Yesterday almost seemed like Thanksgiving. How I loved it! It was like a Sunday at my mom’s house years ago. My siblings and their families had all come for Sunday dinner, along with Uncle Lou and Aunt Diann. Uncle Lou is the uncle I blogged about over here. As Uncle Lou saw the bustle of so many bodies moving about and smelled the aroma of home-cooked food wafting through the kitchen, he observed, “It’s like Thanksgiving here!” So I’ve become my mom, as that’s what it felt like today with 5 out of my 7 kids, my two grandsons, and my son-in-law all in the house. I am definitely loving my big family life! It has its highs and lows for sure, its challenges, its pains and sorrows, but all-in-all, I’m so grateful for my big family and my life as an ordinary housewife, mom, and grandma.

I’m so grateful for the plan of families that come from God. I love collecting families, as my son-in-law calls it. This is the process of learning to know your own family and each family on the branches of your family tree, and growing the branches, with marriages, births, and adoptions. I love getting to know my relatives, such as when I went to my uncle’s funeral in October. I got to chat with some of my cousins and some of my mom’s cousins. Last Friday, we went to a wedding reception for the daughter of my husband’s cousin. How wonderful it was to catch up with some of my husband’s cousins for 15 minutes or so. My husband talked to one cousin, my sister-in-law with another cousin, and I talked to a cousin’s wife.

Then next month another cousin’s daughter is getting married, so we’ll get to do it again. This is just the beginning, what with all the younger siblings coming of age. I love how funerals and weddings are mini-family reunions. They are a reminder to me that God wants us to feel family love and share this family love with all of His children. I realize that because of dysfunctional families, not everyone feels this family love nor wants to be with a family forever. My heart goes out to these people. If anyone reading this feels this way, I am praying for you to feel family love and do what you can to create family love.

Speaking of families, did you all see the finale of season 12 of Relative Race last night? If not, go watch it here. If it’s your first episode of the season, it’s best if you go watch the other episodes first, to give you context. Go to this page for Season 12 and watch them order, starting with Episode 1.

I almost always cry when I see these people on the show hug a long-lost relative for the first time, especially if it’s a parent or sibling. It’s just so sweet!

Here’s an organic, unofficial “Relative Race” story that involves so-called coincidences to bring about some people finding relatives. This story happens without any DNA testing, race, or TV cameras. It was all orchestrated purely by God! It is sure to warm your hearts this Thanksgiving season, especially if you love Relative Race. It involves some mixed-up mail, a common surname, long-lost twins, and reunited cousins and siblings. It all happened in November, culminating in a joyous family reunion on Thanksgiving Day! All from a catalog sent to the “wrong” address! God definitely works through mysterious ways, even with catalogs and the postal system! The story is called “A Catalog of Events”, by Janet Kruckenberg. It appeared in the June 1994 Ensign. Here’s the beginning of the story (copied from the June 1994 Ensign):

When I answered the phone, a man’s voice on the other end of the line asked my name and told me his, saying that a mail order catalog with my name on it had arrived in his mail. He asked if I had ordered the catalog or if I wanted it. I told him I didn’t and that I had no idea why my name was on it. We would have hung up then if the caller hadn’t said something else.

There’s so much more to the story! Please see the rest of the article here. I have more posts about Relative Race listed here. The awesome feels of Relative Race never have to end! I’m so grateful for the plan of salvation, centered in our Savior Jesus Christ, whose atoning sacrifice allows us to repent of our sins, so we want to, and can, live as eternal families. I wouldn’t want to live forever together if we all were stuck in our selfish stuff.