"DYNAMIC DUOS"

          Today I celebrate DYNAMIC DUOS (sort of)
who have graced my days...

       My Incredible Two Sisters Joanie (left) and Mary Rose (center):

After three brothers, I yearned for a sister, 

and FINALLY....

Joanie (center) arrived when I was twelve,

and Mary Rose (left) when I was twenty!

And, boy, were they worth waiting for!
They are the loveliest, funniest, caringest DUO ever!

Wait, wait....

 I must sneak this in,

despite the dubious math involved.

Here is the Sister Duo again

 PLUS our Sister-in-law Kathy, 

who is really another sister--
see how much fun we have together?

("We are family, I got all my sisters with me"):

THEN I have my two daughter-in-laws, 

the DYNAMIC DUO

of Laura and Susan, 

who are really honorary daughters of my heart:

Here they are with their fortunate husbands,

my sons Matt (Laura) and Jeff (Susan):

I celebrate the great wisdom and just plain luck

that they crossed paths with my sons, 

and then chose to go down that path with them!

And this beloved DUO of Laura and Susan

provided my grandchildren bounty....
Bella (left) and Jake (center) (Susan and Jeff's)

Rosie (right) (Laura and Matt's),

Please, I know that this blog 
was about DUOS in my Family,
but I cannot have a blog
without a grandchild picture or two!

Whew, what a loving numbers game
I just bloggingly played!

But can you blame me, 
when the numbers add up 
to these AMAZING BLESSINGS 
in my life?

THRILLING THREESOMES

          "THREE" is a magic number in my life.  

My three children Matt, Niki, and Jeff:

My three grandchildren---Jake, Rosie and Bella:

          My arms are full of their wonderful life and energy, 

my heart with their very essence.

          That I was twice blessed, 

with this bounty, confounds me often.  

I can conjure up

 sentimental tears now

 as I see their sweet faces.

 In my kids' photo, 

Matt sports a camera-ready smile, 

Niki strikes a pensive pose, 

and little Jeff just looks confused...

.but all adorable.

          In my grandkids photo, 

they are all smiling 

in anticipation 

of a tasty piece of my 74th birthday cake. 

 Their smiles prove 

that they CAN sit still for a photo op,

 if we just wait until they are old enough!  

(Some of them proved reluctant

 during earlier attempts at group poses!)

 The corridor of my life

 contains many open doors....

to laughter and tears, 

to hopes fulfilled

 and some dreams dashed, 

to yearnings and feelings

 that seemed sometimes

 to just bust out of my heart.....too much to contain.

         These beloved sets of THREE,

 separate souls

 with their own yearnings and hopes,

 joys and disappointments, 

spilling over into their lives 

and interacting with those they in turn love.

How very thrilling to know and love them all!