Thanksgiving and Christmas

Thanksgiving would find us in Lebanon again.  Most of our early years, we went to Missouri for Memorial Day (usually a reunion at my grandparents' farm), sometime again in July, and for Thanksgiving, when all my mother's side of the family got together (I think it was a mandate.)  My mom and aunt rotated hosting duties, and usually the cousins all had a volleyball or softball game after a noontime dinner.  My mom had two sisters and a brother (plus both of her parents were still living) and our family reunions at home were always with them.  Occasionally Kent would go out hunting with some of the guys, and before too many years there were lots of next generation cousins to care for.  We would rotate Illinois and Missouri for Christmas.

In December my parents stayed with us for two weeks while my dad was taking a class at the Arsenal (he was also DOD at Fort Leonard Wood, MO.)  My mom lives in her kitchen, and it was such a treat to come home from work to dinner on the table!  Plus, it was good to have them and Kent's parents both together; it was special to us to see both sets of parents become friends.

This year was an Illinois Christmas.  We celebrated with the girls, and spent the day at Kent's folks. Little brother Rob was home from college, and that always meant trouble when he and Kent got together (still does).  Rob is 14 years younger than Kent, but they have always had a special relationship, and it's great to watch (and sometimes frightening!)  We inherited the flocked Christmas tree when the folks moved to Florida a few years later, and used it for many years in our own home - along with ornaments handed down from Kent's grandmother.