08-07 Grandchildren

I remember as a child how much I loved my grandmother and grandfather Halter. When our first grandchild, Paul, was born on September 15, 1998, my thoughts were with them and my wish that my grandchildren would love me the way I loved them. Paul was followed by Katie on April 14, 2000. Happy days and thank you Kelly, for bringing us so much joy.
Love the photo of Paul looking up at me next to Mary at the wedding of Jennifer and Dan Leavitt.
Talk about memories, here is Katie sleeping on my chest, on the sofa at our home on Lake Simcoe.
I chuckle every time I remember Paul and Katie in their high chairs, because they loved to crash their orange juice cups together and say cheers just as Mary and I did when we toasted Kelly with a glass of wine. Those little monkeys did not miss anything we said or did.
And both kids got Kelly’s genes when it came to loving their pets. They were crazy about Sparky, their Airedale and the wee Maltese, Jack.
I am glad mother was alive to enjoy her great-grandchildren. In the photo mother is 93. Her first great-grandchild was Ben Morrison, Anne's boy.
We started cruising with the kids when they were teens, and in the photo taken at Christmas 2014, when Paul was 16 and Katie 14, we are on the Adventure of the Seas. Kelly still filled our stockings on the ship, just as she did when we had Christmas on shore.
And the good news is the love that flows around our little family when we get together. We all have an Italian toast that we learned from our son Peter (who died in 1996), "La Famiglia”. Today there are ten great-grandchildren and two more on the way. Way to go, Mom. A legacy of love.