My Precious Grandma

This summer, I was blessed to visit with my family from Hartwick, IA while the kids and I were home.  When I am with my dad's side of the family, I never want our time together to end because it is always so much fun.  On this day, we celebrated my grandma's upcoming 95th birthday!  You could never guess her age because she just didn't act it.  It was only in the last few years that she was more quiet in conversations and struggled with seeing because of a stroke, but she was still her same witty, sweet self.

It's been hard to say goodbye the last couple of times I have seen her because you just never know.  Will this be the last time I get to wrap my arms around her and hear her say I love you?  And, as it turned out, God decided this would be our last day together.  My grandma fell about three weeks ago and broke her arm.  Her breathing was labored, so they thought perhaps she cracked a rib or maybe punctured a lung.  What they found was a mass on her trachea.  It was her wish to let it be.  She even told us she was ready.  She had been a widow for years, lost her son (my dad), and was the last of her siblings.  She lived a life filled with love and passed an immense amount of love to all she knew.  Just two weeks later, she was with our Heavenly Father, and I'm sure there was quite a celebration when she arrived!

The service was incredible and completely planned by my grandma.  The pastor held up the note card with all of her wishes for the service.  Pastor Dan made her proud.  

She was a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan and Iowa Hawkeyes fan.  She had a hand in both wins this weekend.  Thanks, Grandma. :) 

It wouldn't be a family gathering without a game of liverpool.  Some of my favorite memories with my family are those spent playing this game.  When you were little, you just couldn't wait to be old enough to sit at the table and play.  I never thought that day would come.  It was worth the wait. :)

These are my amazing cousins and my sister, Nicole.  I love them so much!  We each shared our favorite stories about Grandma during the service.  Clearly, Nicole and I did not get the tall genes in the family!

We know how to have a good time.  LOL!

Traveling home to say goodbye to my grandma was the best decision I could have made.  This is definitely one of the more difficult things about living abroad.

I was truly blessed to have my grandma for all these years.  One day we will be together again, and what a beautiful day that will be!  I love you, Grandma!

Until next time,
Wendy