Bruce's mother, the pocket-sized MomMom, best mother-in-law in the entire universe and grandmother extraordinaire, passed away on Tuesday evening.

Ruth had had a stroke two years ago, but on Saturday the 30th of May, just one week after she joyously attended Baby Girl's wedding, she suffered seizures which took a great toll on her health. The staff at the emergency room and our family agreed that the local hospice center was the best option for Ruth, as she had suffered brain damage and was almost completely unresponsive.

She lingered in a coma for ten days, during which time we all had the opportunity to say goodbye, to take our time sitting with her and just being with her at the end of her life. Chelsea and Nathan arrived home from their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic the day after Ruth entered Hospice, and we drove the straight from the airport to Hospice so Chelsea could say goodbye to her beloved grandmother for the last time. It was a profoundly difficult time for my Baby Girl, and I am so thankful her loving Nathan was with her to hold her and give her strength, because the next morning they had to leave to return to England.

When Bruce and I returned from taking the newlyweds to the airport, we once again went directly to Hospice, where we found both our sons and our daughter-in-law visiting with MomMom and loving on her. So we all hung out for awhile spending one of the most memorable evenings of our lives saying goodbye to and sharing our hearts with this beautiful little dynamo who enriched our lives so much.

I spent the night there at hospice with her a couple of times, as did my sister-in-law. On Saturday night, my friend Andrea and I spent the evening praying for my sweet mother-in-law and our families and friends there in Ruth's bedroom at Hospice.

This past Tuesday evening -- it seems longer ago than that -- Bruce had to drop by to see our friends Todd and Gina, who live about thirty minutes away. I asked him to drop me off at hospice so I could hang out with his mom for awhile. I was with her for only an hour when she took her last breath.

I could never begin to convey what she meant to all of us. Her obituary is in today's newspaper. My sister-in-law wrote the first part, and I wanted to add a note of my own. I sat with a pen and pad in the funeral director's office yesterday afternoon, writing and writing about the dear woman who gave birth to my husband. I knew I could write for hours and still come up short so I scribbled out most of what I'd written and added only this:

Ruth lived a life of loving service to others. Her home and heart were always open, and everyone who ever met her loved her .

What a treasure she was to our family, our friends, everyone.

Thank You, Lord for Ruth. Thank You for her loving heart. Thank You for the many years of support and encouragement she lavished on us, her family. I thank You so much, Father, that she was able to be with us at the wedding and see Chelsea and Nathan begin their new life together. I can never thank You enough for placing her in my life. May I be to to Ashley and Nathan as good a mother-in-law as Ruth has always been to me. Comfort those who mourn her passing, Lord. For a little tiny lady, she left a great big void. We will miss her terribly. Thank You so much for sweet Ruth.