First of all, I have to apologize...we didn't take any pictures this year at the annual Labor Day Gathering. Dennis didn't take his camera, and I never took mine out of my purse...too busy visiting! The only picture I took all weekend was with my phone, of sweet little Bellamy while I was holding her. Sorry, everyone!
That being said, it was a wonderful weekend, as always! We normally don't make it for the Friday night dinner, but we did this year. Chicken and waffles was the menu item. This was our first time to experience this odd combination, but I thought it was quite tasty. (I didn't eat it like Teddy and Kay though...piling everything on top of each other and topping it off with hot sauce!) There were about 30 or so that evening. Most folks were still on the road and hadn't arrived yet. Wallace and Linda made it this year, which was a treat for all! Labor Day just isn't the same without them! Friday night reminded me of the "old days" when we'd stay over Sunday night at Verlie's. Most of the people had left, so we had a smaller, more intimate group. That was when some of our best conversations were held...and some of our funniest moments. Everyone was more relaxed, feeling great from all of the good times had, and a little giddy from lack of sleep. Some of my favorite memories are from those days!
The crowd about doubled on Saturday. We did wraps for lunch, which worked very well. Everyone brought all of the meats and cheeses and toppings, and then we just built our own. After lunch, most of the guys and kiddos went to the archery range for the afternoon. I spent a large part of that time hogging, I mean holding, Bellamy! Leslie and a few of the other young ladies went shopping, and I was glad to tend to that little sweetie. She is such a good baby! The only time you hear a peep out of her is when she is hungry. So she and I sat and watched a friendly game of Train. Finally everyone started returning from their various activities in order to start preparing for supper. Quite a few of the youngsters had caught "bow fever" and were begging their parents to buy them one of their own! Teddy did take some great pictures of their activity and has them posted on his Facebook page.
Supper this year was street tacos. That went over VERY well! There were three kinds of meat, with all of the trimmings you could think of. Teddy also introduced us to "street corn"...corn served in a cup and topped with butter, Parmesan cheese and lime juice (and hot sauce for the more adventurous). It was pretty good! Then came clean up time and more visiting...and singing! There are always plenty of great voices in the group. Whether sitting off in the corner participating, or being scattered around the room engaged in other activities, there were people joining in the songs of praise and worship all over!
We had a full house on Sunday at the assembly! Jensen Porter was our morning speaker. He gave an engaging lesson on "Walking Barefoot", aka the Duct Tape Lesson. I always enjoy hearing Jensen speak. He is such a breath of fresh air! He really works at pushing people out of their comfort zones when it comes to helping others and spreading the gospel. After a wonderful potluck dinner, we then were treated to a lesson by Richard Newhart. He spoke on The Good Samaritan...with a twist. Rather than placing us, as is normally done, in the place of the Samaritan, he placed us in the role of the injured man...and used the parable as a study in the life of a Christian, with Jesus being our good Samaritan. Very interesting! After the assembly, I reluctantly said my good-byes and headed home. Dennis wasn't able to go with me for the Lord's Day, because he had to stay at Highway to speak. We've always taken Labor Day weekend "off" and traveled to the get-together, so it was his turn to "stay home" this time.
I always really love this special time with friends and family! We've been attending this gathering for 16 years (having only missed a couple). This was the 40th consecutive year that the Young family has hosted the event, albeit in different settings. It is such a wonderful time of refreshing! There's not a lot of "entertainment"...just hours upon hours of good fellowship and lots of tasty food. There is always a "corner" of people gathering to sing together at some point also. Just good ole fashioned fun times! One of my favorite parts is watching all of the kids (of all ages) making new friends and having such a good time together. Some of my kids' best friendships developed at these gatherings...as well as some of my own! Here's looking forward to the next 40 years!
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