100 Years and Counting

 The extended Stauffer family always has a chicken bbq the Saturday after Labor Day. Since Leroy's mother's birthday is September 1, her birthday is always recognized at the bbq. This year the bbq was expanded with a full-fledged 100th birthday party. We rented a school for the event, which was a good thing because we had the largest crowd ever and it rained and hailed just as we were ready to eat.

  Here are a few pictures that tell the story.

Sarah with her birthday cake

Chicken bbq, baked potatoes, baked beans, homemade bread

The salad bar

The crowd enjoying the meal

Sarah with her ten children

Twenty of the 29 grandchildren (4 deceased, 5 missing)

Some of the 71 great-grandchildren

Seven great-great-grandchildren, held by either a parent or grandparent.

There have been a lot of changes in the world in 100 years. But the earth keeps turning and God keeps sending new people to replace those who died. What will the next hundred years bring? Only God knows. What we know is that He keeps His promises and we are secure in Him no matter what happens.

The First Hundred Years

 Yesterday the Stauffer family celebrated the 100th birthday of their mother, Sarah Stauffer.

Seven of her ten children and their spouses met in the Richland Home where she lives to have lunch with her. There will be another birthday party for the extended family on September 9. Leroy is the oldest of her ten children. How many people who are about to turn eighty still have their mothers? What a blessing! (My parents were both gone when I was 46.)

We had a nice lunch with a long gab session afterward.

In the evening, the Home had an ice cream party for all the residents and their families. It was a lovely evening for an outdoor party.

Mom had a hard start in life. Her mother died when she was ten years old. She was shuffled around among relatives and strangers for many years. She was the last of her siblings to return home after her father remarried, and then she soon got married herself. She lived through the Depression and two World Wars, was a farmer's wife, and raised ten children who are all still living. Maybe a tough life made her strong enough to live 100 years. As one centenarian once said, "The first hundred years are the hardest."

Mom has started her second century. How far will she get in this one?