I just got back from the annual Cole family reunion. This reunion is for my mother's people and we've been doing this for over thirty consecutive years. Several of us have been praying specifically that this year's gathering would be a special time of blessing and sweet fellowship. He answered in a big, big way.
The biggest blessing of it all was the way God worked it out for my parents to come. My dad's health aide, Brian Stephens, along with his wife and son, traveled from Missouri to Texas with my parents to take care of my dad so my mama could see her family. My dad is far enough along in his stroke recovery to actually want to travel, but it would not have been possible without Brian. I failed to get a picture of the Stephens family, but here's one of my dad on the trip there.
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He's smiling.
I took three of my grandson with me. (The youngest one will be old enough to go next year. I have an age requirement for the sake of my sanity.) They look forward to this every year and we were packed and ready when my sister showed up to go with us. We took her car because it's really hard to squeeze this many people and their luggage into a Toyota Yaris!
There was a big turnout this year. Saturday morning breakfast was served to 75 people, and that's just the early birds! The total head count for the day was 161. It was so good to see the new babies! This little guy, Enoch, is baby number 9 in his family. Here he is with his pretty mama, Kelly.
Here are her babies 7 & 8, Katie bug and Elisha. Little cutie pies!
This is 2 month old Jodi Lynn who brought her parents, Jenny and Michael, with her. She's full of personality and was awake most of the time.
Jodi Lynn's grandparents, Shelley and Cliff.
Cliff's sister, Kay, came and shared a wonderful story. Kay had recently returned from the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. where she had taken one of her students. She told us that these wonderfully brilliant kids who make it to the national bee are treated like the champions they are. They toured the Smithsonian, visited the monuments, and had a banquet where the finalists gave speeches. Kay told us that one of the boys thanked his teachers, his spelling coach, his sponsors, his parents, and then he said, "And I thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." The room erupted in applause and cheers! Even though a large number of people in the room were not from a Christian heritage, they applauded his stand! Kay said she told the boy she was with, "This is why we're here!" She was blessed beyond her wildest dreams. Considering that she grew up in the tiny Texas town of Robert Lee and now teaches school in San Angelo, Texas, the small town girl never thought she'd get to be the teacher who took one of her students to the national spelling bee. And the boy was only nine years old!
Cliff and Kay come from a large family. Their brother, Andy, and two more sisters, Patti and Jodelle were there. Patti brought her two beautiful granddaughters whose mama couldn't make it that day, and her other daughter came with her son. Jodelle's daughter, son-in-law and first grandbaby(!) came with her. Her grandmother name is JoJo. Isn't that adorable?
Cliff and Kay come from a large family. Their brother, Andy, and two more sisters, Patti and Jodelle were there. Patti brought her two beautiful granddaughters whose mama couldn't make it that day, and her other daughter came with her son. Jodelle's daughter, son-in-law and first grandbaby(!) came with her. Her grandmother name is JoJo. Isn't that adorable?
Patti on the left, Jodelle on the right. (That's Homer in the middle. He's a whole 'nother story.)
On Saturday afternoon we had our auction. The auction is our way of funding the reunion. Cousin Galen is the auctioneer and he knows how to work it! It opened up with a word of prayer and then the bidding commenced! Mama had brought two shadow boxes in which were mounted squares cut out from a coverlet that had been made by her great grandmother in the 1800's. The grandmother had spun the thread, dyed it, and knitted squares that she stitched together to make the bed covering. My mother's aunt had given it to her when she was a teenager. The bidding went a little crazy on those shadow boxes, bringing a thousand dollars each! There were some other items that sold really well, like the pens that Galen made that said "Cole Family Reunion 2014" on them. That sweet Brian Stephens painted two pictures for the auction and they both garnered good bids. This year's auction brought in almost double the amount that is usually raised.
Galen, our illustrious auctioneer.
Here are my parents at the auction. I love this picture because my dad is sitting next to his only sister, Collene. She is married to my mama's brother, Tommy, sitting on the end. My dad and his sister got to have their own family reunion in the midst of their spouses' family reunion!
After the auction, we chowed down on leftovers from the Friday night sandwiches and the catered Saturday lunch. Then tables were cleared, floors swept, dishes washed, trash taken out. We sat around and visited while the kids played. The weather was perfect and the fellowship was sweet.
My cousin Greg came in the kitchen where some of us were sitting and just started pouring out his heart. His daughter, Charlotte, has gone through a battle with breast cancer. She had to have a double mastectomy and undergo months of chemo and radiation. At last year's reunion, her hair was starting to grow back, and this year she was looking completely back to normal. Greg said as she was about to head home with her family Saturday evening she told him something had shown up in her last blood test that concerned the doctors and she was going in for more tests on Monday. She's Greg's only daughter and his heart was hurting. He asked us all to pray for her. He said when he told the group gathered in the barn about it that Galen had led them in a prayer. While Greg was talking to us, his brother walked over from another table and hugged him and gave him words of encouragement. The aunts sitting at the table cried with him and promised their prayers. So much love! Greg left the kitchen for awhile and then came back in and soaked up some more love and encouragement. He started talking about how his hope was in the Lord and how he understood the difference between the short time we're on this earth experiencing suffering and the eternity that we'll have in heaven with nothing but joy! It was a beautiful thing to see the love and support poured out on him and to know that so many generations of this family will faithfully pray for Charlotte to be completely healed.
The grandsons and I stay in cabin #9 every year. It's an old cinder block structure with beds as hard as boards, but it's clean and we love it. There's a kitchenette so we're able to have a bedtime snack. The boys were filthy from playing outside so they took turns in the shower and sacked out. I hope they come with me every year forever! I don't care if they're grown men, I still want to spend that one weekend a year with them in cabin #9!
Tired and hungry!
