Home again, home again

My family went home to my granparents last weekend. It is a big crew we now bring but somehow we manage to fit in between grandpa and grandma's and Randy and Marcy's. Mom, Dad, Christopher, Harrison, Bennett and I stay with my grandparents while Nathan, Meredith, James, and Kaitlyn stay at Randy and Marcy's. Very cozy.

Grandpa came home from the hospital on Saturday. He had been in the long term care facility there for over a week and a half now. I worried that all of the commotion would be a lot for him to handle but I think we did a fairly good job keeping the kids quiet or at Randy and Marcy's so that he could rest. The cancer has done a number on him and he literally goes from good minutes to bad minutes. I hope that my grandma can handle all of this.

The kids had fun seeing each other again and they even got to play with Luke's kids Sean, Tom and Gage. It is fun to have them all together. It reminds me of Christmas's or other holidays where my second cousins and I all got together at Grandpa and Grandma Mohr's. There were 12 of us. Me, Chris, Dustin, Tome, Luke, Nathan, Amy, Marc, Celena, Jeni, Ben, and Jana. (I know I butchered Celena's name. It's not spelled like that!). We always had a great time and looking back now I can not figure out why our parents would think that it was a good idea to get all of us together in that little house. But it always worked. 2 great-grandparents - 4 grandparents - 10 parents - 12 children. That's 27 people and one meal. What an undertaking that must have been. Thank goodness I was too young to help!

I miss those times terribly and am trying hard to recreate those memories for my own children. We do split holidays where this year we are at Chris's side and next year we will be at my side. It is my hope that because we do this, Harrison and Bennett will grow up remembering big holiday gatherings and not road trips from this house to that house to this house. It will just be a time to get together, play with cousins, and celebrate. I took for granted that all of my dad's family lived within walking distance from each other. And when we did travel it was to one of my great-uncle's houses and that was big fun because you still only had to be in the car for either 15 minutes or 45 minutes max! The years that we went to Charles City were probably the most exciting because those were the years that Andy and Karen and Nikki and Amy were coming from New Jersey. To travel all that way just to see us! I don't remember being at my grandparents in Charles City for Christmas very often. It seemed like that was where we spent Thanksgiving or spent the holiday 'after' the holiday. And that worked for us too. More time to celebrate.

I guess I am rambling trying to remember all of the great memories. And there were so many great memories. On the years that I am not with my mom and dad on Christmas, it is a little hard on me. I love being with Chris's family. They are great and sometimes I can't actually believe that I get along with my in-laws as well as I do, but it doesn't replace mom and dad.

So, with new memories to create on this glorious day, I wish you all a happy holiday. God bless.