Mary Givens sat beside her sisters to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast Wednesday.

Dutifully downing each morsel, the three siblings celebrated something much bigger than the turkey — being together.

Givens, 95, and Martha Harris, 97, had lived together for years before Givens became too ill to care for her oldest sister. This month, the pair joined their younger sister, Elnora Kelly, 86, as residents at Shady Lawn Nursing Home.

Wednesday’s meal was their first Thanksgiving meal together in at least 20 years.

Born in tiny Omega, La., a speck-sized village about 10 miles north of Tallulah, the sisters were raised by their grandparents in Vicksburg in the 1920s.

Once here, they helped their grandparents, Maria and Caleb “CB” Jones, working cotton and corn fields to make a living.

Though they’ve been residents together for a short time, each has earned a distinct identity with employees at the facility off Porters Chapel Road.

“This one’s sharp as a tack,” director of nursing Lori Harris said as she and activity director Deborah Hughes tended to their newest residents.

Harris likes quiet time with her Bible, while Givens has taught Hughes a thing or two about embroidery.

“Some residents have even taught me some dominoes,” Hughes said.

As for her youngest sister, Givens gives her an equal amount of attention.

“That’s the baby girl,” Givens said of her younger sister, known to workers as the avid bingo player of the three.

Games such as bingo add to Shady Lawn’s busy activity schedule that includes shopping trips and visits from local high school students.

“We need the community in here,” Hughes said.

Fran Graham has visited Shady Lawn occasionally for about nine years and was elated to see the sisters so content and happy.

“You are so blessed to be together,” Graham said.

Despite their age, their bond doesn’t figure to loosen anytime soon.

“We’re thankful for all things,” Givens said.

Hughes, for one, will see to it the sisters continue to enjoy those things each day.

“We’re gonna take good care of them,” she said.