Title:       Beautiful Dreamer
Author:  Jean Jenkins Spiker
Date:       May 27, 2006

When I first met Aunt Jean it was the spring of 1992.  She is one of the nicest, kindest, caring people I have ever met.

During one of our visits, she told me a story of when she was young.

There was a rope swing in front of her home and she would sit there for hours and daydream of her future, watch the clouds form pictures, listen to the birds chirp, and gaze at the beauty that surrounded her.

As I sit on the porch at the Spiker farm, I imagine Aunt Jean as a young girl swinging and daydreaming and, like her, gaze at the beauty that God has created.

Title:       Family
Author:  Jean Jenkins Spiker
Date:       May 27, 2006

When I married Jeff, Shaun, Zachary and I were blessed to have fallen into such a wonderful family.

I now have three wonderful sisters that would do anything in the world for me, as I would do for them also.  (One is my favorite, but I’m not telling) but she knows who she is. Tee hee!

I also have terrific nieces and nephews (again one is my favorite, and they know who they are!!)

My mother, Willa Dean, is one of the finest cooks around, and has the gentlest, and kindest hearts of anyone I know. I’ll never forget the first time she showed me how to make homemade noodles. I had flour on the floor, and poor mom had flour from head to toe.  I didn’t say I was Betty Crocker- Ha! Ha!

And my dad, Robert, in one word, “Fantastic!”

Mom had made one of her famous apple pies and dad wanted me to cut a piece or him.  Well, I had no idea that a piece of pie to him was one quarter, so here I go serving him a piece of pie that is half of what he expected. The look of shock on his face, I will never forget.  He then goes on to say, “I don’t believe I’ll have you get me a slice of pie again.” Ha! Ha! I did, however, learn to cut larger slices of pie.