I am fortunate to be a part of a very tightly knit group.  Until recently I defined this group as my extended family.  During the photography portion of my niece Sydney’s wedding, my sister (Gina) set me straight saying:

“THIS is immediate family”

Mama, My sister, Me, our spouses, children and grandchildren.

My Immediate Family

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We get together to celebrate so often that LB will jokingly say, “well let’s go, I can’t remember when we last got together”.

Recently, one of our OG members made a decision that will change everything going forward.  My nephew Clay will be taking his family out of the country and into the mission field.  Here is his story: Clay Rigdon – 6:8 Ministries

My sister wanted to send them off with a family gathering that would leave them wanting for nothing.  Her plan was to “have a Seasons Party or Year in the Life kind of situation” highlighting “the major holidays and also celebrate Adrian’s upcoming birthday”

To begin, on Sunday morning everyone went to Jones Road Baptist Church to hear Clay deliver a sermon.  After a tearful dedication and laying on of hands we departed and gathered again at our home base, the house where my sister and I grew up.  We kicked off the event with a celebration of Adrian’s upcoming 8th birthday and a specially made with love kitty cat birthday cake.

She told Amanda it was the “best day of her life”.

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Because we had recently celebrated Easter…

we moved forward with a celebration of the Fourth of July

which included a cookout in the backyard, rocket pop-sicles, and sparklers…

..

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The next Family day event to celebrate was Halloween…

which included masking up to go “trick-or-treating”

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What comes after Halloween?

You know!

We didn’t have any pumpkin pie, but we did enjoy some sausage puff appetizers and apple cider while sharing the things we are most thankful for

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Christmas would be observed by a reading of the birth of Jesus from the book of Luke

followed by a brutal game of Dirty Santa.  The gift stealing was so intense that hardly any photos were taken.  It was worth every minute.

Gina had gifts for the kids that she designed and several photos were taken of them….

The tee shirts were designed with each name of Mary Reid’s great grandchildren shaped into a heart along with a bible verse…

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you”  (Philippians 1:3)

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There were 2 more holidays that followed Christmas

and

In honor of the next new year, Dillon made a toast and said a prayer then Sydney handed out Valentine’s Day treats as parting party favors.

At this point we were all overwhelmed.

My heart is full.  My life is blessed.

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Please pray for Clay, Chynna, Levi, Thea, Adrian, and Eden as they depart for Costa Rica this week.  Please pray for the rest of us as we remain in Florida without them.

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Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Don’t be scared