[ a gift given to us 87 years ago ]

On this day, 87 years ago the greatest Grandmother, that ever did live, graced the world with her presence. November 1, 1923, Esther May Reynolds was born. She met life along with her twin brother, Lester Ray Reynolds. How cool is that!?! Esther May and Lester Ray? 

Just by the way my Great-Grandmother and Great-Grandfather named their twin children makes me wish I could have met them! I mean... you have to be cool if you name your kids Esther May and Lester Ray.

And by this picture of my Great-Grandmother... I'm thinking she was cool alright. 

My Grandmother, Esther May Reynolds Lasley

Today is Grandma's first birthday in Heaven and we miss her dearly. It's been two months now that we've had to know what life is like without Grandma. There have been so many times over the past month where I have thought to myself I know Grandma would have been so proud of this. I wonder what Grandma would say about this? If only I could pick up the phone and say hi and talk about the weather one more time, this is how she would sound. If I found a hand-written letter in my mailbox today, this is what it would look like, sealed with a sweet sticker she had picked out, and wrote "Sealed with a kiss." So many cute moments I've seen Breck and could just hear Grandma say, "He's so precious, Amber." I can't even explain how much it means to me that my Grandma lived to see me marry and meet my first baby!

Esther, John, John William, and Patricia Lasley :) 

I want to write about and remember all the things that for 25 years now have meant "Grandma Lasley" to me. Some of these will make no sense to anyone else but me, my family, and my memory, but they are were moments worth cherishing, documenting, and reliving for sure!

1. Christmas Day at Grandma and Grandpa Lasley's! Grandma would always greet us at the door adorned with her corsage from her groom that she received every Christmas Eve in celebration of their wedding day anniversary. And of course she would be wearing her Christmas sweatshirt. No, not the typical Christmas sweatshirt that comes to mind with the pealing, tacky fabric glue, but her Grandma's Herd sweatshirt. It had a herd of sheep gathered together behind a fence that had each grandchild's name embroidered on it. It had been given to her for Christmas one year, and she wore it proudly every Christmas Day! Every time a new grandchild or great-grandchild entered her world she would gladly add another sheep and hand embroider the new name.

I love this picture... It's just a glimpse of what Christmas Day looked like when we were little! She never forgot a detail. She always had a little treat at each place setting. Looks like the treat during Christmas 1987 was a candy-cane and nuts. Every year there was a different treat. :) 

2.  I want to always remember what a heard when I called her on the phone. That dinggg followed by a soft, quivering voice,  Heeello? I would say, Hi Grandma! Her voice would instantly come alive and perk up as she said, Well! Hi there, Ambe-or. ( She somehow always added a sweet, southern, farmer's wife "oo" into the end of my name. And it was precious.) As soon as she knew it was me, she would say away from the phone, Daaaad, it's Amber. so that he would go into the bedroom to talk on that phone at the same time. Her family was her world!

3. She always spelled Brett's name correctly, but always called him, Brent.

4. For two and a half years while I went to school in Florida, she would sit down and write me a letter every single Sunday evening. It was like clockwork, about every Wednesday I'd check my mailbox... and there was her letter, handwritten, sealed with a sticker, and a handwritten Sealed with a kiss! She also frequently wrote BrettRyan and I once we moved out of town. She never ever missed sending a card for birthdays, holidays, or anniversaries. And once we were too old to trick-or-treat, she would still send us a Halloween card with a handwritten letter and a brand spanking new, crisp one dollar bill in it. I mean she still sent BrettRyan and I trick-or-treat dollar bills after we were married. I'm telling you, she was precious!


5. She was the kindest, sweetest, most gentle person I have ever had the privilege to know. I can honestly say I never heard her say one negative thing about anyone. And she always gave people the benefit of the doubt.

6. Anytime she found out we were going on a long road trip, whether it was for vacation, or a twelve hour trip for Mom and Dad to drop me off at college, she and Grandpa would load their car with goodies for us and make their way from Lebanon to Brownsburg (which if they took "Old 32" it took all of about fifteen to twenty minutes). She would deliver her homemade chex-mix which had a hint of spice from Worcestershire sauce in it, her homemade Coconut cookies, and a white bank envelope with my name on it and a five or ten dollar bill. She would always tell me to go buy myself a sandwich or ice cream cone with it.


7. Grandma's Home Cooking (everything made from scratch, of course!): Homemade noodles, coconut cookies, individual bite-size cheese balls, divinity, date balls, white velvet fudge, chex-mix, iced tea. I'm so glad I have her hand written recipes.

8. If you open the top drawer just to the left of her stove, you would (always) find: Chiclets, silver scissors, red BIC ball point pens, No.2 pencils, scrap pieces of paper to write on, and hot pads.

9. Anytime she put money in a card, she would go to the bank and ask for a brand new crisp dollar bill. No one ever got wilted greens.

10. The silver egg! At Easter time, they started the tradition of hiding the giant silver egg, that had just a pinch more candy than what is in everyone else's eggs, and a five dollar bill instead of a one dollar bill. The family would go out of the house and hang out in the back yard while Grandma and Grandpa hid the silver egg. It was a race every year to see who could find it first. Grandma even kept a list of who found the silver egg and where they found it every year!

11. Grandma was the most organized person I've ever met. Everything had it's place, there was never a spec of dust or a stain anywhere to be found.

12. She always wrote thank you notes. No matter what it was... even if you brought her a frosty. You could count on the fact that you'd get a thank you note about it. (Speaking of a frosty... she called it a frisky.)

13. Grandma sayings: Well, my lands!, Oh, bless your heart!, You are so precious to us!, So good to hear your voice! Do take care of each other.


14. She was a great hostess. She always thought through the details and I never saw her help herself to the food until everyone else had been taken care of. Sometimes some of the first people in line were done with their food by the time she sat down and began eating. She was selfless.

15. Her random and unexpected humor! When I was pregnant she said During my labor a nurse told me, man it sure feels good going in there, but boy it sure hurts coming out! We couldn't stop laughing when she shared this and I think every face in the room was blushing!

16. Grandma and Grandpa never missed a recital, church awards program, or anything they could be there for. She never showed up empty handed... even if it was a small little card with a one or five dollar bill with a note to again, get yourself a sandwich or some ice cream!


17. She had a little crush on The Rock. And yes, I'm talking... The Rock. As in the handsome football player, actor, wrestler, etc.

18. I never want to forget the smell of her perfume and the smoothness of her hands and face. 

19. She was famous for the way she wrapped gifts. She would make the ribbon herself then line it with as many cents and you were years. So if you were turning ten years old... she would have ten brand new, shiny pennies somewhere on the gift. 

20. On any of her children or grandchildren's birthdays, she would call into the local radio station early on the morning of the birthday where they recognized the birthdays of the day and proudly name the birthday boy or girl. 

21. Her stories of the farm, life during the depression, and how she used to kill chickens with a broom and her own hands. She was such a hard worker. 

22. At Christmas every year she would send a batch of her homemade noodles home with us. She pre-made them, they were frozen and wrapped just for Christmas. I still have the last batch she gave me in my freezer, and you bet we're going to bust them out this Christmas and remember Grandma as we inhale that aroma one last time. For some reason... I just couldn't make these... I had a feeling I wanted to hang onto them because I knew they might have been the last batch. 

Who else can cut noodles that perfectly by hand? None other than Grandma Lasley for sure! 

23. Everything she gave away was at least double wrapped and had a plastic baggie sealed with a twisty tie. Always.

24. They way she would squiggle a few lines under every word she wanted to emphasize in a card. Which was always nearly 80% of the card. :) 

 This was the last card I received from Grandma. She gave it to me on Mother's day 2010 and the stroke hit her the very next day.

She has left us with so many amazing memories and traditions. I want to carry many of them on with my family, and someday tell my children about their Grandma GG. I hope I can be half of the woman she was. I'll never forget the night I said goodbye to her... I began to quietly cry, and she said, Don't you worry about me. And when the same thing happened to my sister, Grandma told her, Don't cry, we've had so many good memories together. - And that was SO Grandma Lasley to leave us with those words.