Ma

Ma & Papa back in the day.

On Sunday afternoon our beloved Ma went to be with the Lord. Ma was Joey's grandma and really just plain wonderful. Born a city girl and raised in NJ. She married a farm boy and everything changed. She raised 5 boys, 21 grandchildren and 20 great grand children. She loved ice cream and laughter, but most importantly she loved Jesus.

I remember after Joey and I first got married, we were over having dinner with Ma & Papa. She sat me down and showed me her "Joy of Cooking" cookbook. She told me how she had grown up with a nanny, never setting foot in the kitchen. When she got married she didn't even know how to boil water. Literally. She said that cookbook taught her everything she knew about cooking. She was pretty cute telling me that if I had that cookbook (which I did) I'd be ok. We laughed about it and then enjoyed a wonderful meal - Thanks to the "Joy of Cooking" ;-)

Around thanksgiving of 2008 Ma was diagnosed with cancer. She had a few sick months, but continued to enjoy life much longer than the doctors expected. Then a few weeks ago Ma took a turn for the worse. We knew that Ma was getting ready to go home, and she knew it too. She had such a peace about dying - it really challenged me. I remember her saying "I'm not really sure why the Lord is keeping me around, but I've just got to trust that he knows what he's doing. I just kneel at the foot of the cross and wait for his leading". What a challenging attitude! Oh, that I would be able to trust the Lord like Ma did. She was a shining example of what it means to love the Lord and believe in his promises.

I will miss her - but I rejoice knowing that she is in heaven, with her Savior and she is at peace. We'll always love you Ma, can't wait to see you again!