Celebrating 76 Years...

In less than 36 hours, I put over 500 miles on a rental car - all in order to pay tribute to my mother's eldest brother, Elder Hector M. Mouzon, Jr. "Uncle Heckie" celebrated his 76th birthday on 14 January 2009 and as a family, we traveled from Atlanta and Birmingham to celebrate his birthday and what he means to us. It was a grand occasion, attended by over 30 family members and what a surprise to him, since we actually pulled this off without his knowing. The picture is only a partial group picture - we never did get a full "everybody in" picture - and I am kicking myself for not getting a picture of the five siblings who were present (missing: my Uncle William, who is the only sibling who is deceased; and my Uncles Al and James.)

We have a big family - my grandparents had seven children and then later adopted two additional sons. All of my uncles and my only aunt all took to heart God's command to be "fruitful and multiply", so I have cousins out of the wazoo! And when you add spouses and the second generation - well, you can just imagine. And, then on top of all the family that attended, there were friends who think they are family (and they are) who joined the mix...it was a wonderful celebration. Gathering all of these people together in one place on time took lots of time, coordination and Calling Post calls - and while there were hitches and glitches - when it was all said and done and over - what an amazing time we had. Good food (thanks Olive Garden!), great fellowship, lots of laughter, time together to hug and tell each other one mo' time again that we love each other and how important we are to each other. It is so important to do that because who knows when THIS exact group of family and friends will gather again. And I am thanking God that everyone traveled back home safely and there were no incidents, accidents or tragedies.

Thank God for family - even when they get on your nerves (and we all know family knows what buttons to push! - but praise God, not a single button was pushed during our celebration on yesterday). Love them, embrace them, celebrate them every time you can!

Be blessed.