My post for Friday August 8, 2008 (8-08-08)
Happy Birthday Great Grandma, We love you and miss you with all our hearts! xoxoxo Paige and Megan
I was watching the "Today" show earlier and they are over in China getting prepared for the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. We are so excited to watch them tonight, the kids didn't even ask to change the channel to cartoons (I'm in shock!). They were talking about the importance of numbers in China and today just happens to be a very lucky day. The number 8 in China is considered the luckiest because when you say the number it sounds like their word for luck. This just happens to be a very lucky day for our family as well.

Today we are celebrating my Grandma's 92nd birthday. I have always thought that her birthday 8-8-16 was very cool, now we know it's lucky too! So with that I wish my Grandma, Marguerite Esther a very happy birthday! We love you with all our hearts. We think of you often and we have many, many happy memories that we have made and shared together. We are truly blessed to have you, and we are proud of everything you have done in your life.

Dear Grandma,

I want to thank you for teaching me so much about living. You have done this my entire life, maybe without even knowing it. But I know that without you I would not be who I am.
You have taught me so much. You have taught me the importance of remembering, by keeping your memories alive and sharing them with me. You have taught me how to bake pies, crust and all. You have given me a love of flowers, teaching me their names, and how to cultivate them from seeds and cuttings. You have taught us the love of the outdoors, the importance of fishing and hunting. You have taught me the art of writing letters and the love of collecting stamps. You have inspired me to be adventurous and to love travel and to be independent. You played cards with us and we always laughed so hard that we cried. You made us popcorn every time we came to visit. You have written down your memories and the history of your family, so that we know who we are and where we come from.I aspire to live a rich full life as you have done. Thank you for being the person you are and for playing such an important part in making me who I am today. I love you with all my heart, BrandiAnd here are some photos that I took a few weeks ago while I was visiting my sister's house. Grandma lived in a little cottage behind Shann and Steve's we still refer to it as "Grandma's house". These pictures remind me of Grandma because she spent so much time in the garden. When she moved to Shann and Steve's house they had a pretty nice yard with a big above ground pool for the kids. A year or so after Grandma came the pool went to make room for more garden space. Grandma also helped dig one of the holes that is home to one of the two ponds they have. She used to dig worms and hand feed the "Three Amigo's" (turtles). Shann's yard is full of Grandma memories for all of us.

These were Grandma's garden shoes...she recycled them into a planter. These "green people" think they invented recyling. They forgot about the generation that lived through the depression...they were the one's that invented recycling.
One of Grandma's canna's. She sent some Canna tuber's to me about 4 years ago, wrapped in damp paper towels in a zip lock bag. They grow in a large pot on our pation. I was amazed when I saw some at Anderson's in a one gallon pot that sold for fifteen dollars.
Above is another recycled pot that Grandma planted succulents in. I love that they are growing in a collander. Only Grandma could think of that!

Here is one of the turtle's that Grandma used to spoil. They would hear her calling to them and come swimming up for a treat. If anyone else would come up calling they would just dive into the depths of the pond and hide out.
Ki-Ki cat used to be Grandma's shadow in the garden.