How lovely it is to start this Tuesday with such wonderful news! Our little family is expanding.
 
No, I’m not pregnant (although I do have a friend who conceived at our age and it has crossed my mind…hmmm…) but we are soon officially adding a daughter to our lives. Or daughter-in-law? I just don’t know what the title is for someone who is marrying your widowed son-in-law! But instead, I’ll call her Brooke (since that’s her name) and say how absolutely delighted we are that Phil proposed to her and she said “yes”.
 

 
Truthfully, Brooke has felt like family for some time now. At first, neither Brooke nor Rob and I knew how the other would react to being part of the same tight group. We need not have worried; we only had to get to know each other to see how very much in common we had – loving concern for our grandson and his dad.
 
For a young woman in her twenties, Brooke has willingly and lovingly taken on an awful lot of responsibility and done it with feistiness and grace. She’s stood up for herself when she’s needed to, but more importantly has been there to provide strength and support for Phil and for Colin when they needed it most.
 
Brooke and I both believe that Lauren helped bring her into the life of these two and we need never fear that our daughter will be forgotten. But nor do we worry that Brooke feels she has to live in Lauren’s shadow in any way! She is confident, bright and more than capable of holding her own and standing tall in her own right. Rob and I feel lucky to have her in our lives.
 
And then there’s Colin. He adores the woman he calls “Mama” and she cares for him every bit as much as if she was his tummy mummy. We have always put Colin and his happiness first (with Phil’s a close second behind our sweet boy) and we know that with Brooke in the picture, that joy and security are virtually guaranteed.
 
I say “virtually” because, of course, we know full well that life has no guarantees! But there’s another thing we also know for sure: everyone deserves to be happy. And for that – and so many other reasons – we are filled with joy to be witnessing the next wonderful chapter in the life of Phil, Colin and Brooke. We love you, Brooke. 
 
I told you it was happy news! Have a great day.