HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2007

My daughter, Robin, was at my home helping me take a "family friend" out of the box for Halloween. Close by were Haley's maternity clothes lying in a pile....collecting dust.

"It is SO different that my sister is not having a baby this year," Robin muses.

"Tell me about it. For years, my Christmas letters sang out Haley's pregnant or has had the baby!"

"What are you going to do about all these maternity clothes? Give them to Annaliese?" asked Robin.

"No, they'll be relics by then. She is buying a pink jacket for her puppy, though..... Naw, we can't count on it, Robin."

A light bulb clicked inside our heads.

Friends and Family! Happy Halloween from Robin and me, Ruedi and our newly pregnant Family Friend!

She looks blissful, doesn't she? :-)

My daughter is 28 years old. What happened?

Frances Haley Imholz Littleton will be 28 years old on October 24, 2007. When I was 28, I was immature, enjoying my life as a flight attendant; I was single and living with 5 other roommates in Hermosa Beach, CA. Whoa!

My daughter married a great, great guy, Andrew, when she was 20. Boomer, her pug, was her first "child" followed shortly by three children. The oldest is now five. I think she said whoa too. :-)

We have had different life styles, but through all of my mistakes I have made in my life, I have done a few things right. Ruedi and I have these unbelievable, fantastic children.

Well, of course my grandchildren are the source of my smiles, and I want them to grow up every bit as grand as my three children have. This is where I say God is wonderful. GOD IS WONDERFUL. God has blessed little ole me. ( I wish I could use the word, "little" literally.)

My youngest, a cum laude graduate, this past May, for the nonce, is dating her beau, Bret. (He's the one with the horses.) Annaliese will marry in a few years probably when I'm 82, but that's okay. I just hope it's Bret b-e-c-a-u-s-e I have adopted him in my heart......,and he has horses.

My middle child Robin is doing fabulously well at the assisted living apartments for those who need a little help. She works hard at the warehouse. The staff at the apartments make sure the clients have activities each week. They're involved in bowling and participating in the Special Olympics. Robin has a couple of gold medals in her pocket to boot. Of the three children, she dares to live in the same town, as Ma & Pa.

To see the others I must travel to Clarksville, TN, or Oklahoma City, OK. It's worth the trip. Annaliese's newest addition to her family is a chocolate lab named Maddux. So my family is growing and getting older. I'm mighty proud of them. I hope they know.

Annaliese on the left...

Haley in the center...

Robin on the right...