Family

I have a very close knit family.  People find that I speak a lot about my family.  I guess I do.  It seems like I am always sharing with others the latest and greatest happenings in the kids and siblings lives.  I talk about my Mom a lot also.

A friend shared with me today that she was surprised when she recently saw a picture of one of the nieces and said, "That's not at all how I pictured so and so!"  I was taken by surprise.  I didn't realize that all my friends didn't "know" all the family - seems like I show pictures often but I guess not to everyone.  Not everyone has had opportunities to meet all of them.

Thus, over the next few weeks, I am going to introduce you to all of my family, particularly the nieces and nephews and offer a glimpse of their lives.  These kids mean the world to me.  They are "my kids" as I know kids.  Each one is precious to me.

Today we will begin with my oldest brother - Phil.  (Hi Philbert!)

Phil - what can I say.  He is a great guy.  Phil lives in Muskegon and lives alone in a cute little neighborhood.  He is close to all of us and we can depend on Phil to help us with anything.  He keeps a watchful eye on our Mother and is always there for her and us.  Phil lives with his mut, Shadow.  We kid him about the dog but they are the closest of bud's.  Phil is a bit of a loner, spends a lot of time reading, listening to NPR, walking the dog, and dabbles a bit in baking and breadmaking.  He is very bright.  We turn to him for all of our intellectual  needs.  He generally knows the answer.  We all think he should go on Jeopardy!  Phil has one daughter, Lindsey.

Lindsey is my oldest niece, the first born!   I want to say she is 31 years old.  She lives in Holland,Michigan which is only about 45 minutes from me.  She is a dog groomer and works for a grooming business in Holland.  She has a boyfriend Luke.  Lindsey is a sweet gal and loves being close to her family.  Surprisingly she loves our old fashion family traditions...like Christmas Eve dinner, going to Mass on Christmas, blessing of the food at Easter.  She enjoys things like I do, fancy little desserts, nice presentations at dinner tables, all the little extras that I like to go through.  She pays attention to details and is a great organizer.  She and I have had a close relationship in her growing up years.  We were mother/daughter-ish for many years.  I cherish those days and hope that we rekindle that closeness someday.  Life takes each of us in different directions at times however, the heart remains true.  I love Lindsey dearly.

Next time, I will introduce you to my older sister, Ginny and her family.

I heard on the weather today the "s" word tonight.  I'm not happy!  It's cold and a little drizzley here today - the sun will peak out every once in a while.

TTFN - Babs