One Very Fine Lady

This past weekend I had the pleasure of helping my grandmother celebrate her 96th birthday! Can you imagine? 96 years! She was born in 1915 as the second oldest (oldest daughter) of 15 children. From the time she was young, she was always a very hard worker and helped to take care of the rest of her family. She is a very resourceful and crafty lady, still sewing her own clothes and baking her own buns to this day. I have many fond memories of my grandmother. It was her encouragement to use her sewing machine that cultivated a love of creating with fabric and thread. She always had scrap fabric by the machine and was never concerned about what we did with it or how we sewed. We learned by trial and error because of her generosity and patience. Shortly after she married at 20, she learned she would never have her own children. 20 long years later, she adopted my newborn mom and a couple of years later, adopted my mom's sister. She is a godly woman who loves her family dearly and gives and gives and gives. She is generous and patient and a woman of prayer. I love her dearly and enjoy being with her. I don't go to see her often but really should - she cannot possibly have that many more years left and I would love to listen to more of her stories. So, happy birthday, Grandma! I love you!

PS: If family history has anything to do with it, Jay and I could be married for a very long time! His grandfather died at 94, I believe, and he has 2 great-uncles that are in their 90s - one just turned 97. My great-grandmother on my dad's side of the family lived to be 104. My grandmother just turned 96. Maybe Jay and I will live to be married for 70+ years - that would be so awesome! Then again, we both know that the Lord gives life and the Lord takes away - family history really doesn't make that much of a difference! ☺