Monday, July 22, 2013

80th Birthday Party


Saturday, we gathered to celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday.  I love being the first born of the first born of the first born of the first born.  All girls.  It means that my kids have the ability to build good relationships with their great grandparents.


We spent Saturday morning preparing for the gathering of family and friends that afternoon.


Cousins and in-laws and aunts and uncles, people I hadn't seen in way too long, all came to together.


And while we worked, we talked. Of course.



And when people began to arrive, we talked some more. 
And shared memories of the way my grandparents had impacted lives all over the world.


And shared hugs together (isn't my sister lovely!?!),


and looked at old pictures together.


and sang hymns together.

In 2000, we first born children looked like this:

Now we look like this:


I am so grateful that we were able to be in Arkansas for this special celebration!

2 comments:

Herding Grasshoppers said...

What a great day! Love the name Ruby Jean. (My great grandma was Ruby Pearl. And, no, she didn't sing country western, which her name kind of suggests to me!) You're making some wonderful memories on this furlough!

Julie

Choate Family said...

Julie,
My other grandmother's name is Jewel Dean (Grandma, hope you don't mind me telling the world). There have always been jokes in our family about naming a child Ruby Jewel or Jean Dean :-)
Joanna