Trying to Catch Up

I am behind in posting for sure. A few weeks ago I mentioned that Pumpkin would be meeting one of my aunts for the first time, and I still haven't posted any pictures.  As it turns out, we have had two family get-togethers since that time, so I will combine them both into this post.

The week before Easter, my dad's middle sister who lives in Indiana came in for a visit. This is the first time she was able to see Pumpkin.  They actually came for a funeral when she was only about 10 days old, but we were still stuck in Florida and didn't make it back before they headed home.  My aunt has been dying to see her, especially since she is named after her grandmother ( my great-grandmother).  They actually came to watch Bubba play baseball one night, but I didn't take any pictures there.  The next night my other aunt had us over for supper.

Pumpkin with my dad's sisters.  Oh how I wish he was still here to see her.

To my surprise, my great-uncle also came and had supper as well.  Uncle Earl is one of the three living children of Pumkin's namesake. He was so excited to meet her as well. He has a double soft spot for Pumpkin - she is named after his mother and he also has an adopted daughter.

                                    

Uncle Earl gave us a precious gift that night.  A broach that belonged to his mother with her name on it.  He is so tenderhearted and just teared up when he pulled it out.  It is definately something we will treasure forever.

Then last week Uncle Earl called and invited us down to his 500 acre farm for a small family get-together with his family.  It is about 30 minutes from us but we had never been there before.  Only Pumkin and I went along with my aunt, as Bubba had a baseball game.  Once again there were introductions to be made.  But I think this one was most precious.  This is Uncle Earl's adopted daughter and she has been keeping up with us through facebook. Pumpkin was completely at ease with her, maybe she felt a kindred spirit. 

Here they are together -3rd cousins.

With uncle Earl again

We had a great time catching up with those who were there. It is a shame we don't see each other more often.  My grandmother's family was extremely large, as she was the oldest of 12 children.  I have very fond memories of large family gatherings as a child. In fact, I believe that is excatly why I wanted to have a large family myself.  Now everyone is so scattered and only 3 of the children are still living. It is so easy to lose touch with everyone.  But I am so glad we had this opportunity and hope there are more to come!