Tribute to mom

August was my mom's birthday month. It reminds me of popsicles on the porch and banana splits, ringing phones and our late night "Streets of San Franscisco" TV shows. She was such a joyous dear. A stabilizing glue for us all.

All 4 of her granddaughters carry on her name. My sister's newest, born just a month ago, bears the middle name of Alice. My oldest does also. My sister's big girl's middle name is Elizabeth, my mom's middle name. And our youngest girl, has a middle name of Rose, from a little verse of Amy Carmichael's writing, "From thy briar shall blow a rose for others." From my mom's "thorns," her debilitating physical illness, she was a sweet rose to others. May these girls, the next generation, have the compassion and mercy that my mom had because of her simple faith in the Lord Jesus.

My oldest wrote this about her grandma a few years back--

"My Grandma was a servant of a lady. She would always make banana bread and take it to people who were feeling down. Before my mom was born she taught 4th grade. She was born in Cleveland Ohio. Her grandparents immigrated from Germany.

She always wanted to drive down a road with a canopy of trees. So she got some trees and asked neighbors to buy trees. But the trees were slow growing, so they never really made a canopy.

Grandma liked to stay up late and work. She also liked owls, Dopey and wearing powder that smelled nice. One time she was teaching Sunday School and hit her chest with her hand and a big cloud of smoke went POOF!

She loved to laugh and to play with me. She got some kind of disease and had to go in a wheelchair. She died when I was around 7. I wish I could remember her when she could walk. It was very sad when she died, though joyful at the same time since now she is in heaven and is perfect."