Ben Wilson, of Lawrence, greets Mary Grandma Green with a hug Sunday at Green's 80th birthday celebration at 663 E. 1300 Road. For years, Green has cooked Sunday dinner for her nine children, their children and many of their friends, like Wilson. Ive been coming to the Sunday dinners since I cant

Mary Grandma Green, center, makes the rounds and greets Cornelius Edwards on Sunday, July 20, 2008 during her 80th birthday party at 663 E. 1300 Road. For years, Grandma Green has cooked Sunday dinner for her nine children, their children and all their friends. Green said her family has been a blessing.

Few families look forward to dinner with as much fervor as the Greens.

Each Sunday at 6 p.m., Mary Green opens up her home to many of her nine children. Those children bring spouses and more kids, who bring friends, who bring more friends.

They have eaten together, Sunday after Sunday, for more years than anyone can count.

In an era when many families say they don’t have time to gather for dinner, the Greens are a rarity. And Sunday dinners with Grandma Green are becoming legendary, family members say.

“It’s a tradition,” said Jama Crady, Green’s oldest granddaughter who now lives in Los Angeles. “I’ve got friends who even after I moved, they still go to my grandma’s on Sundays, and when I come back into town, they ask: ‘Are you staying through Sunday so we can go to dinner at Grandma’s?'”

The throng of Green family members gathered again on Sunday to celebrate Green’s 80th birthday. The bash of nearly 200 people honored Green and her Sunday dinner tradition.

“This is a tribute to her,” said Doug Green, Mary Green’s youngest child, who hosted the birthday party.

There was cake and ice cream, lots of food and lots of people – much like the typical Sunday dinner.

“We sit wherever there’s space,” Green’s grandson Nick Green said of the family tradition. “She’s got a big house, but it’s not big enough usually for all of us.”

In good weather, the kids play outside. There’s space for football games or baseball or chasing lightning bugs.

Inside, there is food for all. Grandma Green makes the food arrangements. If others bring side dishes, she lets them know what’s needed.

And there’s always homemade pie. Rhubarb. Chocolate cream. Apple.

“When you walk in the door, you’re not going to leave hungry,” Nick Green said. “It’s her mission to make sure that you’re full or more than full.”

Ben Wilson, a 17-year-old Lawrence High student, said he first started going to Sunday dinner at Grandma Green’s when he was about 5 years old. He is a close friend of a member of the family. Wilson has been eating with them ever since.

“They always welcome me with open arms,” he said. “I do feel like I’m part of the family.”

Green says she doesn’t mind the crowds and doesn’t see the dinners as any sort of chore.

“I love those kids,” she said. “It brings the family together and makes it stay a unit. I just want to keep my kids around me.”