Allred Christmas Party

The Allred Christmas party is when I am always the most boggled by what my parents' family has become. There are always a large number of my siblings, nieces, and nephews absent (they live out of state, have other obligations, or, as was the case with one nephew and his wife this year, are in the hospital having a baby--increasing further the total posterity number for my parents), yet still it is an enormous crowd.

I just tried to properly calculate the Allred posterity number but semi gave up. 

11 kids. 11 spouses. 

67 grandkids. 29 grandkid spouses. 

But then ... how many great grandkids? I'm not actually certain. I started trying to count and got confused! I think 74, but I might have missed some, and there are at least 3 of my nieces currently expecting. 

Still, if we include those 3 that are coming, that makes a total of 195 people under the "Allred posterity" umbrella! 

I don't know if those who marry in are technically posterity??? But they are a part of the Allred family now. And, however you look at it, it truly is just almost impossible to comprehend! Remarkable. And, as I said, boggling. 

Afterall, it was just ... my two parents. 

But now?!

And consider: the majority of my parents' grandkids haven't even gotten married and begun having children yet! 

And, before the younger portion of those grandkids do, a large number of the great grandkids will have already begun having children! (Several great grandkids are already out of high school--which gets very confusing. My kids have cousins who are much closer to my age than to theirs.)

As my brother Mark joked in my dad's funeral speech, "The World might need to wake up and take notice. It's either glorious. Or terrifying. At the current rate, by the year 2080 there will be nearly one billion of Gordon and Sharon's posterity-- headed for world domination."

Anyway. That's my family. I can hardly believe it. 

And back to where we started with all of this: The Allred Christmas Party. That's often the only time I see many of them in the year. So I'm grateful for that traditional gathering!

These pictures show very little of all who were there, but here are some few pictures all the same:

Me with sisters Megan and Shannon above, and with several of my crew and Shan below. (For those of you who are confused, yes, Shannon has alopecia but isn't that a cute wig she occasionally wears.)

Three of my boys with their cousin Miles.

Summer holding her cousin Jasmine's brand-new baby.

Shannon's husband Jason, Megan's son Will and my Mike.

My youngest four performing "Star Bright" during the talent show. (Daisy and Mette played a duet of "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem". And Abe and Pen also played a verse of "Piano Man"--Pen on piano and Abe on harmonica.)

Santa came to visit this year. 

Rob's wife Amber with my 88-year-old mother.

Oh, hello there.

Megan, Santa, our childhood friend Lizzie, me, and ... a trail of my children.

The Nativity.

Cousins doing chimes for the Nativity.

The pinata!

Anders looking cool.

Mom and the five girls. (And several of my children.)

Niece Allie, niece Tessa and Tessa's Maggie (whose birth I got to photograph).

Just the sisters.

Mom! The one who started all of this. 

The End.