Grandma and Grandpa Allen

Grandma and Grandpa Allen in Ravenna, Ohio. This is a cool picture.
 I am amazed Griff still has a tie on. Come on, what little kid actually keeps a tie on the whole grandparents visit. MAYBE the first fifteen minutes. Even worse than Griffo is Judy. She couldn't keep her blouse tucked in for 5 minutes. So this must have been as soon as we walked in the front door of Grandma's house. I can't tell if Jeanie and Jerry had wet diapers, cause they were soaked all the time. There were no pampers back then, cloth with rubber pants to keep wetness in. And look... they were so close in age, who could keep up with these babies? I was five, John I think three, Jeanie one and a half, Jerry, 9mos. Yikes! I almost forgot, Jeanie had braceson her shoes.You can see her shoes have some kind of steel on them. Those things were killers.You'd pick her up and she'd slam your shins with this big steel bar. We all had bruises.
You can tell Grandma is in her glory, she had more energy than any adult I can remember. She always made big spreads of food. She had old timey toys that were in a treasure chest. Toys that we would never care about, but at Grandma's house they were fun. The older kids have lots more memories of these times than I do. And there were lots of cousins.
The second half of the family that I refer to myself, John, Jean and Jerry, had a very different experience with Grandparents and cousins. That's fine, I enjoy listening to their stories and they remember more about Aunts and Uncles and family history.



We Have A New Member!

     I would like to take this blog to announce that we have a new member added to our little family of Mullally's. Sweet Karli is now a Mullally. This is so great in so many ways. Mostly its great for our son, because he found the perfect match for him. She's just right. She "gets" him and that makes me happy.
      For those of you that don't have children or your children are not old enough to be married yet I am telling you as a parent this is ginormous! Because the main thing you want for your child in a marriage is that your children find someone that loves your child as much as you do. Now that is a big request.
      Parents love their children unconditionally. This means to me , I know my kids have faults,unlike the typical Irish Mother, aka Mac Allen, I know my kids aren't perfect. They sometimes do stuff I don't like or I really don't agree with, they can screw up once and awhile, but no matter what, we, as parents still love them.That's a big order for a spouse. That doesn't mean I expect them not to fight. I think a good fight clears the air every so often. Do I think that there will never be hard times? Heck no. Those are the times that bring a couple closer as a family. Will I try to push my nose where I shouldn't? I hope not, but  probably, hope they know to just tell me to back off. We will do anything we can to help them  out, but it's their  life and their decisions with each other that count.
    Welcome to our crazy family, and we love you unconditionally too Karli. Even though your last name has changed to Mullally I respect so much the beautiful family of Shondells that you grew up with, and that is a big part of who you are and who you always will be. And that's a big reason why my son and all of us love you so much.