A Very Special Family...and a Very Special Man!

When my husband Matthew and I got together, it was like finally becoming part of a family that I already knew and loved. I didn't need to "meet the parents", his father, Rickie, was my bishop and had helped support me through difficult moments, I'd served with his mum, Janice, on the Relief Society board at church, had walked with his Aunt Belinda and Uncle Randy during early morning walks, and had even been to his grandmother's home for Sunday lunch. You could say, the only Rawe I didn't really know, was the one that would make me an official "numbered" member of the Rawe clan (although he did teach one of my classes at church when I first moved there).

Let me explain what I mean by being "numbered" - as a form of keeping a family record, each member of the Rawe family was given a number, starting with Matthew's grandparents, who both shared number 1, following them, each of their children were numbered, in the order of birth, then spouses were given a number as they married into the family. The numbering continues as grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are born and so forth. It's quite a fun system, and I can tell you that today the numbers exceed 110.

Anyway, the real reason for this post is to celebrate the life of a wonderful man. Last week, Matthew's grandfather, (number 1) passed away.

He was a great man, and welcomed me into the family with open arms, I still remember the first Thanksgiving dinner I shared with Matthew's family, just before we were married. Grandpa was there and told me how happy he was that I was going to be a part of the family (after all, his wife Beverly had also been from English descent). He told me that I should let him know if Matthew ever gave me any trouble. When passing down words of wisdom, grandpa always referred to Matthew and other boys in the family as "big-son", a memory that will be treasured by my husband.

The first photo in this post was taken when Amelia was about 6 months old, the first time she met her great-grandpa. The other photo's were taken in July of last year (2010), when we visited California for a few days, the last time Amelia and I saw him.

I am so grateful for the knowledge of the Gospel, and that I know that families are indeed eternal. I am especially thankful to have been adopted into such a fabulous one. How blessed I am.

We love you Grandpa Rawe, 'til we meet again!