We have had a nice holiday celebration with family. Our first celebration was with Randy's side of the family in Southeast Missouri. It was wonderful to see everyone at the same time! We don't visit often but we do keep up with everyone through phone, email, facebook, etc. I don't get to blog about this group much so I thought I'd share a little about them.
Randy's family has always had big celebrations together and even though most of the elders have passed away we all make an effort at making new traditions to pass on to the new generation. Randy and his siblings and cousins are the ones all of our children will share stories of.
There is never a dull moment in the Richards Family. We laugh a lot when we are together.
Randy's dad and his dad's siblings have all passed away with the exception of his Aunt Parnell. Ed is Parnell's husband; we were thrilled he could be with us at this year's Christmas gathering at Jeannie & Leonard's.
Matt is the oldest of the new generation of cousins and Randy's sister Anita's son. He is the Manager of the Hastings in the area but Dylan thinks it is "his store" and loves visiting so his Aunt Anita will take him to Matt's store to buy something.
Veronica and Nick are Randy's brother Ronnie's kids and have grown up before my eyes. When I began dating Randy, Veronica was a toddler and I still remember where I was and what I was doing when we got the call Nick was born.
Tina was born the week before I found out I was pregnant with Dane; she is Randy's sister Jeannie's daughter. She and the boys are close and she has even become friends with my sister Michele's daughter Megan.
Micah really does own a gas station and convenient store so when the boys visit during the summer they love getting to go to Micah's store for special treats. Libbie is Randy's step-mom and who Randy claims as the best southern chef around. Over the years my cooking has always been compared to and fallen short to Libbie's but I have never minded because I have had Libbie's cooking and it is that good!
This is the full house. Micah, Jeannie, Randy, Ronnie, and Anita.
The kids adore Anita and love being silly with her.
We love being a part of this large family!
