We had a most wonderful and complete contribution to the blog from Sabrina, Margaret and Norman's second daughter. We post it here with great delight:

"I woke up at 6:30 this morning, for whatever reason, and started thinking about your blog and how Aunt Sue said I was added as a contributor. I was wondering what the heck I would say, and started thinking about it. Here's my contribution, is it too much? Do I look too cheerful?

So, I was asked if I wanted to be a contributor to the famous Felin Blog. And at first, I wondered, what would I write about? I decided that maybe an update on the “Abbott Clan” would be sufficient.

I’ll start with the two that started the so-called “Abbott Clan”, my parents, Margaret and Norman. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last August, in a fashion suited to their lifestyle, a simple dinner with all of their children and grandchildren, in a small restaurant in a small town. When you get us all together, there are 21 of us (including Nathan’s fiancé, Nichole, but more on that later). Mom and Dad epitomize love to all of us. Through thick and thin they have been there for us, for each other. Dad celebrated his 80th birthday in October, and the day after his birthday celebration at my house, Mom discovered a lump on her left breast. She was diagnosed with breast cancer less than a week later. She had a partial mastectomy and has just started her radiation, with about 27 more treatments to go. She will complete her radiation just in time to celebrate her 70th birthday on March 28th! My parents still look at each other with love in their eyes, still hold hands and are soul mates in the truest sense.

We’ll go in birth order on Margaret’s and Norman’s children, starting with their eldest, Stephanie, “My Sister”. Stef and Dan have been married for just over 26 years, and another example of two people destined to be together. Jessica, their daughter who passed away in 1988, would’ve been 25 this August. Nathan, their first son, will be 23 in March, celebrating his birthday on the same day as his Meemaw Maggie. Nathan is a free spirit of sorts, figuring out what to do with his life, and enjoying it every step of the way. He is engaged to Nichole, who is studying to be a Pharmacist. I can see her working, while Nathan stays home and takes care of the children. Then there is Jacob, Stef’s and Dan’s second son, who turned 20 in December. Jacob is a special soul, always searching for how he will “fit in” to the world around him. He is going to college now, studying to be a gaming programmer. Jacob had a tough beginning, being born 2 months premature, and having a sister who died two months after his birth. God bless his Mom, struggling with a premature newborn, and her first born’s passing, how hard would it be to nurture and grieve all at the same time? The effect on those two boys has been profound, to say the least.

Next in birth order would be me. I married my true love, Dave, in December 1992, had my first son, Alex, in January 1994, and my second son, Brett, in March, 1995. There is 1 year and 47 days difference in age between Alex and Brett, and 1 year and 48 days difference in age between “My Sister” and me. That amazed me the first time I figured that out. Today my boys are 14 and almost 13, both of them taller than me by more than 4 inches and both of them are amazing athletes. These days are filled with basketball and then more basketball. Alex started and co-captained the undefeated 8th grade team this year, while Brett held his own on the 7th grade team and another select team. Brett is taller than Alex by two inches, standing 5’ 9”, weighing 125 pounds, tall and lean. To say that they are my pride and joy would be an understatement. God knew what he was doing when he gave me two boys. I work a lot of hours and travel often with my job. Dave takes them to all of their basketball practices, drives them to school every morning, while being self-employed as a painting contractor. I used to hate it when Dave could take off any time he wanted while I had to work, but that has turned out to be the best thing for our family, like I said, a blessing. Dave’s daughter, Lauren, was 7 when I met her. People used to ask me if being a stepparent was hard, but Lauren was always more like my daughter than my stepdaughter. She’s just one of those people who has always been easy to love, not only for me but also for my entire family. Today Lauren is married Josh, who is a Marine, and they are living in North Carolina. They have a little baby boy, Tristan, who turned one in December. Josh has already served two tours in Iraq, the second time coming home last September, and he is only 24 years old.

After me, comes my brother, Randy. Randy is one special man, hard for me to believe that he is a man, because when we were growing up, Randy was my best buddy, and always such a boy. Randy has a wonderful family, starting with his wife, Lynn. They will celebrate their 20th anniversary this year. I hope one day (a long time from now), that I will have a daughter-in-law as special as my parent’s only daughter-in-law. Randy’s and Lynn’s first daughter, Erica, will be 18 on February 13, 2008. When Erica was born, I was single, thinking I would never have children of my own. Erica looked more like my daughter than Lynn’s, and used to love to watch her for Randy and Lynn. She spent weekends with me and I would take her the stores with me, pretending that she was mine. Erica is now exploring colleges to go to next year, leaning towards Belmont College in Nashville, Tennessee. She makes really good grades in school, just like her Aunt Bebe did back in the day. Their second daughter is Amanda, who will be 16 in June. Amanda is the spitting image of her mother, a real beauty inside and out. Amanda is a sweet and gentle person, with a real sense of style. Connor is Randy’s and Lynn’s third child, a son who will be 15 in September. Conner is a scholar and an athlete. He is the top of his class, making straight A’s and acing his assessment tests. The most amazing thing about Randy’s children is how humble, yet confident they are. As for Randy, he has learned that his calling in life, besides having a wonderful family, is spreading the word of God. Randy drives down to the city of St. Louis every Thursday night and preaches the word of God to a group of homeless people, a growing group of people who continue to show up week after week, to hear him. He has been successful at getting some of them off of the streets and into homes. Lynn is Randy’s Pillar of Strength, who is, in my opinion, much like my Mom, the glue that keeps the family together.

Okay, so then one would think, after all of this, Margaret and Norman had one more child? What could make this child special? So, lastly, there is Catrina. I am old enough to remember the day my Mom brought Catrina home from the hospital. Old enough to remember how Stef and I used to feed her and then pushed her belly because we like to hear how it sloshed when we pushed it, neither of us liking, though, how she spit up on us after we did this for a while. The joke about “My Sister” is that I always referred to Stef as “My Sister”, because I called her “Sis”, so when Catrina was born, there was “My Sister” and Catrina, and this still holds true today. Old habits I guess. I liken Catrina to my Brett. I don’t think Catrina was “planned”. I am pretty sure that my parents were surprised when they found out they were going to have her, given that by then Randy was 6, I was 10 and Stef 11. We lived in Germany when Mom got pregnant with Catrina, and Mom says the reason she cried so much when she found out about her pregnancy with Catrina was because she was afraid the doctors would make us stay in Germany until after Catrina was born. The reason I liken Catrina to my Brett, is because, I too, was shocked when we learned we were going to have him, after all there is only 1 year and 47 days age difference between him and Alex, but now I could not imagine my life without Brett anymore than I could imagine my life without Catrina. They are equally special. I think Catrina was parented differently than the rest of us. While we were all scared of my Dad, she had not even an ounce of fear. The belt, the sir and ma’am, cleaning up your plate or you don’t leave the table, even if the brussel sprout you were given 3 hours ago is cold and even grosser now than then, the chores…. Catrina knew none of that in her childhood. Catrina has always been the rebel in the family. Today, however, she is married to a wonderful man, Rob. Catrina has two children, Sam and Liz, from a previous marriage. Rob adopted her children and also has two sons from a previous marriage, Andrew, 18 and Matthew, 14. Andrew just joined the Marines, while Matthew lives in Phoenix with his Mom. They both love Catrina. Sam, Catrina’s son, is the most kind hearted and gentle soul that I know. He has one of those voices that just soothes a bad mood. Now Liz, well, she’s her Mom’s daughter, to be sure. Sassy and precocious, she isn’t going to take any flack from anyone. I’ve no doubt that she will make her mark in the world as will her Mom.

And this concludes my update on my family. I think that the older I get, the more I appreciate the family that I have been given, or more correctly, blessed with. I pray that I never take this for granted, for I know firsthand that everyone is not as fortunate as I. My wonderful family extends way past those that I have mentioned here, to my Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Second Cousins, Great Aunts, Great Uncles, and Grandparents….we are all blessed. Let us not ever take this for granted.

I think my contributor access might be revoked after this update...."