As the Stars in the Sky

My Grandpa died when I was 5, and my Grandma died when I was 10. I remember Grandpa always smiling and listening to a ballgame on the radio. Grandma was an expert seamstress, crocheting doilies well into her later years. She was a great gardener and had ain impressive display of African violets in her apartment, I recall. I enjoy hearing stories about them raising their 12 children in 3 different states (Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin) over 4 decades. Needless to say, Grandma quit teaching to stay home and raise her children! The amount of work that was done as a farm wife just boggles my mind. Here I complain about doing the laundry & cooking for 5 kids, whereas my grandma had a wringer-washer (in her later years) and cut the heads off chickens, tending a massive garden in her "spare time"! No wonder my mother made raising 9 kids look like a breeze. She learned from one of the best!

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Here we are, 100 years after that marriage, and into our 30th year of family reunions. They are held every 3rd year, and what a blessing it is to see this extended family come together and keep Clarice & May's memories alive!

Clarice & May's youngest child Jeanne (my mom), 8th child Clarice Jr. "Jupe", daughter-in-law Nancy, & nephew (who surprised us, coming all the way from South Dakota!) Iden Jr. "Buddy"

My first cousins Ron & Lynn (on the right, behind her husband Rick) are so good about flying back to nearly every reunion from their homes in Northern California. Ron and his wife Pam (on the left) hung out with us at our family campout and all week. Fun times!

Every branch of the family tree gathers under the gazebo for a picture. The 12th branch (my mom's) has a few offshoots, as you can see;) The scary thing is that at least a dozen family members (including my Dad) were not even there!!

I sure wish Dad was there, but he just wasn't feeling well enough to join us that day. My sister Marla had some awesome family t-shirts made in honor of my parents' 60th anniversary last year. We are a crazy bunch, and I don't think you'll ever get a picture of all of us looking in the right direction at the same time!! I look at this picture and think of all of the hard work my Mom & Dad went through raising us, then I think of how God has rewarded them with the picture up above :)

Grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren playing together....if May and Clarice are watching us now, imagine the joy in their hearts!

I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. --Genesis 22:17