The worst reason for a reunion...

So, the Hollingsworths' have had another whirl-wind adventure. Mike's mom had another stroke last week, and is not recovering from it very well. So, we all piled into the cars Thursday night, and headed down to Albuquerque.

Now, you have to understand, this was going to be my first meeting of Mike's family. I mean Jake and I have only been married two years, but we probably could have made a trip a little sooner. The funny thing is that when we got all together that first night, you wouldn't have known that it had been such a long time since they had gotten together. We all settled in and started catching up on the latest weddings and babies, like we really hadn't missed a beat. There was a little talk about Grandma Gay, but I think most were trying to not think about it for a little while. Mike and Mark (mike's twin brother) even joked that it took their mom having another stroke to get them all back together.
I really had a fun time, considering the reason for the trip. I got to meet Jake's cousins Amanda, Laura, Sean. Amanda is happlily single at the moment. Laura is married to Ryan with their little boy EJ, and another baby on the way. Sean just got married this past summer to Graciella.
Now, there's a funny story that goes along with Laura and Ryan's son's first name, that I have to tell. They call their son EJ, which stands for Espen Jarome. I never would have gotten this if they had not explained it to me, but does the name Espen look familiar, especially to the sports fans out there? Let me help you out by high-lighting the letters of interrest : ESPeN. Ryan wanted to name their son ESPN, which Laura agreed to as long as he would put the "e" in to make it look more like a proper name. Jake thought of Tommy when Ryan told us the story.
I told Jake that he wasn't going to get away with anything like that with me, because Jake's favorite shows are on the DIY and HGTV channels.

Mike's mom is still in the hospital, stable but still not doing very well. We're keeping her in our prayers, but from what the doctors have said it might be just a matter of time. I know it's the worst reason for the family to get together, but it really ended up being a nice reunion for Mike and Mark, all considering.