[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 117 (Friday, August 2, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         A CELEBRATION OF LIFE

                                 ______
                                 

                    HON. JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 2, 1996

  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my 
daughter and son-in-law, Angela McDonald Thomas and Juan Demeris 
Thomas, on the birth of their child, my new granddaughter, Ramia Regina 
McDonald Thomas. Ramia was born on Tuesday, July 23, 1996, at 10:07 
p.m. at the Sutter Roseville Hospital in Roseville, CA, weighing 8 
lbs., 4 oz., and 20.5 inches in length.
  The relationship between grandmother and grandchild is a special one 
and the bond between grandmother and granddaughter is one that has been 
cherished by millions of women around the world. I shall love Ramia and 
cherish every moment that we spend together. I shall do my best to 
provide her with the benefit of whatever knowledge that I have gained 
over the years. I will share with her many good experiences, as well as 
those that I wish to forget and hopefully be a bridge to our family's 
past. Once Ramia is armed with the knowledge of her forebears, she can 
chart a course for her future.
  In Africa, a family's wealth was judged by the number of children and 
grandchildren they had. By my heritage, I am a wealthy woman. I have 
five wonderful children, Valerie, Angela, Sherryl, Keith, my daughter-
in-law Lori Blair McDonald, and son-in-law Juan Demeris Thomas of whom 
I am proud. They have blessed me with Ayanna Damaris McDonald Thomas, 
Myles Chandler Millender McDonald, Diamond Sequoia Short (adopted), and 
new Ramia, four wonderful grandchildren. My husband Jim and I thank God 
for each and every one of them and we will love them for as long as 
they shall live.

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