Grandma Ruth

This is a picture of my Grandma Ruth, my dad's mom, taken at Ella's Birthday Party on Saturday. My Grandma Ruth will be 95 years old on Mother's Day and she is very special lady. Growing up, I saw a lot of her as my grandparents' house was just down the hill from mine on our family's farm. As a child, I would run down the hill after school to go show off a report card, share an accomplishment, or just to get a cookie or a hug. Her cookie jar was always full. It has been wonderful to have my children experience the joy of climbing up Grandma's steps, playing with her toys (the same ones I played with as a child) and getting a treat. And, she loves to have us visit. Though grandma's treats are now mostly store bought, the visits haven't changed too much from how I remember them as a child. Grandma has stayed a constant in my life and my brothers and I have talked about how after all these years, Grandma still looks the same. She loves to shop, dresses sharply, has a lot of spunk and has been living on her own in her house on the farm. Still, we all know that she has changed and aged. She's had a stroke and a few other medical setbacks in the past few years, but she has always managed to return to and thrive in the home she loves.

We were lucky enough to have her over at our house on Saturday for Ella's birthday party. She loves watching all the little ones in our family and they love her. Here's a picture of James snuggling with his Great Grandma Ruth.
Being the stubborn lady that she is, on Monday my Grandma decided she needed to wash her basement steps again, even though they were just cleaned by my aunt last week. She slipped on the steps and fell down. Luckily, my dad had just come in the house to deliver her newspaper and he found her right away. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance and we found out she has a broken hip. We are all so used to seeing Grandma Ruth going over recipes in her sunny kitchen, so it is very hard to see my spunky grandma in a hospital bed in pain. The doctors hope to operate on her tomorrow to screw her hip back together. They weren't able to do surgery today as she wasn't stable enough. I know I am so lucky to have had her so close to me through all my 31 years. I am even more blessed to have her loving presence in the lives of my children and husband. And I smile thinking how she's shared her wisdom with Mark as a great supporter of his budding gardening hobby. Please keep my grandma in your thoughts and prayers. We all love her so much!