Barby and Paul Ruskin arrived from Penn State about 11 AM for our Palm Sunday dinner at Willow Valley. Becky and Dan Shirer brought 4 year old Evy and 11 week old Cora about 11:30 AM for our first meeting with our 12th great grandchild. Anna Himes arrived alone because Mike needed to take Molly and Leela to church to sing with their Sunday School group, and Ryan to baseball practice in the afternoon.
Cora decided she preferred to be walked by Dan while I ate a hurried meal at our 8 table, giving me an opportunity to take her to our apartment until Becky finished her meal. It was good to be useful and find I had not completely lost my touch with small babies. She is adorable, and enjoyed looking at herself in the mirror.
When I returned to the dining room I took Evy to the court yard to see the fish and ducks and release some of her exuberance in the beautiful spring day under the cherry blossoms.
Paul and Al joined us, and it was not long until Dan, Anna, and Barby, finished dinner, also.
We returned to our apartment and soon Becky finished nursing Cora.
Everyone admired the quilt that Aunt Nancy made for Cora.
I got a chance to hold a sleeping Cora and determine that she had Becky’s nose and Dan’s eyebrows.
When Al asked to hold her he got a crowd of photographers eager to record the oldest member of the family holding the youngest for the first time.
Evy was also a center of attention of her loving family.
She is in full time pre-kindergarten in Albany, NY, and loves to read and write. She will turn 5 on July 11 and go to full day kindergarten in the fall.
Anna and Becky appreciated the opportunity to be with their parents without having to go to Penn State.
About 4 PM they returned to Macungie where Becky’s family had been staying over the weekend. Evy and Cora are a delight to each other and to us, and we are so happy that they all came to spend a glorious spring day here after the long cold winter.
Barby and Paul returned to Penn State about 5 PM, and we basked in the joy of a wonderful, warm family day,