SmilingEyes: Miracles and Love

Monday evening a wonderful couple received two beautiful miracles. They were blessed as I never have been blessed. Am I jealous? No I am thrilled for them! Their little girls will bless their lives and will be a part of mine through the very special relationship we have.

I have not been blessed with the miracle of God's gift of children, however I am blessed with those that share their children, my husband, sisters and brother and friends.

My dearest friend shared her three children from the beginning, our then spouses were in a band and gone all the time, so we were the "family". We went everywhere, I changed many diapers, rocked many hours, fed many bottles, read many stories and dried many tears, I was "Minnie Roo". These children are adults now and live far away, but I am aware of their achievements through their Mom. They are wonderful young adults.

I have 5 great nephews and 7 lovely nieces. They are such unique individuals. My oldest nephew Michael, is very creative, can experience life to the fullest and excels in everything! The next oldest nephew Bill, is also my Godson, he is a college graduate and served his country in Afghanistan and Iraq and now is a Captain in the US Army, a neat brother and a fine young man, I am so proud of him! Joe is the next nephew, he is my gentle giant, he is a college graduate, working on his masters. Joe is a great young man always caring and having fun. When his smile is hidden, his eyes sparkle with the smile within, yes I am blessed to have him as my nephew. Eric is a great young man, he is a Marine and served our country in Iraq. He is a Dad with a beautiful daughter and he is an achiever! I am so lucky to have him in my life. And I am proud to be his aunt. Matthew my youngest nephew is a joy, I enjoy every minute I can be with him and talk with him on the phone. He was lucky enough to begin his life living with his mom and my parents. Dad was a definite influence on Matthew and I see so much of the good Dad instilled in the values Matthew has.

Now my nieces; the oldest Samantha has been on the go since she was born, her life is so full of everything, she wants to experience it all and touches many hearts, Maggie is our Free Spirit, watch out 'cause she is going to open every door she can, I always want to grab her and hug her just to get a bit of her energy. Katie my next beautiful niece is in college with an athletic scholarship for softball, her friends and family will tell you she loves life and living! Kerri is a lovely young lady, she is going to go places and if you ever need a great friend she personifies it! Christina is a joy, a real beauty, she is Mike's Godchild, she is the youngest in her family and is also a great friend to all. I am sure her folks will watch her closely because she also will open every door and experience and achieve much. Molly oh my watch out, she is 4 going on 16 and she is a red head, need I say any more except that she too is a real sweetie! McKenna is our Ward family's baby & she is two, and with my knowledge so far of her, I find it hard to believe that there will be a "terrible two" stage but with Molly leading the way I don't know. She is a real doll though!

As I have mentioned I have shared my husbands two sons for 22 plus years. They are fine young men. Brad a college graduate, is helping in our business. I think he is a kind, smart and loving young man. He is a great asset to our business because as a family member he can nudge us into changes that outside employees almost never could, they say the Lord moves in mysterious ways and I believe this as it related to our business in the past 8 months, Brad joined us, during this time. Jeff is everything I wish I could be kind, generous, happy, loving and one great Dad and husband [well I don't want to be a Dad or husband, so I should say parent & spouse]. His sons, our grandsons are being raised right, Jeff is a hands on Dad for sure!

Now that I have written out this blog I realize that I too have Miracles and Love in my life. I must mention too Jamie & Mandy my "surrogate" daughters they are joys in my life! They too were able to nudge us in the business and ended up in our hearts. This blog began because of Jamie and her two new miracles. Clara and Anna who now join Bo and their parents, yes I am thrilled for them all!