April 21, 2014. Ridgeland, Mississippi. Children.

Every baby born is a gift sent from God, and is a treasure. We do not know how many years we will be allowed to cherish and enjoy the child , as the child attempts to gains strength and expertise and knowledge. As parents, we have every expectation that the child will grow up to reach the full score of life, as we, the next generation, reach our declining years. But we have never been promised. This has certainly been true in our own lives. Ken and I had three boys born to us. Our first baby boy died at 13 months. Walter was a gift from God. We learned much from that experience, which stood us in good stead for the rest of our lives. That knowledge acquired about each other from the adversity was greater than we would have ever learned without our first boy. Eight years later we had born to us a son Andrew and 15 months later, our David. We were thrilled to assist them to grow to their full manhood, with every expectation to see them through our old age. But we are not in charge. And now we have the good fortune of having one son, our dear David. And we will be eternally grateful for our seven lovely granddaughters. Despite the pain of today, I would never have missed the life we spent with Andrew. He was a gift from God, and we are both grateful.