Todays families usually are made up of parents and one or two children, sometimes three, and on rare occasions, four or more. Above are my siblings and myself. Left to right are Mark, Cynthia, Greg, me, Ken and Brenda. Growing up as one of six kids was quite an experience and the stories of things we did are too numerous to recount. I will try and give you a sense of what it was like! Ken, the oldest, was born 10 months after our parents married, and shortly after that Daddy left for World War II. Brenda came next, then me. I don't recall what it was like to be without them or Cynthia, who is a year and 10 days my junior, but I do recall when Greg and Mark were born!

Today we are celebrating another GIFT FROM GOD--our beautiful grandson, Lucas McLeod Robertson, born to our daughter, Amy, on September 24, 08. He was delivered by emergency C-section after 25 hours of scary labor, where his heart rate dropped several times, causing us to fear we would lose him! He is a fighter, and appears to be perfectly healthy and robust! He spent the first 5 days of life in the neonatal intensive care unit, but was the "jock" of that group, weighing in at 8 pounds and 4 ounces. He is 24 inches long, and has black hair! Of course, Meme and G-daddy are proud to have him and his mommy visiting in our home for a couple of weeks as they get ready to face the world as a new family! Cousin Charli loves her "baby Uke" and tells everyone he is her baby! I feel very sure that Julia and Sam will challenge her ownership when they get to visit. Because he was in NICU, the little ones didn't get to meet him yet, and Julia and Sam can't wait to get over here from Rome to hold their baby cousin! Aunt Pam got to be here for Luke's birth, and she adores him! Uncle Matt, a pro at babies himself, jumped up the other night to tend to Luke before Meme even heard him! Here are a couple of pictures so you can see for yourselves what our newest grandson looks like! He is precious, and is truly a cherished baby!!!

The Littlest GRAND

Memorial weekend

It's been some time since I wrote and much has happened. Matt got married in April and added another grandchild, and a daughter-in-law to our family! We love them both very much and are glad to welome them to the family. All of the kids and grands were with us to celebrate memorial day and we enjoyed it! The water was freezing, but the kids didn't care, they swam anyway! I got in with them a little, and was so busy watching them that I forgot to make pictures! I'm adding pictures of the kids outside, at G-daddy's building working on their crafts! They love to go out there and "build" things! He gave them some washable paint and they had a blast with it!

It's been quite some time since I posted and today I want to let you know where we're at and what's happening at our house!  Of course, I often post on FB about my grandchildren and that's what I plan to use my blog for, as well.  Life is so much fun and sharing it through a blog is one way to let folks know how life is going at our house.  For the time being, Amy and Luke are sharing our home.  Amy decided that she needed a "village" to help raise Luke so she returned to her roots even though she continues to work in Birmingham.  Luke attends daycare in our area and we are so blessed to have found a good one.  One of my closest friends in life, Nancy Thornton, who was my high school friend, and college roommate, is his teacher and she never hesitates to call if he isn't feeling well and needs to be picked up.  Just knowing that she's with him brings us peace of mind!  Amy does depend on us to be available to pick him up in the afternoons, before she gets home, but if we decide to go somewhere, she makes arrangements for someone else to keep him.  It does sometimes get stressful having two families under one roof, but Amy is very helpful and pays rent so the added income offsets any financial burdens her living her could create.  She more than compensates us for the cost of extra food, utilities or other costs involved in daily living!
Having retired a year and a half ago, I continue to enjoy being free to do whatever I choose each day!  My heart is still full of the children I worked with for so many years! I often run into a chid I worked with and I always get a big hug and a sweet conversation from the encounter!  Social work never ends.  I still get calls from family and friends who need advice on issues, and I maintain some of the relationships I made at DHR. 
My life has been forever changed with the loss of my mother and my beloved Aunt Thelma.  Both of them added so much to my everyday life!  Mother passed away before I retired, and then just two months before I retired, Aunt Thelma left! While I know that she is in a better place, I so wanted to be able to share some of my free time visiting with her and taking her for rides in the country, which she loved!
Each of my grandchildren holds such a special part of my heart! Julia, the first born, is so very dear to me and I delight is watching her evolve into a preteen! She is so smart, and reads everything she gets her hands on!  Charli, my next one, is a live wire, and has suddenly become my "teacher" holding classes each time she comes over.  She uses Aunt Thelma's desk as her base for class, and the little bell on the desk brings order to her classroom!  After assigning work to the students (Meme and lots of imaginary students) she busys herself with grading and other things while "we" complete our assignements!  Sam, the third grandchild is absolutely the most affectionate child! He is full of mischief but grins the whole time! Luke is so bright, and always comes out with statements that are far above his biological age, amazing us with how he thinks and learns! My dad calls him the "little professor"!  Zack, our oldest grandchild, but the last to join the family is actually Matt's step-son, but he is so much a part of the family! He has just returned from football camp at the University of Alabama and is so excited about playing for the varsity team in the fall!  Because Glencoe is such a small school, he may actually see some playing time as a freshman!
David and I haven't been able, financially, to do all we had planned for our retirement due to having to spend so much money helping Matt to fight his legal battles to gain custody of, and keep his beautiful daughter, Charli, but we know that the battle was worth it, and money is only good if you use it!  Anything we are missing because we can't afford to travel is compensated by that adorable little girl who loves to go to church and to spend time with her cousins!  She would have been a very different person if she had been raised by her birth mother, who isn't a Christian and who has no interest in becoming one! Life takes unexpected turns, and what's around the next bend is waiting to be experienced!!!! Life is about living and learning!  Take each day as God gives it to you, and make the most of it!

DISNEY WORLD TRIP IN MARCH

I spoke to a friend today and she mentioned that she found my blog, but that it needs to be updated! Thanks Bobbie, for that reminder!

This spring we had planned a family vacation with our entire family at Disney World! Matt and Carol backed out, so the rest of us continued with our plans. ( I think Matt and Carol wanted to be sure they could afford their trip to New York City, in April, to celebrate their first anniversary) We drove down and spent a week at Disney!!! It was so fun! Pam, Jud, Julia and Sam, Amy and Luke, and David and I had a whirlwind week enjoying the four parks! I'd like to go back and see it again just to take a slower pace! Anyone who knows Pam, knows that she's going to pack as much fun as possible into the time, so we rode lots of rides, saw lots of Disney characters, and ate breakfast with the princesses, lunched with the other characters and rode the most exciting rides there! My least favorite was Space Mountain and my most favorite was Soarin!!! The ride with Julia on Splash Mountain was made even more fun because Julia had ridden it before and she had fun telling me not to be frightened!!! If you've never been, go with children! My grands made it so much fun! Can you imagine me spinning around in a tea-cup, or riding in an elephant on Dumbo! Soarin' was so fun as we were "hang-gliding" over the United States!!! The ride was amazing!!! I would love to ride it again and again! We came home exhausted every night and got up each morning, ready to go again! Everyone should visit Disney World at least once in their lifetime!

My How Time Flies When You're Having Fun

I can't believe so much time has pasted since I last posted! Let me try and catch you up! It's been a year, and lots can happen in a year! Luke is almost 2 years old, Julia is 8, Sam is 4 and Charli is 4 also. I guess Charli has the biggest news! She has a new "mama"! Matt became reacquainted with a woman who went to church with us, who became divorced. They were truly a match made in Heaven and on April 10,10, they became husband and wife! Charli adores her and the feeling is mutual! Carol brought with her to this family her son, Zack, age 12 who is adored by his younger new cousins! Sam and Luke really look up to him but Charli is quick to point out this is HER bubba!!! Our family is truly blessed by this addition and I know Matt and Charli are truly happy! It's taken a little time for MeMe and G-Daddy to have Charli living at another home after four years with us, but its wonderful for her! She comes over quite often and still claims "her" room!

Easter 09

Luke checks out his basket! What's an Easter Bunny, mommy?

Charli's found lots of eggs in Aunt Pam's & Uncle Jud's yard

Sam's coming to check on G-daddy & Pop

Julia's quite the little lady at lunch!

Easter was a very special event for our family this year. We celebrated it with Pam, Jud and the kids, as well as extended Rutland family as they came to Pleasant Valley South to celebrate Julia's baptism! To know Christ as your personal savior is such a wonderful gift from God, but to have our first grandchild experience her baptism on the date we celebrated Christ's resurrection was extremely special! Also, Pam was a soloist at the worship service, which made the day even more special. Having our entire family worship together with all of Jud's family only added to the significance of the day! Amy, Luke, Matt and Charli came along and it was such a good day! After church service, we all went to dinner together, and then back to Pam and Jud's house for an Easter egg hunt. Julia, Sam, Charli and Annika had so much fun finding and opening eggs. Julia found the most, and ended up with lots of money! It was a beautiful afternoon, and we sat outside while the kids played and it was such a wonderful day!

Graduation and Winter Fun

On Friday David and I travelled to a Kentucky State Park with Pam, Julia and Sam to spend the night, and to attend Pam's graduation from Lincoln Memorial University where she earned her EDS degree. This is one year away from her doctorate in Education, and we are certainly proud of her. It was an amazing weekend because when we arrived at the lodge, there was snow on the ground and David and I got to experience Sam's first snow, and Julia's first remembered snow! We had snow ball fights, Julia made her first snow angel, and Sam learned to throw snowballs! He wasn't sure about the snow at first, but once he realized that it was fun, he really had a wonderful time! It was so great to see our daughter's accomplishment, and to enjoy being with Juila and Sam, as we don't get to spend as much time with them as we'd like! We hope you enjoy the pictures!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Although this is our annual Christmas card photo, I decided to share it here because this was taken on Thanksgiving day and I hope you can see our joy! We have so much to be thankful for! David and I have FOUR miracle grandchildren and we are so thrilled to have them all together. It never seizes to amaze us at how well the three oldest play, for hours, without arguing! Julia is the little mother of the group and she takes pride in watching Sam and Charli and keeping them happy! Our house is pretty child friendly, with lots of toys and things they can play with. There is very little in our home that they cannot touch, and they know what to play with! As you can see, baby Luke won't be long behind the others in "running the show". He's growing way too fast!

TRICK OR TREAT

Julia and Sam didn't get to be with us for this little holiday, but they were in our thoughts! Julia chose a costume that she wore for a dance recital, but needed the added touch of a cape! Of course, MeMe was more than happy to get out the sewing machine and accomodage her! The best part of it is that Julia "designed" the cape by drawing what she wanted me to make, and I followed her instructions! Sam, our SUPERMAN, looked awesome in his chosen costume! They're growing up way to fast to suit me!

Charli chose to be Tinkerbelle, and loved it, including the RED SHOES! Those, of course, didn't go with the original theme, but when she chose them, they certainly brightened her costume and gave everyone a new "take" on Tinkerbelle! She was the prettiest Tinkerbelle I ever saw!

Baby Luke was very excited about his first Halloween, and chose to be a "horsie"! He donned the costume and really played the part--he "neighed" every chance he got, and sometimes it almost sounded as if he was crying! I think that's because he didn't have any teeth to eat his candy with, so his mommy helped him out and ate it for him!

We had a wonderful time at the church "Trunk or Treat" on Wednesday night, then on Friday, the two that were here, Charli and Luke, dressed up again and came to DHR with their parents to celebrate Halloween with DHR staff and foster children. The workers had candy and treats in each office, then there was a party in the conference room for everyone! Children, parents and foster parents attended as well as DHR staff.