The Cropper Family

Grandma,

You and grandpa did an amazing job developing a closeness within our family that I have still never seen anywhere else. You took us all to Hawaii and organized family dinners. You took all the grandkids to Disneyland and organized Christmas Eves that bonded us all together and made us feel a part of something important. You knit us together into a unified group. With that foundation, regardless of geographic separation, we all still know we’re members of a family that will love and support us.

But not only did we feel loved as a group, you also went to great lengths to ensure that we felt loved and important individually. One of my favorite memories with you is of riding the bus out to your house on Old Highway 99 after school and spending the evening working (playing) at the farm, eating dinner, and playing cribbage. I’m sure the other grandkids felt the same way, but I felt like we had a special relationship.

Thank you for all you’ve done for us. I feel so blessed to have had grandparents who have had such an active role in my life. I feel doubly blessed that my kids get to have relationships with their great-grandmothers. Our family will continue to enjoy the blessing of your efforts for many generations.

Happy birthday!

Love,

Taylor

Dear Grandma,

Happy Birthday!

You can tell by reading the boys’ letters that they adore you and thoroughly enjoy being in your home. They find it exciting, loving, and delicious! (You are the ideal great-grandmother!) Like them, I love to be with you in your home. I love the way you always greet me with a kiss on the cheek and a “How are you, darling?” I love to walk in your home and see the familiar furniture and art—all reflective of the beautiful and varied life you have lived. I love to sit at the counter while you lovingly fix us lunch. I love to chat together while we eat and tidy up. I love to ask you questions about your experiences as a mother and grandmother. I gain wisdom from you. I love the way you dote on my children and take interest in who they are individually. I love the way you ask me about my life and genuinely invest in what I am saying and how I am feeling. With you I feel warm and happy and loved.

I love you, Gram. I so look forward to more visits, more fun, more ice cream, more wisdom. I am lucky to have married into such a loving grandmother!

Love,

Anne

Dear Gigi,

Soon I am going to come to your house. And I am going to play with your sticker book. And play with the toys I like. And some art. And I love you. I like playing with your toys and I can’t wait to go to your house and play until it’s time to go home. I want to go to your house some time and do your art and have ice cream in a cone. Happy Birthday!

Love,

Blaine (age 5)

Dear Gigi,

We went there. She has toys. She gives us some food. It was celery. It had meatballs. It had carrots. Tons of carrots. Tons and tons. So much. It’s got so much carrots. And Gigi gave me a cookie. It starts with H I K and W. And 5. And Gigi has movies on her computer. She likes me when she gives me a cookie. She has everything. Everything is for your birthday!

Love,

Roggie (age 3)