How many children do you have? I have 3 wonderful children; Beth 33 who is a stay at home wife and mom, Becki 30 who is a full time mother, and Andrew who is married and works as a Procedure Writer at a Nuclear Power Plant.

How many grandchildren? I have 2 granddaughters; Beth and Junior have a daughter Dorie Jean and Becki has a daughter Althea Clare.

I also have 5 furry and 4 legged grandchildren through Andrew and his wife Julie but we are hoping for a human child soon – not that we don’t love Dixie, Mallory, River, Sunshine and Daisy.

What are their ages? Dorie will be 6 in December and we are planning on celebrating her birthday at Walt Disney World this year. Althea will be turning 2 in January.

Any great grandchildren? No, but hopefully I’ll be blessed to have some one day as my great-grandmother was wonderful.

What do your grandchildren call you? Well Dorie calls me Granny and so does Althea at times but other times she slips up and calls me Mama (she calls her mom – Mommy). I never thought I’d be a “Granny” as this is what my mother was called and I just didn’t think I could feel her shoes, but someone the name grew on me or I grew into it!

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? I see Althea everyday as she and her mom are living back at the family home with my husband and me. I like it; our house was my parent’s home and it’s nice to have the 4th generation in it.

I see Dorie a few days a week, but always on the weekend. She has spent at least 1 night at our house since she was a year old as my husband works out of town during the week and she LOVES her Papa.

What is the best thing about being a grandma? Enjoying life, having the time to bake cupcakes or snuggle under the covers. Watching the Mickey Mouse Playhouse two times a day… I could go on and on. But I like looking at my grandchildren and seeing my family’s future and bits of our past at the same time.

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma? Keeping my thoughts to myself and I’m not very good at it. I am getting better but it is very hard.

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud. Althea is hooked on Mickey Mouse Playhouse; she went to sleep one night begging to watch it and woke up at daylight stilling asking. She calls it Dog, Dog because at the end of the show they do the hotdog dance.

What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? Dorie and I are famous for our cupcakes, we started baking them a couple years ago and you just never know when we’ll feel the urge but I love the mess and it just being us two in the kitchen.

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? Visiting Dorie’s room and looking at her school work. She is always collecting a rock or pebble from somewhere so we often look over her new ones.

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits? Phone calls, cards in the mail (even though we live 5 miles away).

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? I’d like to pass along my love of family, our history and always standing up for ones beliefs and those in need.

What is one word you hope your grandkids think of when they think of you? Love

What is one thing you wish you had learned earlier as a grandparent? How to say no?

What one bit of advice would you give a new grandma? Relax and enjoy the ride.