Starting the New Year and Answering the Question, "Who is Jack?"

I guess from the dates that you see prior to today that it has been quite a while since I have blogged.  In fact, I had even hid my blog for quite sometime.  I have determined that with the anticipated arrival of our first little one, blogging will be one of the best ways to share with family and friends that don't get to be a part of our lives on a daily basis.

So, to the right is our little one, the one we refer to as Jack.  Why the name Jack?  Well, it started out as a joke from a friend of mine at work back at the end of summer.  She came to me and said that she had had a dream that she had a baby boy and was so upset because she was too old to raise another child.  So, she gave the baby to me to raise and named him Jack.  That is how the name came about.  We have laughed about it since that time.  It became even funnier when we discovered we were having a boy.  So, the name has become a part of our daily lives for the little one growing inside of me.

On a different note, the name Jack also has sentimental meaning to my family.  Jack Bennett was a cousin of my granny and a part of my life for almost 17 years...until he went to be with the Lord near Christmas of 1995.  I still remember my cousin saying to his mom, "Jack gets to go to Jesus' birthday party."  There was not a family event that Jack and Emmie Ruth (his wife) weren't a part of.  They were like having another set of grandparents to all of us Grigsby grandchildren.  They were avid Alabama fans and travel to see the Tide play on many, many, many occasions.  My mother can share more memories than I of Jack and Emmie Ruth as she and her brothers and sisters were growing up.

My memory of Jack is that he was a sweet man that adored us kids and was especially attentive to my brother, Tyler who has spina bifida.  You see, I believe that Jack had a special place for disabled children because of his service as a Shriner.  That was just the kind of man he was - always full of love for my family and my grandparents.

On one occasion, I remember Jack and Emmie Ruth taking me to eat at Hamburger Heaven over in Irondale which included hamburger, fries, and a milkshake (probably chocolate :) ).  Another memory I have was when my cousin Rob was young he would go around the house saying, "Let me look at your teeths."  Well, he said it to Jack one day and Jack actually took his teeth out of his mouth...I don't know if Rob ever asked to see his teeth again.  There are many, many more memories of him that I could share and many other could share but the one thing I know is if we do choose to name our son Jack, I want him to know how special his namesake was to our family.

So, for those of you wondering about names, we have tossed around several but as time grows near things could change but at the moment these are some of the ideas we have so far and all I have connection to family in some way:  Jackson Ray, Jackson David, Jackson Bennett...and that is where the list stops for now.  Those are the three that I can't get out of my mind.