More on Family

These are all the great grand-children of Carlos and Lorene (Wilson) Sanders. From left is Jason Yates daughter, Melissa Yates; (Judy's son is the baby's father) Valarie's son, Perry Dale Suttle, Jr. (Valarie is our daughter); Ricky Hooten's sons Adrian and Aidan (Rick is Teresa's son); and Valarie's daughter October Rose Suttle. Carlos only knew Aidan. The others came after he passed away. He was fond of Aidan. I think he would have been fond of them all.


There are different types of families! There is your Heavenly Father. He is the one you turn to in times of stress and trouble, He is the one you forget to thank when He helps you through a difficult time, He is the one you DO thank when he helps you through a difficult time! He is there for you. All you have to do is ask Him. He is there waiting for you right where you left Him! (I say this for myself as much as for anyone I might help by saying it!) Then there is your immediate family. I believe that is the parents and children whether or not they live under the same roof, (hopefully they do live under the same roof and may include step parents!) next is the extended family including possible step family who may or may not live under the same roof, grandparents then aunts and uncles and cousins. I was raised to love my cousins and to be close to them. I believe I am. I have many cousins from first to third as facebook friends and I have many in-laws as facebook friends.

Next on my list is your church family. Those are the people you worship and fellowship with on a regular basis. These folks are there for you in the good times and the bad, just like your "blood" family. In this list may include close friends that you see in church on occasion and maybe they are your neighbors or close friends, outside of this area.

Next I think is the work family. These are the people you live with for several hours a day, several days per week. These are the folks who help you out in many ways, at work during a difficult day, and in life during difficult times! Even folks you worked with several years ago can still be part of your "work family" even though you may not have seen them in a few years. I was blessed to re-connect with many of those during Rick's stay for the surgery. It was a great blessing to have my 'blood' family, church family and work family all there together pulling for us, praying for and with us, helping out in ways they may not have known they were even helping in!

As I said in an earlier post Rick cherished his family. He cherished his relationship with his Heavenly Father most of all! If you knew Rick at all, you knew that the past 8 or so years he put God above all else! He always said grace before the morning meal. He learned that from his grandfather who he said never failed to offer thanks before breakfast. He also cherished the fact that he had worked on his relationship with he natural father. When I first met Rick he had not seen his dad in a couple of years. He made the first move. One regret he had though was that his dad never told him he loved him that he could remember. Rick made it a priority to say and show those he loved how he felt. Right up to the end he showed folks how he felt. That was his way.

That is all for tonight. I love you all.

To be continued...........♥