sons, wives and four grandchildren.  Thank you, Aunt Penny and Uncle Mike!  We love you!  My oldest and his wife are host parents to a fourteen year old South Korean foreign exchange student this school year so this was her first Thanksgiving. Altogether, there were 27 of us there for the Thanksgiving feast!  It was a wonderful Thanksgiving and I found myself wishing more than once that their Dad could have been their with us…no doubt he was in spirit.

On Friday night, my niece Sharon and her husband joined us for a fun Corky’s Barbecue dinner.  Delicious food and fun fellowship!  Sharon and Tommy’s son and his wife and their two children stopped by to see us.  They were headed to the Christmas tree lighting at their church so they couldn’t stay for Corky’s.  It was so good to see them!

I loved watching all my grandchildren playing together and sometimes pairing off by age and interests.  It thrilled me to see the love (and talent for) art in all my grandchildren as well as the love of music.  Four grandchildren are superb on the piano and one plays the violin beautifully.  (I know I sound just like a grandmother – what can I say?!  It’s true all the same.)  The love of books and reading was evident as well.

I was in grandmother heaven until it came time to say goodbye to each one…then I was a crybaby.  Now, it will mean flights to see my sons and their families…and waiting until we are all together again.  Thankfully, for my daughter and four of my grandchildren, I can just get in the car and drive 14 minutes.  😉

To see more of the Thanksgiving crazy fun, enjoy the slideshow below!  Just click the arrows to forward or reverse pics.

P.S. For those of you who asked for them, the cookie recipes are now at the bottom of the previous post! 😉

Note:  The Thanksgiving song above is here.