Happy birthday, Grandma!

When I logged in to make this post, I realized that it is my 200th blog post! I had a different blog for my business when I first opened in 2006, so technically I have more than 200, but this is my 200th on this domain, so that’s awesome!

It seems fitting with the topic and person that I blog about today.

Today is my grandmother’s 83rd birthday. Grandma Louise has always been one of my closest friends and favorite people in the world. We grew up right next to her, just down and up a hill. My sister and I got off the bus at her house every day, and I have more memories of her and Grandpa than I can even begin to list. She taught me how to cook and bake and sew, and nurtured my love for music as the artist in a family full of athletes. She would sit me on the kitchen table and brush my hair and pull it back with red ribbons from the top drawer of her dresser. I helped her get eggs out from under the chickens in the coop, and pick strawberries from the garden.

As I got older, we became closer and talked about a lot of things. I learned that we shared a passion for horse-back riding. She even trained horses when she was younger! I loved listening to stories about her childhood and young years as a parent. We would pour through her photo albums together, and she instilled in me a love for ancestry and our family history.

Today, Grandma turns 83. Grandma has been fighting congestive heart failure for a while now, and it has been so very hard watching what she’s going through. Recently, our entire family was able to get together for the first time with all of the grandkids and great grandkids, her one wish. It was incredible!

Tonight, we are going out to have dinner with her and my parents and other family and to wish her happy birthday. Maddox has been practicing singing for her, and we have a large copy of the family photo we took to give her. I can’t wait to wrap my arms around her!

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