Grandma Verdell Video

GRANDMA VERDELL

Grandma Verdell was more then my grandma she was also like a mother to me,after my mother died when i was three years old grandma took care of me she was always there for me ,she protected me and comforted me she was always someone i could talk to, we laughed and talked and she told me stories,she was more than my grandma she was my friend.

Grandma I will miss you and I will always love you.

Grandma you have earned your wings so spread them and fly home to your new home in heaven,when you get there give my mom and dad hugs for me and take care of each other, they are waiting for you it is there time to have you with them now,so until I see you all again keep each others company.

Grandma you are God's angel now no more pain or suffering you are home now.

Thank you grandma for loving me.

LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU

P

MOM AND DAD UPDATE

Darrius just got his fourth principal honor roll we are so very proud of him and he has his 12th birthday on feb 22nd ,we can't believe he is 12 years old.
our baby Diontae turned 5 years old on dec 18th 2008.they are both growing upso fast.
Johnny and are very happy they are living close to us again so maybe we will get to see them more often.
we miss having Jon and Wes living close to us but we are glad to talk to them often by phone and tex messgeing ( John and I don't like the texting too much ) we perfer the phone or e-mail.
Jon this blog was a good idea.

love u all more
mom and dad

Baby Pictures, Mom & Dad

Lately I've been rummaging through boxes and boxes of all my belongings because I just recently moved out of the ARCO Olympic Training Center here in Chula Vista, California. While going through the boxes to find things I can throw away, things I can donate and things that I want to keep I've come across all of these great photos of my nephews, of my parents and of my siblings. It's been a blast looking at these pictures and having the memories of when they were taken take me back to those moments. As hard as times might be right now for all of us the memories of our past experiences together seem to make this life here on earth worth all the trouble. As Louis Armstrong would sing, "What a Wonderful World" it is because we have each other.

Now I think I have the best looking mom and dad. They look great together. This picture was taken when we lived off of Sweetwater Springs Boulevard in Spring Valley, California. We lived in an apartment complex directly across the street from our high school, Monte Vista. It's a funny thing having your high school as your next door neighbor. At least we would never be late for school, right? I think this picture was taken on their anniversary, but I could be wrong. It definitely looks like they were dressed to impress. I'm sure they were going out to have a nice dinner somewhere fancy.

Darrius is looking pretty sharp in this picture. This picture was taken in our backyard at our home off of Charing Cross. I remember all of the pasta parties, the bar-b-ques and graduation parties we had in the very same back yard where little Darrius poses for his photo. I like his little vest and tie. He's already looking like a business man and he can't be more than five years old in this picture. Man, I think I have a lot to live up to if my first nephew is dressing sharp at such a young age. I'm proud of you Darrius, keep up the good work in school and sports.

This is a cool picture because baby Deontaye has on a jersey with some one's favorite number...hmmm, I forget whose favorite number that is. I think Wesley might like this number a little, but I don't think it's his favorite number. If it is I know baby Deontaye scored some major points with his uncle Wesley. Deontaye is much older now, but this is a nice picture of the days when he would just laugh and cry and occasionally say goo goo and gah gah. Now, well, lets just say Deontaye isn't afraid to talk to anyone. I think he's going to definitely find himself in a career where he can talk for a living because by the time he's old enough to have a job he'll have had plenty of years of experience behind him.

The Rankin's

Welcome to The Rankin Family blog!

For this first entry I would like to share a few family photos from the last few years.

This first photo (from left to right) is of my younger brother, Wesley, my father, John, my mother, Penelope, and me, Jon. Of our immediate family my older sister, Kelly, is missing from this photo. I'm bummed she wasn't in this photo. I don't know why she wasn't in this picture . . . she must have been the person taking the picture.


This next photo is one of my favorite photos of my sister. In this photo is my sister and her oldest son, Darrius (a.k.a. Buddha). They both have the biggest smiles on their face. I think it's because they love each other so much.


In the second photo is my sister with her youngest son, Deontaye. Now this is a really cute picture. I love how little Deontaye has his arms wrapped around his mama. He's holding on so tight to her as if he's trying to hold tightly to the moment so that it won't ever escape his tiny hands.