the doorway dressed in his football helmet, shoulder pads and jersey crouched in a tackle position daring my date to enter. Our childhood was filled with trips to visit our cousins, aunts and uncles. Or spend time with grandparents. There were 16 of us grandkids all together and boy did we have fun together. Every holiday we were together rotating whose house we would gather at. I remember one time we were all on the queen size bed in the spare bedroom at grandma and grandpa's house and we broke the bed frame. It never crossed our mind that their house was small. We just enjoyed the meals, the togetherness, and the laughter. Grandma Becherer would always make sure we walked to church early so we could "pick our seat". Spending the night at their house would include a game of canasta, watching wrestling on a tv that was probably 12 -18 inches big, saying the rosary on our knees , followed by Grandma bribing us with a nickel for the first one to fall asleep. Bappa always had bags of m&m's for us to enjoy as we sat on their front porch playing the game of counting cars of different colors. Loved it when Grandma and Bappa would start talking in German to each other and laughing. They obviously didn't want us to know what they were saying. But they did teach us a German prayer to pray with them at night. Growing up with family was the best part of my life. We moved to Maryland the day after I graduated from 8th grade from Our Lady Queen of Peace. New chapter. Wasn't easy. But thank goodness we had each other. My favorite family memories surrounded our family camping trips throughout the US. Ozarks, Vero Beach, Smoky Mountains, Grand Canyon, Cape Cod just to name a few. Taught us the beauty of the United States of America. The absolute best part of my adulthood years are my three children. They are my blessings and my purpose. I love and
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