Meet Goombaw!

Goombaw is my mother-in-law, the name we found from a Patrick McManus book. If you don't know Pat McManus, find him and read his stuff. He's hilarious! But I digress. Goombaw is one of the most loving people I know, and my daughters adore her, especially Kjersten. They can feel Goombaw's love for them, and she has a trampoline. What's not to love?

 I have been married to my very kind and patient husband for almost 33 years. We have raised 2 sons and 2 daughters. Currently we have 5 granddaughters and 3 grandsons ranging from 11 years old to 9 months old.

 I love being a mother and especially love the wonderful grandchildren that my children have blessed me with! Being a grandmother is such an awesome experience! It’s like you have all the fun of children without the worries and stresses.

I was 19 when I first became a mother. Yes, I was very young, but I have no regrets about the choice to start our family early. We were empty nesters when I was 47. Definitely a perk!

I was blessed to be able to be a stay at home mom. Any little part time jobs I had were jobs that permitted me to be home when my children were home. I have some regrets about things I did or did not do as a parent, but putting our family as a priority in my life was not one of those regrets. I had a very kind and loving mother who taught me by example to love children. When we went through tough times with our children she reminded me that no matter what happened my children needed to know how much I loved them.

I’ve been thinking lately that the never ending patience and overflowing love I feel for my grandchildren makes me understand even more the unconditional and never ending love our Father in Heaven has for us. Things I used to fuss over and worry about as a parent seem trivial. It’s more important to me that my grandchildren feel loved and that they can truly be themselves when they are with me. They make me so incredibly happy! I hope they know how important each and every one of them is to me.