Small, cluttered and full of love

Mr. and Mrs. C. have lived in a very small 2 bedroom, 1 bath house, in the country, for over 40 years.

The home is clean, cluttered and packed full of memories and photo's.

They legally adopted their grandchild, Jessica, when she was an infant because her father (their only son) and her mother were "too stressed at the time to raise a child."

Mr. C. had a stroke in 2007 and sleeps in one bedroom that's equiped with a hospital bed and other equipment.

Jessica has always had the other bedroom.

"Where do you sleep?" I asked Mrs. C..

"Oh, you're sitting on my bed."

I was sitting on a small sofa  in the common room, the only other room in the house.

Jessica is now 17 years old, a junior in high school, a leader, on the honor role and is an accomplished trumpet player in the school band.

She's planning on going to college. She will be the first, in three generations of her family, to go to college.

I let Mr. and Mrs. C. know how great it was that they raised her.

Mrs. C. just said, "she's been such a blessing to us and we are so blessed that she's a great kid, not wild like so many others these days...we're so proud of her."

They should be proud of themselves because they've made such a great impact, one life at a time.

Jessica's life.