My mom, Asa & Abi Grandmas and babies.  Doesn't get much better!  I realize more as time races ahead, just how important the hours  with grand parents are.  I have just this week lost my last surviving grandmother.  It's both sad and odd to suddenly realize that an entire generation before me is no longer with us.  At one time I had at least a dozen grandparents and great grandparents on both sides of my family.  I was indeed blessed to have influence, wisdom and great stories from these wonderful people with rich history from a time gone by that I could only imagine.  The days before cars, indoor plumbing, electricity, gas stoves and telephones!  I had the interesting privilege of watching some of those things develop and infiltrate my life while some of these very grandparents never really adjusted! They felt about micro-wave ovens then much like I do with computers now!  But the joy, love and information these folks gifted me with far outweighs any technology differences or generation gaps.  These grand-dads who were hard workers, miners, farmers, carrying their lunch pails to the job each early morning, and grand-moms who plucked the chickens, gathered the eggs and canned the green beans had much to offer.  The babies they held and comforted....the warmth of their arms and home-cooked goodies continues to soothe this mind that is frequently challenged by today's fast-paced intelligence and competition.  I pray that I might be remembered in a similar way to my own grand children.  I pray that they will find the same comforts, warmth and laughter that encouraged me and brought me stability to get through the toughest parts of life.  I also pray that they might remember the simple times of snuggles and play that will go with them through their own years of growth and challenge - enough to pass on to their following generations.  Lord, give me abundant strength and love that reflects You to my blessed grand children and may they grow up to see You as the ultimate Source from whom all those blessings flow!

My dad and I with 6 grandparents!

Six grandparents from my dad's side, my dad and me when I was only a few months old.  

My mom & dad with my dad's mom and her mom, me, my brother, Eddie & sister, Terri at grandma Rouse's

My mom, dad, sister, brother, dad's mother and her mother on the far left.  I was about 12 or 13 I believe and this was an event at my mom's parents' house, who are not pictured, but were most likely in the kitchen and entertaining a house and/or yard-full of relatives, neighbors and friends!