William & Grace Keizer

Grandparents. We all have them. Growing up in small town Iowa meant I lived within minutes of my grandparents. I don't remember my Grandpa Marvin Green. He passed away when I was a small child. You won't find a picture of G'pa Green holding me because he thought I was a loud baby. G'pa Green's favorite was my older sister Sheila.

My sisters and I spent a lot of time with Grandma Lena Green.  She was our occasional caretaker after school. We could walk to her house from the elementary school. Also, the entire family always went out for lunch after church on Sunday. It was G'ma Green's treat. My G'ma Green kept a tin of small Snickers bars in her cupboard. I partially blame her for my lack of willpower when it comes to candy. We had no restrictions while staying at her house. G'ma Green passed away while I was in college at Morningside.

Grandpa Bill and Grandma Grace Keizer lived about 20 minutes from my childhood home. I used to love to go visit and play at their farm. I remember jumping hay bales with my sisters and cousins. Also, they had the best dog named Shep. I can't exactly remember when G'pa and G'ma Keizer moved to town. The great thing about their place in town was they lived across from a park and softball field. Even better, my cousins lived in the same town so I got to go to their house and play Nintendo and swim in their pool. G'ma Keizer just passed a few years ago but G'pa Keizer is alive and kicking.

Naming a baby is a difficult thing. Some names are never considered a possibility because you know someone with that name and it has tainted that name forever in your mind. Other names are crossed off the list because of the potential nickname factor. Take my name as an example - Smelly Shelly, Shelly Belly, Smelly Shelly with the big fat belly full of jelly. You get my point.

Daren and I decided we didn't want to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. We I had lots of folks try and give me reasons of why we should find out the gender of our baby. That was their reason to find out and not mine. We also decided to keep our names a secret. I got to pick the girl name and Daren picked the boy name. Not telling the names also annoyed people. Oh well.

I knew before I was ever pregnant that I wanted to name my first daughter Willamina Grace after my G'pa and G'ma Keizer. I'm going to put it out there - G'pa Keizer is/was my favorite. He is such an ornery cuss. As soon as Willa has her surgery and is cleared for travel we are hoping on a plane so she can meet the man she was named after.

Wedding Picture

Keizer Family

Skyping at Christmas