Sunday, August 30, 2009

80 Years a Blessing

Can you imagine living for 80 years? Well, Justin's Mammaw has done it--and she's done it with so much grace and beauty. This weekend Justin and I took a roadtrip down to Chilhowie, Virginia to celebrate his Mammaw's (grandmother) 80th birthday. The party was a surprise to her--she thought she was just going to the Outback Steakhouse with one daughter--but instead about 50 family and friends gathered at Sharon's beautiful home to celebrate Mammaw's life. When she turned around and saw Justin standing there, her face was just priceless! It was well worth the 10-hour road trip for that moment alone.
During the trip we also got to spend some rare but quality time with Justin's wonderful dad, George. As you can see from the photos, there's no mistaking that Justin is his daddy's boy. We also spent time with lots of Justin's family that we haven't seen since our wedding--over one year ago. Also, I met Justin's half-sister, Carmen, for the first time. It was really neat just relaxing on the couch and chatting with my new sister-in-law. What a great reminder this trip was of how wonderful the country and country people are. Sometimes in our busy lives in the DC Metro area it's easy to forget our roots and to get swept up in the traffic, and noise, and chaos of the city. This weekend, however, we got the opportunity to relax on Sharon's front porch overlooking the pond and horse stables. It was so peaceful--the lull of the country nearly put both of us to sleep. In the end, however, the weekend was really all about Mammaw. So, that being said, Happy 80th Birthday, Mammaw--we love you so much!

No comments: