It's my birthday!

Today was my special day, as it was my birthday and I got to spend it with my loved ones. However, as I looked through the photos in my camera to post some from today I saw a number of great photos lingering from some of the special days that just passed.

My favorite is of our little grandaughter Reese who entered the church a few weeks ago at her Christening.

Now Reese is the newest member of our family and if I asked you who joined us prior to Reese, I am betting that just about everyone would come up with the wrong answer off the cuff.

The real answer is Jennifer Foley who joined us in July of 2007.

Certainly Noah came to mind as our other Grandchild who not only joined our family but also joined us in life in March. We clearly couldn't ask for two more special grandchildren as they are so healthy and such a joy to be around. I'll bet you didn't know that Noah is reading now!

Our grandbabies are special and getting more special every day. It's a good thing that our hearts have no limits on how much love they can hold.

That way the love we hold for our family never lessens even as we add more and more loved ones to our lives.

My babies are all grown but they'll always be my "babies".

Here is Carissa with our two new grandbabies. Carissa is finally back with us now as she is finishing up her school with two internships in Milwaukee. Carissa will graduate in May and FINALLY come home for good. It seems that she has been away forever and it is so nice to have her back!

Of course, her sisters missed her terribly also. Here we are together at Christmas (I never should have agreed to "bulk-up" for my role as Santa Claus! What an effort it will be to get ready to put my speedo on in the summer (yeah right).

They always say "Ladies first" which means you had to wade through all of my meanderings and wait until the very end to see my boys, but then.... they also say "Save the best for last too" so who knows?



Jonathan, Mark and Ryan. Never to be forgotten.

It's easy to get so wrapped up in our own lives and issues that we forget where we came from and how we got here.

Many of us feel that having children and then grandchildren are some of the great joys in life. Those precious lives are God's gift to us. Of course, along with the joy comes great responsibility and a commitment that we carry throughout our lives. We provide them with the love, support and direction they need to learn to face their own challenges in life.

But one day... the roles may reverse. We may need love, support and companionship from our children. Perhaps the opportunity to return some of the blessings we received from our parents is another of God's gifts to us.