Happy Birthday Nana!!

Today is my Grandmother's birthday.  She is 98.  To all of us, she is Nana.  Our sweet Texas Rose.

I got the old "valise" down from the garage rafters this morning to look for photos of Nana when she was young.
Here she is as a school girl of perhaps 12 or 13.

I have always thought that my Erika looked so much like Nana when she was young.  You can really see it here.  In fact, in the first photo of Nana, my Erika is sitting to her right.  And if you look at their profiles you can see the resemblance. 
This is her high school graduation.

And another one as a  young lady.

Her name is Mary.  And we all love her so much!!!  We will be celebrating her birthday on Sunday at my Mom's house with the whole family.   She is looking forward to that.
While I was going through photos, I took a couple pictures of some of them.  Because I don't know how to scan!
This is my Great Grandma and Grandpa.  I remember them well.  These are Nana's parents.  They lived into their late nineties.
Clara Eliza and Eltie Wright.

Grandma had the most beautiful blue eyes.  And Grandpa was huge fun.  He was so playful with us.  Mom said he used to have water hose fights with her in the summer, and one time drug the hose right into the house after her.  Mom was laughing, and Grandpa was chasing with the hose, and out comes Grandma, yellin' at him to get that hose outside!!!!     We are so fortunate to have known our great grandparents!  And to have our Nana so involved in our lives.  Here is a picture of  us taken right after our first granddaughter, Hannah Faith was born.

Erika on left ( pregnant with Noah) Gennifer, Nana in the center holding Hannah, my Mom, and me on far right.  Five generations!  I wrote a little story and sent it to my home town newspaper.  They came out and interviewed Nana and published this photo. She was so proud!
This next picture is one of my all time favorite pictures of Nana.  It was up at Bass Lake.  Nana loves to feed the ducks.  She would blow the duck call that Uncle Chester got her, and they would all come to circle her.  She could feed them for hours.  I loved to watch her do this.

Nana went with us on a cruise one year.  This is the year that our daughters met the Hass boys.

Erika was 17, Genny was 19 and Drew was 11.
As far back as I can remember, Nana was going places with us, and always having fun.  I remember on her 80th birthday, we were at Bass Lake, and I went into town and bought her a string bikini and gave it to her for her birthday because she said she would ride the jet ski on her birthday around the lake if only she had brought her swimming suit!!!  Oh how I wish I could have found the picture of her with her new bikini!!!!  She is always such a great sport!!!!
In this next picture, Nana was meeting Hannah for the first time.  I took this photo, and loved it so much.  My good friend Ally took this picture that I sent to her on the computer, and had this beautiful ornament hand painted for me to replicate the picture exactly.  Right down to her manicured fingernails!!!  It is something I will cherish forever!!!

We love you Nana!!!!  We will celebrate big with  you on Sunday!!!!!!!!

XO  Kristy