We have a very special person in our family. We call her "Grandma Bears." Her mother raised her pretty much on her own with the help of her grandparents.

She has this picture of her in black and white, standing beside Santa Claus. It reminds me of the movie "Miracle on 34th Street," which of course is one of my all time favorites, along with "It's a Wonderful Life."

Our Grandma Bears is cheerful and fun loving. She drove a school bus in Wayne Westland School District in Michigan for over 40 years. The last 15 years of her career she spent driving handicapped children, who of course won her heart.

She always dressed for the season and always took pride in her job. She has always been a "let's go" kind of person. Ready and willing to give a helping hand in whatever anyone was doing.

She got married and had two children: one daughter and one son. I am very blessed to be married to her son. He is a carbon copy of his mom in a lot of ways. She two raised her kids predominently alone with the help of her mom and step dad.

So she is a very strong woman. Her passion has always been collecting Teddy Bears. Her front room is full of all sorts of bears that people have given her. So when she became a grandmother and we adopted our kids of course she inherited the name "Grandma Bears."

She was one of our strongest support persons when we decided to adopt and create our family. She has stood by us and helped us through some very difficult times in our life.

When I had open heart surgery she came to stay with us and took care of my children and Gary while I was in the hospital and then stayed longer to help care for me when I was sick and recuperating.

During this time I got to know the most precious side of her. She sat one day and rubbed my feet in lotion, something that no way in the world I could have done for myself. I think that day I realized how very much I loved her.

My parents had died when I was a young lady so I had no one to turn to when I needed a mom or dad. For the first time she felt like a mom to me.

She also saw how hard it was to care for our middle daughter. All of the years she had only seen a little of what we went through on a daily basis. But for that month she saw first hand and experienced the difficulties of raising a Bipolar child.

She has just been such an encouragement and highlight in our life since that visit with us that I would wish the world to have their own special "Grandma Bears."

She is retired now and she is still active in her church as a song leader and often teaches vacation bible school and helps the teens put on plays for Christmas each year.

Every holiday she always has a little something for all of her grand kids and now she is blessed with her own great grandchild.

She is the first to agree to go on vacation with us or to take the kids to the zoo. She loves to stop at yard sales and just mingle with people. She makes the ideal support person with kind words of encouragement and an "I'll be right there" attitude when ever you need her.

Filled with compassion and love beyond measure. Every child on earth deserves a "Grandma Bears." I sure wish I could have known my own grandparents. But by watching her I have seen what every grandparent should be. God Bless Our Grandma Bears.