My Hungry Aunt Eats Old Dumplings In My Kitchen.

In July, we took a short trip to Pennsylvania for the annual Miller Family Reunion. Mike's mom is the second youngest of nine children and this is their attempt (a pretty darn good one) of getting together. The sentence above Katie (Mike's sister) came up with to aid in remembering the birth order, from oldest to youngest: Marge, Harold, Arlene, Evelyn, Owen, Diane, Irene, Miriam (aka Mim) and Kathy. Once I re-learn the sentence every year, I'm good. What I like about the picture to the left is that it has 5 of the 7 sisters in it; only Irene and Mim are missing.

While this was only my 2nd reunion, I knew what to expect and knew that we'd have a great time. Lots of people, lots of generations (Mike has 28 first blood cousins, many of whom have reproduced), very low-key, great food, great music, lots of puzzles and as busy or lazy as you wanted to be. The primary purpose is, obviously, to reunite.

Abe met many people for the first time; from his perspective, all for the 1st time (except Grandma Mim). He handled the people passing like a champ, but would often cast a glance around just to make sure either Mike or I was visible. Here he is with Jen and Damion; they need to move to Texas so they can babysit. Abe learned to go up stairs and worked hard on going down; never alone since he likes to sit sideways on the step and would topple. Sleeping was the biggest challenge we had, mainly in the nap department. This was for many reasons: lack of air conditioning, big lodge with noisy people, and, mistake by me, the three of us trying to sleep in one room. It took only one night to learn that three in a room results in no sleep for two of us (i.e. me and Abe; Daddy seems to sleep regardless). The second night Mike and I scattered in the lodge and found couches or spare rooms. Even the floor is better than a screaming child, although we never had to resort to that.

Some random things about the reunion that are worth noting.
1. Mim's sister Diane is married to Jack, neither of whom have heard the song "Jack and Diane."
2. Abe's 2nd cousins Anna, Grace, and Ben are fantastic harmonizers; Abe will likely never join them because both Mike and I are tone deaf.
3. I did try to find my ping-pong paddle, but I didn't try very hard because I knew that John (Irene's husband) would still whomp all over me like he did two years ago.
4. I hope I never have half of the kid-stories that Mike's cousin Melissa has; actually, I would love the stories, but I don't want to live through them.
5. I could listen to Bob and Marge for hours tell "how I almost died in a plane" stories.
6. My favorite line from the reunion: "If you go in that room you will not like me again EVER." This was said to a curious child trying to sneak into Abe's room while he was sleeping and probably saved that child's life. It had been a particularly trying time getting Abe to sleep and who knows how I would have reacted had she woken him up.
7. Mike's cousin (1st cousin once removed) Ben has a rare yellow Volvo; this is as car savvy as I get. Something like only 150 were made in that color in the U.S. He had a picture of it on his phone.
8. Amanda (another 1st cousin once removed) is quite the hunter. She killed her 1st bear and got a buck within the last year. She's only about 15 or 16 years old. Her stories are great.
9. I jumped in on a game of SPOONS with the teenagers and beat them all. I tried convincing them to play Full Contact SPOONS (where you place the spoons across the room). They were too scared.
10. I was reminded yet again that family pressure never stops. When you're single it's "When are you getting married?" Then the day after you get married it's "When are you having kids?" The question this time around? You guessed it: "When is number two coming?" Geesh.

One thing that I truly appreciate about this side of Mike's family is their obvious and genuine faith in God and Jesus. Many people don't know that Mike grew up Mennonite. That brings up a whole lot of stereotypes when people find out (mainly with clothing), but I always find I have way more in common with them than I have differences. What a joy to worship with them, especially in the service on Sunday morning. Although, this year I did spend a lot of time on the porch with Abe, but it was still a blessing to listen to the music and praise.