As you must know by now, my name is Penny. I live in Elyria, Ohio. Elyria used to be a small town, but it is rapidly growing larger. It is about 30 miles west of Cleveland, and about 15 minutes from Lake Erie. I was born in Elyria (to the greatest parents ever), and have lived here for my entire life except for three years. One of those years I lived in Columbus, Ohio. Another year I lived in Canton, Ohio, and the third year I lived in Peidmont, South Carolina.
I have two children, and being divorced when they were 3 and 6 years of age, I was a single parent. Through the years I have also had 15 foster children. My son Eric gave me 3 grandchildren, but since they live on the west coast, I seldom get to see them.My daughter, Margi had 2 children. Her first was a tiny baby boy who lived only one hour. Her second was a strong healthy baby girl who is now eighteen. Nikki is the only grandchild I really know. We have always lived within a few miles of each other, and about ten years ago Margi and her husband, Oz bought a two family home, so I have been a part of Nikki's growing up. Nikki graduated from high school in June and has entered the nursing program at our local community college.
As I said I have had 15 foster children. Most of them were with me at least a year, some of them for several years. Two of them are now adults and are still with me. I have had Sandy and Andrea for so long that I feel that they are my own, and in a way, they are.
I also have two sisters. I am vey close to both Lynn and Sheri and we spend time together almost daily. Also my cousins Joan, June, Sandy and I see each other often.
My godchildren are twin girls who live with their families in northern Idaho. I am very close to both girls and their families. The highlight of my year is my annual trip to Idaho. Occasionally though, instead of going to Idaho, the girls and their families and I meet in Oklahoma at the home of their mother, and my friend,Louise, and her husband, Louis.
I have worked at several mediocre jobs the first few years after my divorce, then I went to our community college, got a degree, and found a position as youth director and outreach coordinator for our local YWCA. I retired from the Y at the age of 55, but found that doing nothing was not for me, so I am now working for a local plastics factory, delivering samples,blueprints,etc. to other businesses. I only work a few hours a day, but it is an "on call" job. I like it because it gives me a lot of time to work on my pages, or to visit family or friends (as long as I take my cell phone in case they need me to make a delivery.)
I am very new at building a web site. I love doing it but to be honest, I would be nowhere if it wasn't for Andrea. She is the one who is computer literate. I design the pages, find and retrieve the graphics, and I am beginning to learn the hard part,(codes,etc.) but Andrea is the one responsible for getting this site up.
and now there is my new friend Chrissy who has helped me so much. She has answered numerous questions, gone into my files and done for me things I could not do with webtv. She has taken copies of my pages to store in her computer so that if geocities ever loses another page for me I won't have to remake it. She has corrected my mistakes, made suggestions and always she has encouraged me. She also made the beautiful navigation buttons on the first page of this site. And best of all she has become my very dear friend. Well, now you know a little about who Penny is, and you have had a brief introduction to the people who are important in my life. You can get to know us better by looking at my photo album.
Yes, I believe in angels .I believe that they are God's messengers; that He sends them to look after us; to help us make it through the rough spots of this life and to help us work toward our goals. I am a long way from achieving my goals ,but with the help of God's angels I am working toward them. My goals can be summed up in the following prayer of St Francis:
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace
Where there is hatred, I may bring love;
Where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;
Where there is discord, I may bring harmony;
Where there is error, I may bring truth;
Where there is doubt, I may bring faith;
Where there is despair, I may bring hope;
Where there are shadows,I may bring light;
Where there is sadness, I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort, than to be comforted;
To understand rather than to be understood;
To love, rather than to be loved.
For it is by giving that we receive;
It is by forgiving that we find forgiveness;
It is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.