od gives us many gifts, and one of those is our family. The family is the core of our lives. The harmony in the family is an important requisite for our hapiness. Union, respect and love always prevail between the members of the family. People do not choose their families. Our parents, sisters, and brothers have been given to us and we love them without asking ourselves why we feel affection for them, simply they are there to share sorrow and happiness. The members of our family are our unconditional allies.

However, there is one person that everybody chooses to share his or her life, who is going to be your partner and with whom you will develop your family. In my case that person is my husband. He is a well-meaning man. When I met him almost three and a half years ago I recognized the good human being that he is. He has many qualities to appreciate, for example he is clever, calm, jovial, and also handsome; however, as anyone he has some defects that of course I have too. But this is not the moment to mention them.

We got married one and a half years ago, and two weeks later, we moved to United States from Chile, our home country. This event meant to arrive in Charlottesville, where we did not have friends and where the customs, foods, and language are different. In spite of everything, I feel that this way to start our family has been good for us. Because here we only have each other, we are learning to know us much better. On the one hand, he has supported me when I have been sick or I have felt sad. He gives me love and understanding. On the other hand, I encourage him with his job, and I make him laugh. Confidence is the base in our relationship.

We have lived sorrow and happiness. Last year we received the visit of an angel that saved my life. I was pregnant; however, after two months I lost my baby. This was very sad for us. Nevertheless, thanks to this my doctor found that I had a serious health problem and I had to have a surgery.

My surgery was a tragic and funny story at the same time. I am afraid of needles, and pain; therefore, I wanted to feel nothing during the surgery. My husband stayed with me all the time before and after my surgery. Since I do not speak English as well as he does, I asked to the nurse, "Can my husband stay with me?" and she said, "No problem." I was very nervous; I was shivering like a jelly. The nurse gave me some medicine, and my husband gave me ease.

Suddenly, I was alone with the doctors in the operating room. One doctor began to ask me many questions, but I felt scared and I did not know what it was going on. I only listened to him, and then, he said, "Give her more anesthesia, she has crazy eyes." That was the last thing I can remember. Some hours later I met with my husband in the recovery-room. Everything came out OK. This started with a grief, but finally resulted to be fine. We had the visit of an angel, who showed us that the things are not dreadful or cheerful as we may see them at the first moment. From Heaven, God has a much better view of our lives and always wants the best for us.

My favorite place to be is my home, so I can play with my daughter and enjoy every second of her childhood, because I love to be a good mother.

One of my qualities is that I get easily angry when people treat me badly. I also have good qualities. I like to do different things. Some of these are: read, write and many other things that I can't even count. My favorite food is Mexican food, but I like to try all kinds of food and fruit.

What can I say about the weather? Well, I like it when it is warm because I can go for a walk or sit on the porch and relax for a little while. But, I love Spring-time too, because my husband and my daughter and I can work in our garden. I love flowers and to see all the beautiful colors and smell the sweet scent of the flowers. My goal is speaking English well, so I can talk to you all with no trouble at all.

The End

After we both settled down, she told me how she had been looking for me all her life. She asks me if I know about her. Her grandmother always told her I didn't know about her, and she wants to know if I did. We talk and talk. I found out she is 37 and has a son 18. Her grandmother raised the first 9 months of her life, the rest of her life she was raised by her mother.

I told her a little about myself. She wants to know if I had any kids. I told her she had 3 sisters and a brother. She was happy to have found me and the rest of her family and to know she had a brother and sisters. I was glad she found me also. I can't wait to meet her and her son, my oldest grandson. To think I had a child, and I was not in that child's life did not set too well with me. Not to see thaqt child grow up like I saw my other children kind of hurt. I don't know why her mother never tried to get in touch with me. May be she lost my address and didn't know how.

I kind of knew one day something like this was going to happen. I'm glad it's happened. My other children took the news well. I thought they would be angry, but they were OK with it, all but the baby girl. I guess she thinks I'm going to leave her and I'm not going to be her daddy anymore. She's only 20 and it's a little hard for her to understand right now! She did have her dad on a pedestal. She seems to think I was unfaithful to her mom. But all of this happened before I married her mom. Her mom died of cancer in 1999, 3 days after our 32nd anniversary. I loved her very much. She was my whole life. I told Tiara, "Your mom might not like this but she would not have blamed your new sister because she didn't have anything to do with this. She was just born; the only blame was her mother and me." I know my wife, she would have accepted her as one of her own. That's the kind of woman she was, she had a lot of love in her heart for everyone.

The next day I called my other daughters, the oldest one first. At first I didn't know how she was going to take it. She surprised me. She took it very well. She said her and mom used to talk about that very same thing. Her mom used to tell her how wild I was growing up. She said her she was glad her new sister was older than her, that meant I didn't cheat on her mom. Oh, I forgot about my son. I really thought he was the one that would have had a hard time with this. You know how sons and their mothers are. He said if his mom was still alive he might have taken it a lot different, but he was all right with it. He said now he has a reason to got to California. I talked to my daughter in Michigan next. It seems her baby sister called her before I got a chance to talk to her. She knew all about it, so I didn't have to say much. She was OK with it. I guess I was just wanting them to accept her and not blame her for something she had no control over because when it's all said and done, she is their sister. Next, I needed to call my brother and sister and let them know. They were not surprised. Now everybody in the family is excited and ready to meet her and her son in February. I'm excited too and I can't wait.

y husband I were married for fifteen years. We had a very good relationship in all those years. We were like most couples. We had our up and downs, but we always found our love was stronger in the end.

I remember one day I was mopping the floors, when my husband kept coming in from the outside and traking my floors. I told him to go outside and stqay out of my way. He then left and he pulled out of the driveway.

About thirty minutes later, he came back into the house. He said to me, "Are you still made at me?" I said, "No, I am not mad at you!" Then he moved his hands from around his back and held out a bouquet of pretty flowers to me. I thought that was so sweet that I gave him a big hug and a kiss.

Then a few years after that, I encountered another rendezvous. Here is my story. Every time I cleaned the bedroom and made the bed, I would trip over my husband's boots near the side of the bed. I told him numerous times to keep them out of the way or I would throw them away! So, one day, I was making the bed and I tripped over his boots again. Guess what I did? Yes, I put his boots out on the porch.

I was cooking dinner as my husband came in from work carrying a boot in his hand. He asked, "What is my boot doing down the road?" (I had put his boots on the porch and the dog had dragged the boot down the road.) I just said, "I told you to keep them out of the way, or I would throw them away!" He was mad. I thought it was hilarious.

Oh, I forgot to tell you that my husband paid me back for the boots! It was dark outside and I had gone out on the porch to get some firewood for the cook stove. As I was bringing the wood in my arms, I heard a strange, unusual sound coming out from the yard. I had no idea what it was. It scared me and I threw a big stick of wood out into the yard at it, as I ran into the house. My husband came in the front door, laughing his head off. He said, "I got you back!"

My husband passed away a few years after that. He was the love of my life! I still hold his love and memory in a special place in my heart. He was the sweetest person I know of. His memory lives on.

Growing up with so many siblings was stressful as well as fun. We argued a lot, but she didn't let anyone else mess with the other ones. If you messed with one, you messed with all of us! Like I said at the start, "Blood is thicker than water."

My brother, Jonah, and I were the worst about fighting. Phones, windows and doors have been broken. However, no matter how bad we fought, we always made up. Since I've been locked up, Jonah has been very supportive; knowing how bad we fought when we were younger, you'd never believe how close we are now. Jonah currently lives in Arizona and is attending a community college while working two jobs. Even being as busy as he is, he still writes often.

My relationship with my brother, Josh, was the complete opposite. Josh was my favorite sibling. We were what people would call the "black-sheep" of the family. We were always skpping school and sneaking cigarettes from our parents. Since I've been incarcerated, our relationship has deteriorated tremendously to the point of not speaking in over a year. He's taken my incarceration extremely hard and I think he blames himself. However, even though we haven't spoke in so long, he always tells Mom and tell me that he loves me. Just the other day Josh told my mom that he willbe here to see me soon.

When I got old enought o know I had a little brother, I was mean to him. My sister and I used to dress him up in my bikini and her pink tutu. Thinking back on it now, he was really cute. Jacob is now 19 years old, a high school graduate and working to help my mom pay the bills. In the 2 1/2 years since I've been incarcerated, we've become very close. Now, as for my sister, Crystal, she is my heart, my baby sister. We are only one year and 4 days apart (she's 20.) We were two little misfits, always playing mean tricks on our older brothers. As we got into our teens we grew apart. She had become a very private person, and I had an extremely large mouth. She was a starting catcher for her high school and a year away from graduating. I was a pot head and drop out. Before I got locked up we had just gotten close again, so when I did go jail, she was devastated. Since then she has graduated, entered the Air Force, gotten married and had a beautiful baby girl. I call her once a week and we write each other all the time.

The backbone of my family has always been my mom. However, being the daddy's girl that I was, I thought he walked on water. Growing up, my mom and I had severe fights. By the time I reached my teens it had become an everyday occurrence. I said mean and awful things to her. But she always forgave me and never gave up on me. Even after 2 1/2 years she still comes to see me faithfully. She is the strongest woman I know, and if I live to be ten-thousand years old, she always will be.

My daddy passed away in October, 2001 and I was devastated. When I was a baby, he spoiled me rotten to the point that I didn't even walk until I was 18 months old. He passed nine days before I was sentenced. I went through several different stages -- denial, confusion, shock, and anger. I still have not accepted it. The night before I turned myself in, he sat on the couch and cried like a baby. To this day, I still hear his pain and feel his tears as I hugged him, trying to reassure him. It ripped my heart out knowing his was breaking. Even knowing now that he wasn't the family's backbone doesn't change my love for him. He is forever in my thoughts and heart, and I miss him greatly.

Where I grew up in North Carolina, the summer heat was sweltering and our air conditioner was broken. To forget about the heat, Mom would lay down two pallets. One was for my brothers and their friends, and the other was for my sister, our friends, and me. My parents would relax on the couch after putting in "Frosty the Snowman." I know that movie may seem silly, but we'd watch it to think "cold." All of us would watch movies the entire day and never once would my parents complain about having so many kids in the trailer. They enjoyed the moviies as much as we did! So, to sum it all up, we are still a close-knit family who always stands up for each other. We love each other no matter what happens. I am truly blessed to have been born into such abeautiful family and have so many wonderful memories.

am glad to have a mother like you,
With a caring, heart so very true.
We have shared a lot that was not good,
But we survived the storm.
But I know in my heart you've
Done the best you knew

Few children have been as blessed as I have
To have a wonderful mother
To help me when I am in need.

No matter if the situation was good or bad
You always seem to make all things possible.

The love you have shared and the things you have done
Makes you so special, like no other.

I love you, mom, so much
And I always will from my heart,
I truly love you, mom, for just being you and how you feel inside.
I know that no one will ever take your place.

met my Grandmother for the first time in Philadelphia because that's where my people are. I saw her at my uncle's house and I said, "If I am not mistaken are you my Grandmother?"

She said, "Are you my grandchild?"

I said, "Yes, I am your grandchild." We started to talk and she asked, "How have you been?" "Fine," I replied. "Where have you been all these years?"

"I left before you were born," she said.

But you didn't come back," I said.

"I liked it where I was so I stayed there," Grandmother said. "I hoped some day I would meet some of my grandchildren."

So we talked more about different things like living in our old house, making apple butter and peach preserves, canning corn and beans and about the two old dogs and cat that used to follow me everywhere.

"Where is your husband?" I asked.

"He died some years ago," she said. "I've been by myself since I left. I've never seen anyone from home since then."

Grandmother and I talked some more about old times then we started down the street. She couldn't walk too well, and she had a cane to help her. We didn't go too far then turned around and went back to the house. Grandmohter and I had dinner, then cleaned the dishes from the table and put them away. "It is late," she said. "You get ready so you can catch the bus and go home."

I boarded the bus and sat in the seat and laid back. The bus pulled out, and I waved good bye to her. "Ill never see her again," I said.

went back home again.
Mama's rocking chair was the only thing left
from when I was a child.
I can recall Mama fixing a pot of beans on the stove.
The stove was red hot
and the cornbread in the oven was browning
but the window pane was broken out.
Mama took the pillow in the broken window
to put the pillow in the broken window
to keep the cold out.
Dad was down in the bed with the flu
and Mama and I had it all to do.
But she said, "No point complaining."
For we had bread and beans to eat
and Mama had all her children at her feet.

Then my sister and her friend picked up my mother and took her to the sofa. Then my sister called 911. A fire truck and an ambulance came to take my mother to the emergency room. That night they had to operate on her head to get old blood out. She was better at first but then she was sleeping too much so they did a second operation and found a blood leakage. Again she was better at first but something was still wrong. They had to do a third operation to remove fluid from the bump on the back of her head.

All of this has made me very sad and worried because my mother is a big part of my life. I was scared I might lose her. I said a lot of prayers.

She is recovering now in a nursing home to get her strength back. It turns out that she has Lou Gehrig's disease and therapy is helping her. She is a strong woman because she had a stroke, three operations on her head, and this disease and she is in good spirits. She wants to come home soon.

She doesn't understand the value of a dollar. When I try to explain, she'll say something like, "Well, you get paid every Friday!" She doesn't realize that I have to pay for rent, lights, and food. The only thing she understands is that she likes to shop. She tells me she needs the things and I know she doesn't. I buy her the things I know she really needs.

hen I was young, one of the things that hurt me was not having a brother. YOu see I had five sisters, a mom and a dad, but dad was usually gone. So, I didn't have the fellowship at home. I had to find it away. By fellowship I mean wrestling, fishing, building tree houses, hunting or riding bikes.

I ended up in a lot of trouble hanging with the wrong kids. That's not to say I wouldn't have if I had brothers, but I believe most of it would not have happened.

That is why I encourage my two sons to enjoy time spent together and to take care of each other. But it's hard to understand the feelings of others whne you haven't lived the experience. By God's grace they will not have to live one without the other!

When I was about eight years old, Eudora showed me a picture of Adrian. She looks just like me, but talks and sounds like my sister. We know that because we talked to her over the phone. Eudora's husband my sister and I called dad, was in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He saw Adrian and went to the phone to call us. We talked to her about five minutes each. She asked us how we were, how old we were, if we had boyfriends, and that was about it. It felt really wierd talking to her over the phone, but cool at the same time. It was hard to believe that I was talking to my biological mother for the first time. The last time that I heard something about her, she was getting ready to have another baby. Of course, I wasn't too happy about that.

I've always wondered why she never came to visit; why she didn't call. She always could have asked our family that lives in Pennsylvania about us. They always knew where we were. I guess we weren't important to her. Maybe she was ashamed because she had to give us up. I think that, as I got older, I realized why she had to give us up. She was living on the street most of the time. She really didn't have any money. She really didn't know where she was going to get food from day to day. Plus, she was a nervous wreck. So, in the end, we were better off with Eudora. She is our first cousin as well as our legal guardian. It's kind of cool that we were still raised by a family member instead of a stranger. That's always a good thing.

Maybe some day in the future I will try to find my six other brothers and sisters. When my husband has spring break, we might go to Harrisburg and try to find my mother. I think that I am ready to meet her. She also needs to know that she is a grandmother and has a son-in-law. Also, there are some questions that I need her to answer, like why she never came to see us, why she never tried to contact us, or if she ever wondered how we were doing. Maybe she can tell me some information on my other siblings. Maybe we could try to form some kind of relationship. I know that it's not going to be easy and we have a lot of years to make up, but I am willing to try to make it work if she is.

y husband's uncle, Mr. A. G. Bennett, was born June 6, 1864 in Stockholm, Sweden. Shen he was a young man of 19, he came to Ellis Island. He went to work in a tailor shop and worked there for about18 years.

One day, Mr. Bennett took a trip from New York by train. He had planned to go to Lynchburg, Virginia. The train had a layover in Charlottesville. He got off he train and walked around the city. He was so taken by the city of Charlottesville that he decided to make it his home.

In 1901, Mr. Bennett opened his own tailor shop at 609 West Main Street. His customers were mostly students, and he had a large business. He was an expert fitter and cutter, and his skills won him a wide reputation.

Mr. Bennett retired at the age of 42 because of his health. In 1929, he began to buy a lot of real estate, some on East Main Street and two on West Main Street. Anyone who knew him knew him as afair and honest man. His home was the corner of West Main Street on Vinegar Hill. He passed away on July 12, 1943, and he was greatly missed.

There are seven members in our family. My father is a retired elementary school teacher, and my mom is a housewife. They are very old. They live in their own home. Somebody lives with them to give them help.

I have two brothers and two sisters. My younger brother is a high school teacher, and he is the supervisor of the school. My younger brother's family and younger sister's family are in the Middle East. My other sister's family is in India. My elder brother's family and my husband are in the U.S. My elder brother works as a pharmacy tech at UVA Hospital in Charlottesville. My father didn't allow his daughters to get jobs. We all completed high school and have more education than that.

I am married to a big family. There are seven brothers and one sister. One of my husband's brother's family and his sister's family are in India, and the others are in the U.S. His parents are deceased.

We have two children, a boy and a girl. Our son, Johnson, is 35 years old, and our daughter is 33 years old. When I married, my husband was working in India. Fifteen years later he went to the Middle East. My younger brother helped him get a U.A.E. visa. First he went alone to the U.A.E. (United Arab Emirate in the Middle East). Four years later my husband took our daughterand me with him to the U.A.E. AT that time our son was going to college, so his father didn't take him with us. Our daughter completed high school in the U.A.E., and then she studied in a travel training school for a job. She passed the training, and they gave her a job at Dubai Airport. After two years, my husband brought our son to the Middle East. He received an Electronic Engineering Degree. But he didn't get a good job there. So his father sent him back to India. Six years ago one of my husband's brothers brought us to the U.S.

We have built a house in Keral, India, near a stream. Now our son takes care of the house and property. He has two children. They are boys, Shan and Kevin. Our daughter works at Dubai Airport in the cargo section. She has two children, a boy and a girl. They are Rashan and Rimbu.

Our children are waiting to migrate to the U.S. The process of immigration is long, and it takes years. First, I need to obtain U.S. citizenship. Then I have to file for them at INS. Now I am trying to get my citizenship. My wish is to stay with my whole family for the rest of my life.

Families come in all different shapes and sizes ranging from infant to Ancient cold ages. Some of us even tend to call our pets family because of the love we have for them. So they're also close "relatives." (ha-ha)

When I was a young child I used to wonder who all the strange faces were that would pop up at our family reunions. For some of you who don't know, a reunion is where everyone, well just about everyone, in your family gets together for old time's sake and reminisces about the past. Most of them come from far away and are reunited. If they've had childrne, we all get acquainted.

The oldest person in my family would probably be my father's mother. Her name is Mary Johnson. She is 76-years-old. The youngest would probably be my son Zavior. He is four, but you wouldn't be able to tell because he acts like he is about 6 or 7 yrs. The rest of my family are very distant, so we really don't get to socialize as much as we do reach out and touch one another during family matters. My family and I have a lot of fun together.

In 2002 on the 4th of July my girlfriend, our child, and I were celebrating. We had a whole lot of fireworks, but we didn't get to light the TNT ones. My son was frightened by the sparks that would fly out of them. At first he would stand behind me and his mother would light the wick. She lit up particular TNT, and it started to amke a very loud whistle. It must have caught my son by surprise, because he took off running straight to the house, locked the door, and was up in the window peeking. It was so funny I laughed 'til I cried.

I have a lot of fond memories with my family, but that is one of my favorites.

I planned to leave. To go where, I didn't know, but I had no other choice. I was afraid to tel my mother because I didn't want to hurt her.

I had planned to leave on a Sunday night while everyone was sleeping, but things didn't work out as I planned. I got sick and passed out; when I woke up I was in the hospital. My God, that was the worst time for me. I heard my mother crying while talking to the doctor. I just wanted to die, or go and hide.

My mind was running wild, thinking about everything, all kinds of crazy things that were going to hapen to me. But my mother, being the strong woman that she is, made me feel that all my fears were just something a paranoid person would think.

I stayed in school and gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby boy. She took on a second job and stepped in to help me raise my son. Things were hard; it was like I was in prison. All I could do was to go to school, then come home and take care of a child.

I'm glad my mother taught me about responsibility and motherhood. That was 32 years ago and my mother is still as wise and just as strong.

My mother has a sayhing, she always says everyone is entitled to a mistake, but you learn by them. It's not a day that goes by that I don't thank God for a wonderful and caring mother.

Having another baby means you have to have your priorities straight.

Having another baby takes real courage without a father to help. So to all the females out in this world I say, "Don't have another baby unless you are really prepared to deal with the consequences. Don't have another baby until you get married and you know thebaby's father is going to be with you and help take care of his responsibilities. So if you're not ready, please don't have another baby.

She ran back upstairs and woke up her brother. She said, "Orlando, it's Christmas, get up!" Orlando came down the steps all mad. But when he saw all the gifts he was happy. The children asked their mother and father, "Did Santa Claus bring them to us?" Their parents said "yes." But the children didn't know that their mother and father and grandaddy and grandmother had put them there. The children were excited.

C'aira and Orlando got a poodle for Christmas named Sam. Sam was six weeks old. He had a head full of black fuzz and white marks on his feet. He was lying on the floor asleep.

C'aira wanted her grandmother to help her to open her gifts and Orlando wanted his grandaddy to help him to open his. We took pictures of them holding their gifts up. Then the children gave their mother and father and grandaddy and grandmother their gifts.

My son came in later but I didn't get a chance to see him before he went back to his home in Illinois. But he and his girlfriend and sister took some pictures together. My daughter is planning to go to Illinois in April to be in his wedding.

I told my daughter that I was going to Stanardsville to see my cousin and brother. When I got there I had more gifts waiting for me and I had gifts for them. So we sat around and talked. Then we had dinner. It was a big happy moment.

Since Christmas my grandson Orlando has quit calling me up because he is always playing with Sam the poodle. So I can only assume I have been replaced by a dog.

I've done things that have hurt my mother and daugher a great deal. For example, I have been addicted to drugs and incarcerated several times. Also, there have been times when I was missing and they didn't know whether I was dead or alive. My mother and daughter have remained by my side to support me. I truly appreciate having their support; they have helped to inspire me.

There have been times hwen I've beenb out in the streets getting high, and when I thought of my mother and daughter, I put the drugs down. I was reminded of how much I love them and of their love for me. I value our relationship and hold it in the highest esteem.

It is my wish to be able to let my daughter and mother know that their love and support have not been in vain. The way for me to do this is to stay clean and sober and continue to do the next right thing. I want them to know how much they mean to me.

Although I am currently incarcerated, I am rebuilding my relationships with them. Through letters, phone calls, and visits, I am able to express my deeply felt feelings of love and gratitude towards them. As a result, we are progressing nicely in our relationships. For this I am very grateful.

Courtney is shy when she first meets people, but becomes very outgoing when she gets to know them. She loves to play with her friends. They play Barbies and Play Station, or ride bikes and go swimming.

Courtney likes going to school and learning, but sometimes she gets frustrated about homework because it keeps her from playing with her friends. Her mother sometimes makes Courtney do her homework before she goes out to play.

I used to take Courtney to the park and the playground and play games with her on Play Station or walk the dog with her.

Right now, I am in jail and cannot see Courtney. I can't wait to get out so that I can see her again. I miss the things we did together. I love being a father to Courtney. I feel by being in jail I am taking away from her life, and that makes me want to strive much more, now, and once I am released from jail.