Happy Memories

Seeing the pictures of our granddaughter Corrin's engagement has made me reflect on memories of when she was a baby and as a little girl. When the time of her birth drew near, we moved from Wichita, Kansas, where Howard had a position in a large church, back to Mississippi to be near them. Our daughter, Amy, an RN, planned to go back to work soon after the baby was born. I was only too happy to care for Corrin!

I loved giving her a tiny, 2 ounce bottle, then burping her and giving her another one. Fun as it was, I had no problem relinquishing the cuddly bundle to her parents after work! She grew and delighted us, idolizing her big brother, Reid, who was three. She copied and learned from him, putting up with being the brunt of his boisterous play which she adored.

By the time little sister, Rachel was on the scene, we had become pastors of a church some 40 miles away on the Gulf Coast, but I still managed to take care of the kids. Since they weren't in school yet, they often spent the night with us at our house near Gulfport.

The little girls wouldn't sleep in the guest room unless I lay down with them, one on each side. I remember removing them from my outstretched arms and creeping back to my own bed, unless they caught me and demanded my return!

It was the same way on trips back and forth from their house. Nothing would do, but I sat in the back seat between them while they napped, Rachel's head on my lap on one side and Corrin's on the other! Oh, the days!

One day when they were a little bigger, I heard Rachel, 4, ask Corrin, only 17 months older, "Corrin, do you know everything?" to which Corrin responded, "No, no one knows everything, but God and PaPa!"

They loved following him around as he puttered away taking care of rabbits, cows, and a goat. Sometimes Howard would meet their daddy half-way to get the kids, and when they drove in the driveway, Corrin wouldn't stop at the house, but would grab a bucket and head for the barn to feed the animals.

My heart almost stopped one day when Reid and Corrin had disappeared from the yard, and after much calling and searching we ran down to the pond, some distance from the house. There they sat in our boat in the middle of the pond, with no life-jackets on! Reid was 8 and Corrin was five.

Now they live in Georgia and we in Oklahoma, but they always live in our hearts. We are grateful that our granddaughter has found the love of her life, and her heart is full!