Somehow, it has been a whole year since John's last remaining grandparent, Maw, turned 100. We all drove out to West Virginia two weekends ago to celebrate and spend some time with the branch of the family that we see once a year.
Maw herself, enjoying a birthday sweet roll, and Gemma enjoying her birthday balloon!
with Aunt Linda . . .
And Aunt Sue, the baby whisperer. She's one of those people who can take a hesitant child and somehow quickly convince them that she's safe.
Maw and her four children, in birth order
And the four-generations picture!
Of course, there was lots of fun to be had with the cousins, too, from paper crown-making to piano playing. It was sweet when Gemma plopped into her big cousin's lap all by herself.
Fun at the piano . . .
though Gemma soon got down and pulled her other cousin over so that they all three were included. :)
Playing with the refrigerator magnets!
On the last evening there, we had something of a family reunion with Grandma's side of the family at the old farm house. I wish I had some pictures from that evening! It was special to sit around with our burgers and watermelon, to see the men playing horseshoes and the children running around the yard that their grandmother had been running around 50 or so years ago. Now that my own grandmother has been made to move from her farmhouse, I realize how special these kinds of gatherings are.
We actually took another spur of the moment trip to West Virginia this past weekend, because Maw's health is quickly failing. She's now confined to bed and it is grieving to see her once-always-sharp mind muddying. We left on Saturday evening realizing that we'd probably celebrated her final birthday and were now saying our last farewells on this earth. Praise the Father that there is a hope of meeting again once more! But, even so, the prospect of death is heart-rending.
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