TGJFRT of 2012 - Days 10, 11 & 12 - The Family Reunions

We spent Saturday and Sunday visiting with the Neals - my mom's side of the family - and kicked off the weekend with our traditional Neal family breakfast of chocolate gravy and biscuits. Hey...if you haven't tried it, don't knock it.... It was great to see so many family - all of my mom's sisters and one lone brother, who also happened to be the one who married Jack and me, and their spouses. There was, of course, a mountain of food. Ironically, the Seattle area was experiencing record heat, and Saturday and Sunday were the hottest days in two years. Oh, joy. Our apologies for bringing the heat with us. I was so looking forward to cooler weather. So lots of sitting in the shade and catching up ensued. A couple moments that stand out in my mind: Listening to my Uncle Dwayne talk and realizing he sounded just how I remember my Grandpa Neal sounding. Sitting around on Sunday morning with my Aunts and Uncles singing old hymns. My goodness, they know some of the old camp meeting songs...some I'd never heard of. We relocated hotels (again) on Sunday and moved downtown. Four adults and eight children traipsed around the streets of downtown Seattle in search of dinner, and naturally ended up right where we started, at the pub smack dab in front of our hotel. On Monday morning, Jack, the boys and I walked down to Pike's Place Market. What a groovy place. My Grandma Peretti used to go shopping down there and my dad has memories of the meat market guy giving him free hot dogs...which after the first few times he no longer cared for, so Grandma let him ditch them. We also found a great Russian bakery across the street from the market for breakfast. The original Starbucks is down there too, but we bypassed that. We also went to see the Peretti side of the family on Monday. Again, more catching up and getting reacquainted with cousins I never had the chance to know, and of course, seeing the aunts and uncles. One of my aunts, baptized as a young teen by Aimee Semple McPherson, is a licensed minister, still studies the Word and teaches weekly. Uncle Gene displayed his shoe repair handiwork. The consensus is that is not the field for him. I so enjoyed seeing them all - Aunt Eva, Uncle Gene & Simone, Aunt Barbara, Uncle Harvey & Aunt Karen, Uncle Roland & Aunt Iola, Uncle Dave & Paula. I am deeply grateful for the faith tradition that has been handed down on both sides of my family. Psalm 61:5b,"You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name."