Once upon a time....

Once upon a time, but not so long ago, there lived two families. Both were eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new family member. The first family, a.k.a. Toni and Chip Dockery, lived at Homestead Air Force Base, Florida, just a little bit south of Miami; while the second family, who were known as Jimmie Sue and Jim, lived in Haverfordwest, Wales (U.K. naturally.)

Now Toni and Chip were already the very proud parents of one adventurous tyke, that's right---Dan (we'll let him share his own thoughts on the forthcoming baby); but were eagerly awaiting the second child who was expected to arrive in January 1977. Brother Dan had already set a precedent by requiring a C-Section, so the date had been set for January 3rd. Prudent military doctors suggested that the Dockery's might like to get a tax break by adjusting the arrival time to the last possible surgery date in December. Fine. That date was set. HOWEVER, John had been listening to all of this and had some ideas of his own. "A tax break? Doesn't that mean extra money for the folks? I should get a Christmas present!" So.....the propitious date of December 19th arrived and much to everyone's happy surprise, so did John!

Meanwhile, back in Wales, Jimmie Sue and Jim had only a cat named Tupence (short for two pence-you know, two pennies British style) to share the excitement with, and still had months to wait. Their baby wasn't due until April 25th, however April was not the month of choice.....May would be. Finally, May 8th arrived and so did Kara-Leigh. It's a good thing the baby was a little girl....Jimmie Sue and Jim had bought a special little cowgirl outfit and it just would not have looked so great on a little boy. Plus, they had picked out two girls' names: Gwyneth-Leigh and Kara-Leigh. Now keep in mind, they had never heard of anyone named "Gwyneth"; it was a Welsh name and she was born in Wales...made sense to them. They were leaning towards Gwyneth until they saw their baby. No doubt about it, she had to be "Kara-Leigh". She just looked like a "Kara-Leigh". So "Kara-Leigh" it was!

But the story does not end there. In just a few short weeks, we will all be welcoming a new little girl into our families. There will be more stories to tell and pictures to share than we probably ever could have imagined. So until then, sit back and enjoy our memories of John and Kara-Leigh's first year with their families.

Toni, Chip, Jimmie Sue and Jim--the Very Proud Grandparents to Be of "Ziggy-Leigh"