It was 1952 when the Patriarch of my family was born on a lovely summer day in the beautiful countryside of Rossville, Tennessee. My Daddy was the 8th of nine children, and he grew up barefooted and happy, swinging from porch to porch on a vine that hung down from a huge old oak tree, it's branches heavy with moss... The old oak's roots ran down deep into the soft, cool dirt yard~not quite as deep as the family tree, but almost. He would help his daddy and big brothers chop cotton in the fall and summer, and chase mules down by the bottom place all year round~He and the kids down the long dusty dirt road would have a blast together, shouting "Tarzaaaan!!!" to each other across the way~and he has told us how he would go see the Morton family's dear Millie and Junie, the precious elderly black couple who share cropped the farm with Grandfather, and who were always so kind to daddy and the other Morton kids and grandkids...sort of like an extra uncle and aunt...Daddy has told us about Grandfather~how he would spend his last few dollars to buy his family some ice cream, or when ever they would be on a 'tight' Grandfather would pull everything out of the freezer and, joyfully whistling the whole time, make a huge pot of soup for the family's food for the next day or two~ Daddy still talks about how delicious that soup was...and he grew up, and the Lord saved Daddy when he was 19, and he was filled with the Holy Spirit at a prayer meeting right outside of Memphis...and so that was the beginning of my family...
But~while daddy was swinging on vines and chopping cotton, a handsome couple in Moultrie, Georgia were expecting their 4th child in July, 1960. My Mama came after my Grand Mama had fried a huge pot of chicken for the family and the Mercantile Store employees. :) She grew up a very happy, pretty, Southern 'City Belle'. My dear GrandDaddy was in educational administration , and so they moved often, and always enjoyed vacations as a family in the summer... The big, beautiful lakes always looked so beautiful at sunset, when they went camping, and then fishing during the day in Grand Dad's boat Ellah~ Aunt Rosemary named that boat when she was just a little girl... And then in the summer, they would come home to Moultrie, and Mama, Aunt Rosemary and Aunt Karen would go to 'The Store" and help my Great Grandfather and grandmother dust shelves...And at noon, they would all drive through the streets of Moultrie, and go home, where Netti B., our precious black "Great Aunt" you might say, had fixed a huge "Thanksgiving dinner" everyday for all the Store employees. Dear Netti B. who came to the Baell family {Grand mama's maiden name} when my Grandmama was 8 years old~she was a beautiful 16 year old girl, and she was hired to assist my great grandmother with the house hold chores~she was soon family, and was an older sister to my gradmama and Great Aunt Betty. She went on to be with the Lord a few years ago. But, goodness, she made the most amazing Southern food you ever put in your mouth....But, anyway, my mama always enjoyed the summers at the Baell's and on the lake...And when my mama was 20, the Lord saved her, and then, she met my daddy in Alabama on one lovely Sunday morning...And then they were married, and later they had a sweet little baby named....
.....Katie, and then.....
...Michael Beveridge Morton Jr....
...Then Cleveland.....
....And Wesley.....
.....Dorothy....
....Adeline...
...Martha...
...Andrew...
...Samuel...
...John...
...Edwin...
...And Paul!!!!...Then...
... Alan Smith...
...And Katie Morton...
...Got married on April 8, 2006. Thus formed the second Smith family, and they have been living together happily ever since...
...And then, in January of 07, Alan and Katie had Bret Smith The Third, who has been such a delight...And Then......
... Michael Morton Jr...
....And Kressant Smith...
.....Got married on September 2, 2006. Thus formed the second Morton family, and they have been living happily together ever since.....And....
...Wesley Morton...
...And Rachel Smith...
...Are to wed this September!!!
And then, Michael and Kressant...
...Had this precious little boy, Michael The Third, a few weeks ago. And I guess that wraps us all up! For now...
his sweet little bed
