Two special birthdays this month

June is a very busy month for birthdays in my family. Besides celebrating my own, I get to celebrate the birth of an uncle, several cousins and two of my favorite people my great-grandma Beulah Fougerousse and my papaw Claude (Tom) Thomas, Jr.

At 95, Grandma Beulah still lives on her own and gets around amazing well & and she can still make the best noodles I ve ever had. Nothing beats Grandma s noodles & or dressing ... or pumpkin pie & or just about anything she cooks! She may be 95, but that woman can cook!

Papaw, who recently turned 80, is an awesome cook, too. That man makes the best chili I've ever had. Just ask anyone who's had a bowl of his creation at the Elnora Outdoor Club. He also makes baked beans that are out of this world!

Throughout her lifetime, Grandma Beulah has lived through several historical events. In his 80 years, Papaw Tom has lived through his share of events as well.

1915 -- Beulah Juanita (Smith) Fougerousse was born.

1917 -- U.S. Virgin Island purchased from Denmark.

1918 -- World War I ends

1919 -- 19th Amendment is ratified granting women the right to vote

1927 -- Charles Lindberg makes first solo non-stop transatlantic flight in his plane, The Spirit of St. Louis

1929 -- Great Depression beings

1930 -- Claude Thomas Jr. was born.

1931 -- Empire State Building opens, The Star Spangled Banner is adopted as national anthem

1932 -- Amelia Earhart becomes first female to complete a solo, non-stop transatlantic flight

1938 -- Fair Labor Standards Act passed setting first minimum wage at 25 cents an hour

1939 -- Nazi Germany invades Poland, World War II begins

1941 -- Attack on Pearl Harbor, United States enters WW II

1944 -- D-Day

1945 -- Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

1947 -- Jackie Robinson breaks baseball s color barrier

1949 -- Germany divided into East and West

1959 -- Alaska and Hawaii become states

1961 -- Vietnam War officially begins

1962 -- John Glenn becomes first American to orbit Earth

1963 -- President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Martin Luther King Jr. delivers I Have A Dream  speech

1968 -- Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles.

1971 -- 26th Amendment is ratified, lowering voting age from 21 to 18.

1974 -- President Richard Nixon resigns over Watergate

1981 -- Sandra Day O Connor becomes first women to serve on United States Supreme Court

1986 -- Space Shuttle Challenger explodes after liftoff, killing all seven crew members

1989 -- Berlin Wall falls

1990 -- Oklahoma City bombing kills 168 people

1999 -- President Bill Clinton is acquitted in an impeachment trial

2001 -- September 11 attacks kills more than 3,000 people

2001 -- Invasion of Afghanistan Operation Enduring Freedom

2003 -- Invasion of Iraq Operation Iraqi Freedom, space shuttle Columbia explodes upon re-entry to Earth s atmosphere, killing all seven aboard

2008 -- Barack Obama becomes first African American to be elected as President of the United States of America

Papaw Tom's birthday and mine are just a day apart, so the two of celebrated countless birthdays together. I always felt so special having my name next to his on birthday cakes. This year, unfortunately, strep throat kept me from attending his birthday celebration.

I've always joked with my Mamaw Naomi that the only reason she remembers my birthday is because it's so close to Papaw's.

I'm very blessed to have had the opportunity to spend 28 years getting to know my Papaw Tom. He is one of the most kind-hearted, down to earth people I have ever met.

I'm also so blessed to have spent 28 years getting to know Grandma. She's truly one of greatest people I've ever met.

I'm even more blessed that my children are getting the opportunity to get know their great-grandpa and great-great grandma .

Happy Birthday, Grandma! Happy Birthday, Papaw Tom!