A day with my Big Family

I have 5 siblings and out of the 5, 4 of us are married with children.  Now we are just waiting for our little brother to get married.  All 5 siblings with their families were able to make it to India for our family gathering which took place in December 2014.  It was an amazing time to be together once again with our parents.  My dad has been recently going through a lot of health issues and we were all worried about him but by God's grace and everyone's prayer he was at his best during those days when we were together.  My parents have 14 grandchildren.  Together we were 26 of us with wives, husbands and children.  We all went on a trip to a beautiful place called Vagamon, Kurisumala.  This was just 2 hours drive from our house.  We rented a mini bus to fit all of us in.  It was perfect and the best time ever.  We sang, played games and prayed.

We have lots of memories at that place and that's how we chose to go there.  My parents lived there in their initial years of marriage when my two brothers were younger.  Also my dad worked for a good number of years.  We were able to see the house they lived in and also my dad's work place.  Our first stop was for mass which was celebrated by my dad's brother who is a priest.  I just felt so  blessed to have this moment together as a family celebrating the beautiful mass together, which was celebrated by my very own uncle.   I am not sure when will we get this opportunity again.  I am so very thankful to my Lord for this beautiful time.  

After mass we explored the scenic places.  We stopped by my dad's work place and there was a beautiful hill there.  The next thing you know all my little nieces and nephews along with my single brother ran up the hill.  Even the 3 year old was running up without any fears.  It was fun. I wish I had joined them but Anna was sleeping on my shoulders and didn't want to run with her.

This place is famous for its tea plantation.  Those bushes you see all over are tea leaves. 

This was the biggest grasshopper I have ever seen.  It was huge.  

Half of the children while the other half wandered off to somewhere

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That night we stayed at a Bungalow which was arranged in advance for us.  It was beautiful.  The evening we spent together praying, dancing, singing, sharing and playing.  Everyone had a great time.  You can see us going little crazy in the pictures below.

Even my mom joined the party haha

The next morning it was already time to say good bye to my eldest brother and family.  We took few more last minute pictures and they took off.  

Morning Tea 

These two naughty boys had way too much fun that morning. 

After my brother and family left we continued our journey through the tea plantations.

Sony gave them a timeout..lol

A beautiful, fun filled, memorable day.  At this moment I can only think of my dear parents who raised us and brought us thus far in a loving happy environment.  It is their faith in God and  their sacrifices that gave us good lives.  My dad is going to be 76 years old next month and my mom just turned 65.  Their constant love of us is what keeps us going.  They are our example in our married lives.  I thank God for such wonderful and loving parents and also thanking my parents for saying yes to life.  If it was not for their Yes I might not have been here.  If they had stopped having children after the first two or three,  I will not be present here to write this blog.  I pray for them and their long lives.  They are our strength and support, always.  

I love my big family! :)

My Big Family

We reached our home in Kerala on December 27th by 9:30 pm.  My entire family was eagerly waiting for our arrival since we were already a day late due to all the delays at the airport.   It was joyful to meet all my brothers and sisters and my little nieces and nephews around.  We haven't met together as a family in like 10 years.  That made our gathering even better.  Did I already mention that the main reason why we decided to go to India was for our Family Get together.  

We were supposed to take these pictures during the day.  Since we did not reach there until late the photographer came right after we reached.  We were so dead tired but still I think due to all the excitement we were able to smile through the pics.  The children were so tired and had just woken up.  They were still very cranky and upset also since they were meeting half my family for the first time.  

Sisters and Sister in laws

Brothers and brother in laws

My whole family

I don't think our faces show the tiredness of just arriving from a 35 hours of journey.