Catching up

What a week. All 23 family members were here for Thanksgiving and I am now happily exhausted. With five children, their spouses, and 13 (so far) grandchildren, some of whom live 2/3 of the country away, it does not happen often, but this year we all made it work and it was perfect in every way.

Pies were baked (by children).

Daniel preparing crust for blueberry pie.

We are a pie-baking family, a tradition that has been passed from generation to generation. Never a store-bought pie crust will be found in our gatherings.

A couple of pies were baked by adults, but they all could have been made by children. One grandson, when asked if he wanted to help bake, asked warily, “Are we laminating the pie dough?” Not gonna lie, I did not know what laminated dough was until this particular 11-year-old explained it to me. We are serious about our pie.

Deb’s cherry pie with lattice sour-dough crust.

Shoes were piled in the mudroom. When we began building a house, this is exactly what I chose our floor plan for.

This might be my favorite picture.

Turkeys were carved. I thought I was buying plenty when I got three turkeys, but we ended the week with almost none left over. Pork butts, though? We have so much extra I’m giving it away.

Master turkey fryer and carver.

Prayer was prayed and made this mama cry. (There is a person sitting in that chair being prayed over.)

Let it be so.

Brush was burned and hot dogs and marshmallows were roasted. Sticks were thrown in the fire and clothing was made to smell like a campfire. There is something special about bonding over flames and warmth.

There is no shortage of brush to be burned around here.

Tractors (and 4-wheelers) were ridden and they were highlights of the week.

A thumb and a tractor. What could be better?

Stories were read by everyone who was able.

Zola reading to Beulah and Titus.

Mamas were encouraged by each other in a rare moment of quiet.

They don’t get to chat nearly often enough.

Every year on Mother’s Day I say the same thing: I don’t deserve accolades. God gave me the sweetest gift when he allowed me to be a mother, and I feel the same now, almost 40 years later. Two very imperfect people came together and trusted God to make it all work out, and he did that in spades.

Sometimes we were worse than broke. Sometimes we prospered. Sometimes (most times) we didn’t have a clue what we were doing but we did it with the best of intentions. Sometimes it backfired but sometimes it worked and God was faithful through every step.

Look what he has done.

If the children look a little crazy, it’s because we bribed them with pie.

There are a more than a few specific answered prayers in this photo, and I would try to list them, but I can never get their birth order right. And yet not all of our prayers are answered . . . yet. We wait with patience and hope.

Praise his name for ever. Amen.