Every year since 1997, my grandma's side of the family has gathered at Cisco Center for Thanksgiving. This meal brings her sisters' (Mart, Maggie, Gertrude, Edith) and brother's (Ivan) families together. Each of her siblings had families, which is my mom's generation. Then, my generation all have families, and some of our kids are starting to get to the age of getting married. Every year, we gather in a large circle, count off, and then Great Uncle Dave prays. Then, we eat the most delicious meal and have such wonderful conversations with family we see only this one time every year. It is such a wonderful tradition, and a weekend I look forward to sharing with my mom each year.
Prior to 1997, the family gathered at Great Aunt Barb's house for this same tradition. She collected salt and pepper shakers and had more than I have ever seen or any of us could count. The family gathered there from 1973 to 1997, when Aunt Barb passed away. Prior to that, the celebration was always held at my mom's grandparents' home, until her Grandpa passed away in 1973. That house is actually where my Uncle Rick (Mom's brother) and Aunt Dianne live now. (Their daughter and my cousin, Natalie, is who the Pop! shower was for in an eariler post.)
This year was another special experience, especially when Beckett ran up to Grandma and exclaimed, "GG!" With his arms open, he jumped into her lap and gave her the biggest, brightest smile. That is a special memory, and a reason this celebration means so much. I also got to catch up with my cousin, Tammy, who was my best friend growing up. She is so happy and doing so well - she owns her own business in Mahomet (which sounds glamorous but is a lot of hard work!) and has recently found a very special person to share her life with. (Their first date was on Harper's birthday, so I'll always remember that!)
Here are a few pics from the day:
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| Uncle Jay came to go hunting with Daddy, and Harp loved his beard! |
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| Little Turkeys - Love. :) |
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| Tam and Harp |
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| MMMMMMM! |
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| "I want to go see GG, Mommy!" My heart is happy. |
The gym is one of the great parts of renting this space because the kids can play. This is the first year I've had a kid who can play. Sniff, sniff.
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