This is the last installment of our extended Thanksgiving weekend.  With all of my cousins, their children, my aunts, uncles, and family in town for the weekend, it’s been a bit crazy to say the least.  Today was just my immediate family though, just my siblings and nieces and nephews.  A much smaller crowd and more intimate, which is always a fan favorite in my book.

Regardless of the size of the group though, you can always count on oodles of food at my mom’s house.  As if we haven’t been eating all weekend, there was another full spread today, including poor man’s steak, mashed potatoes, peas, homemade bread and strawberry jam, salad, and three, yes, three kinds of pies.  Kevin got his own mini pie with a candle to celebrate his belated birthday.  It was the popularly-used tricky candle that can’t be blown out.  No tricks on Kevin; he knew before he even tried blowing it out since he’s seen the candle at many other family birthday parties.

There were family pictures to be taken and Megan and I had worked out a trade.  We got both the Sarver’s and the Crall’s photos done in 30 minutes, absolute record time!  It took Dad longer just to get dressed for his and Mom’s pictures.

Now let me just say, my parents are hilarious.  They’ve been married for over 30 years and you think that Dad would just know by now to go with whatever Mom says, but when she told him to go get his dad’s old bike down from the attic of the garage, it was a mess of explanations.  Imagine later, when we photographed them on the bike, how my Dad was laughing so hard he couldn’t even focus because Isaac, an Amish neighbor, was going by in his buggy and Dad just thought it was the funniest thing to know that Isaac would be telling the whole community about that Perry Miller out there by the barn on a bike taking pictures.  My dad is very logistic and he kept saying, “Now, you know that this isn’t a logical scenario; we wouldn’t actually just be hanging out by the barn sitting on an old bike.”  Megan and I had a thousand laughs just watching my dad get all worked up.  Another comical moment was when Mom was kicking the barn cats out of the picture because they were rubbing all over her ankles and Dad said they could be in the picture because, “They’re my friends!  They go with my all over the farm!”

So, yes, laughter was plentiful in the Mom/Dad photo shoot.  But in the laughter is an incredible feeling of pride over the love that my parents share.  Just hearing my dad’s laughter in itself is a sort of  magical, but to see my mom involved in making the laughter happen…it’s just something really special that I feel privileged to witness.

Dad put more firewood in the stove and the smell of winter filled the house.  As usual, Mom cracked open the kitchen windows because she was hot and Dad huddled by the stove to warm up.  Games were pulled out and inclusions were made so that everyone, young and older, could play.

More food was put out for dinner, a whole new array of servings that my mom must’ve had packed away in the walk-in refrigerator.  We gathered again to pile up our plates with mounds of food.

Gavin found his place at the table…  And who wouldn’t want to be a cute little scavenger?  With Grandma and Grandpa spoon-feeding him ice cream, his spot was the luckiest one of all.

As Thanksgiving weekend comes to an end, my brain is mush with food overloads and happiness endorphins.  Yes, family can be stressful and a family of such a large size has the big potential of being stressful, but then when everyone gathers around the table and holds hand to pray, you remember all of the happiness of being part of a large, loving, hand-holding, praying family outweighs the stress of so many different schedules, lives, locations, and personalities.

It’s like Christmas magic has landed early.  I wouldn’t trade my crazy family for the world.  Merry Thanksgiving.  Spread your arms wide and dance and twirl in the magic dusting of sprinkles.  Throw your head back and laugh.  Throw your nephew in the air just to hear his screams of delight.  Chase your niece down to force a kiss on her.  Punch your brother in the arm just to prove that you still have a chance at self-defense.  Tell your sister she’s beautiful.  Hug your mom.  Give your dad a kiss on the cheek.  The fairies are dusting love through all of our hearts.  It’s magic.