GWEN.....

i always feel very lucky when i think about my daughter in law, gwen......i listen to a lot of my friends always finding fault with the wives of their sons, the mothers of their grandchildren and i often remark to brad how lucky we are that we don't have those issues.....i think you're really fortunate when the worst thing you can find to say about your dil is that she's from kansas......now, not that there is anything wrong with being from kansas....it's a lovely state and has a lot going for it, it's just that as a mother who watched her son follow his heart to kansas....well, that's a really long way from west virginia!.........i fell in love with gwen almost from the moment i met her.....she was easy to talk to and down to earth and liked a lot of the same things i did, starting with jj....and continuing with crafts and good food.......in fact, while they were dating, i used to chide jj that if he didn't marry her soon, i'd have to adopt her........

they've been married for a dozen years now and i'm sure like all marriages, they've had their ups and downs, their easy days and then those days when they could barely stand the sight of each other, but when you're around them, you'd hardly know it.....they have a close relationship, their own looks and language with each other......thru the years jj's built a remarkably successful business in kansas and although i will be the first to jump on the bandwagon about how smart and hardworking my son is, i also know that this would have been a much rougher journey for him without gwen's support, understanding, counsel and, most of all, patience...........they may be able to tell you different, but from across the miles between kansas and west virginia, i've never seen a time when she wasn't there for him.......what more could a mother-in-law ask from the woman who shares her son's life???....well, that and four beautiful grandchildren.......recently gwen was recognized in the emporia gazette as a gazette mom......it's a wonderful thing and a long overdue pat on the back for all the hard work she puts into her family......