Granny & Papaw

The closer we get to meeting Elah, the more I've been thinking about my grandparents. My dad's parents were phenomenal, they were seriously the most amazing grandparents any kid could dream of. I spent many summer days and weekends with them, many trips to the lake to play at the park, many trips to Lake Powhatan to go camping, and many many many trips to Little Granny's (my granny's mother) house while Papaw worked in his garden. I have so many incredible memories with them!

Some of the many things I remember about my Granny...

• Cornbread and milk
• Finding her teeth in CRAZY places (you have no idea....)
• Playing with her long dark hair... which eventually turned gray and she started cutting when I was in middle school
• Hearing stories about her play basketball, taking care of her 13 siblings (yes, 13), and storeis about my dad and his siblings
• Walking around the block, stopping to visit random people that she would just stop and talk too... and usually she ended up telling them how awesome God is :)
• Listening to her play the old organ in her house
• She taught me how to braid with yarn... we must have made thousands of bracelets with that yarn
• Making runny, gross, green, sugar cookies shaped as Christmas trees with her and my cousin, Broghan

Some of the many things I remember about  my Papaw:

• Riding in his old green truck to Little Granny's house to work in the garden
• Going home with him after church (with him driving about 10 mph), picking up some Ingles fried chicken, and jojo potatoes
• Kissing the top of his balding head every time I walked in the door and him making the "hoo-hoo!" sound like the Pillsbury doughboy when I did so
• He always had pens and paper in his shirt pockets
• Smelling cigar smoke on camping trips when he and dad would smoke
• Suspenders, Carolina Blue hats, black dress shoes, and button up shirts
• When he smiled... it literally lit up his entire face... best smile ever
• Visiting Grandma Minnie (papaw's mom) in the nursing home... he loved her so much

A lot of those memories I made with my grandparents can't be repeated for Elah, but I hope she makes incredible memories with my parents as I did with my dad's parents. My dad is a lot more like Papaw then he knows... so I know she's going to have an amazing Papaw, I just can't wait to see what kinds of memories they'll create together!