Remembering Mimmie...

Jimmy's grandmother, Mimmie, was called home Thursday, on her 94th birthday.  We said goodbye on Saturday morning in one of the most beautiful and personal graveside services I've ever attended.    

It was attended only by her immediate family and closest friends and it was just the way Mimmie would have wanted it.  There, the preacher told sweet stories, written by her 3 daughters, about her and the heritage she left behind.  Of how her unending love for the Lord saw her through raising 3 girls, 7 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren.  (Ironically, Jimmy's cousin Millie, found out the day Mimmie died that she will having a boy this fall, Mimmie's 9th great grandchild.)  In the service, they spoke of her many names... Etta Ruth, Mother, Mimmie, Mims, Ms. M.  She answered proudly to them all, knowing ones calling her by those names were the closest to her heart.  After hearing Ms. M for many years, her little granddaughter Kate asked her, "Mimmie, why does everyone call you 'Museum'?  Is it because you're so old?"

 She was the type of grandmother everyone deserved.  The kind of grandmother who's love for her family literally lit up her entire face.  She always managed to have enough love to go around.

Christmas 2011... with the latest blanket of all the great grands.

Mimmie's last trip to Chattanooga in January 2012.

From the first time I walked into her house in Christmas of 2001, she made me feel like I was apart of her amazing family.  Although Jimmy and I had only been dating 2 months, it was as if she knew I was there to stay and she welcomed me with open arms. Christmas at Mimmie's was like something out of a fairytale.  Everyone together in her big house, eating, laughing, and enjoying their rare time together.

The day after she died, I got a birthday card in the mail.  As I walked up my driveway sorting through the mail, my heart sank as I saw "Etta Ruth Mullendore" on the return label.  As always, there was a sweet card and a check inside.  I don't know how, but I'm pretty sure she had signed the check herself and her daughter Sheila had written the rest.  Maybe I'm crazy, I'll have to ask Sheila one day.  That card will be kept forever and that check will never be cashed.  It is precious to me, as was she.

 Mimmie was buried next to her sister, Polly (far right) who passed away 2 years ago. Their connecting headstones reads... Sisters in Life, Sisters in Christ

My 2 favorite pictures of Mimmie with our babies... PRICELESS!!!

She was the true matriarch of the family.  I loved watching Jimmy and his 2 male cousins, so sweetly and gently bending down to hug her.  They towered over her, and it was so obvious how much she adored them.  Not everyone is blessed with an exceptional, God loving grandmother.  I, was lucky enough to get 2 at birth, and another through marriage.  Believe me, I count those blessings everyday.

We love you Mimmie!   May 31,1918- May 31, 2012