Arline's 87th Birthday and a Family Reunion

Wow, what a large family I have now. There were 33 of us, all together in Inverness, Fla this last weekend to celebrate Arline's 87th Birthday. It was a terrific weekend.

I saw my brother Dick, that I hadn't seen since I was 17, and Dick was 20.

Damon was only 4, and Natalie was 5, the last time I saw Jo-Anne and her husband Jerry.

Now Natalie has 3 beautiful little boys and she and her husband live in Georgia only about an hour from us.

My nephew Jim's and his wife Sally's daughter Nikki has a baby now too, and their sons Billy and Jimmy are 13 and 15, (when the last time I saw them, they were 10 and 11).

Valerie, who is Chase's age is also expecting her first baby. So Jo-Anne will soon have 4 grandchildren.
Diane and Bill look fabulous and hosted a terrific weekend, enjoyed by one and all. It was the first time since I moved away from Florida in 1972, that I was with all of my brothers and sisters, and all of their kids, and their kids, kids. It was a very special feeling, and everyone looked wonderful and made me feel as if I'd never left.....

Arline looked absolutely amazing and is still one of the most gracious ladies I have ever known. She said she is my mother now too and really touched my heart.

Ken met everyone and loved them all and I think the feelings were mutual.

I just wish Damon and Chase could have been there too. I miss them an awful lot. I know they would have had a great time meeting all the new grandkids and seeing everyone else.