Today is my baby girls 6th birthday.  This makes me sad that these 6 years have flown by and at the same time it makes me ecstatic because I love having her in my life.  Laci's middle name is Evelyn.  She is named after my Grannie.  I loved my Grannie so dearly there are not any words to truly describe the impact she had on my life.   When Loren and I found out we were having a girl we knew that we wanted her middle name to be Evelyn, after Grannie,  now we just had to find a first name to go with it.  We tossed several names around but nothing seemed right.  Then one day Loren was driving down an Arkansas highway and he saw a sign displaying the name of a city called "Laci".  He immediately called me to see what I thought about it.  I loved it.  It was meant to be.  Laci Evelyn Crow.  The sound of those names together make me smile.
     One of my favorite memories was when Loren and I told Grannie that Laci's middle name was going to Evelyn.  When we told her she simply said "well that is just fine". I knew at that moment that we had made the correct decision.   Laci was born on April 29th, 2005. My Grannie had a stroke on May 13th, 2005 that would prevent her from ever returning to her home.  Her not being at her home was a life-changing event for me.  I spent just as much time at her house as my own house when I was a kid.  Even as an adult I spent time at her house just visiting, talking, and on occasion taking a nap while she watched the kids.  She was keeping my kids while I was at work when she was 89 years old.  Her home was my home.   She would not be here with us much longer after May 13th.  She was 92 years old when she left this earth.  She had a long good life.  I am convinced that she hung on so she could meet and hold her namesake.  She lived in a nursing home for a while after her stroke.  I spent a great deal of time visiting with her there.  One of the nurses made a comment to my mother that she had never seen a family like ours.....  someone from the family was in and out all of the time....  they never knew when to expect us.  She always loved to hold Laci. Many of the staff would advise me to not let Grannie hold Laci but I knew, regardless of her stroke, that she knew who that baby was and she would not do anything to hurt her.   She would tell everyone she encountered that Laci was her namesake.  Grannie did not get to spend as much time with Laci as I would have liked but I am so thankful for the time she did.  We have pictures to remember those moments and to tell Laci about her Grannie.  Laci will talk about Grannie today as if she really knew her.  That is exactly how I want it to be.