Grandma

It's been a full 6 months without one blog post.  I recently rediscovered how much my family enjoys looking through and reading the blog books.  This revelation has inspired me to, once again, attempt to keep up at blogging, for the sake of our family.  So....here I go again.

I last left you on our trip to TN for the Nashville 1/2 marathon.  While on that trip, we decided to take a "quick" trip to Ohio to visit my grandma.  I heard that her memory loss was becoming more dramatic, and that if we wanted to see her with a chance that she would remember us....we better go sooner than later.  So, off we went.

I am so thankful for that trip!  Just a few months later, over labor day weekend, Grandma passed away.  She was 89.  One day after moving into our new house (more on that later), I packed our van up with the kids, my mom, dad, and my little brother....and we started the 20-something hour drive north.

It was actually a really nice 2 days in Ohio.  We got to see a great majority of the family....Including most of my cousins.

This might sound odd, but my favorite part of the trip was the funeral itself.  Our extended family has some interesting dynamics and a few stories came out that day that I was unaware of.

Two of my cousins, Matt & Jeff (known now as Brother Dominic) are in the ministry.  They both spoke at the service, and it was lovely.  Jeff came into our family when he was a young kid....and Grandma always treated him and his brother as if they were born her grandsons.  In fact, I didn't even realize they were "step" cousins until I was almost an adult.  I got to spend some time with Jeff that afternoon and hear more of his story.  I love how our family opened their arms, and welcomed him and his brother in without second thought :)

My Grandma and Grandpa were divorced  over 30 years ago.  It happened when I was 2 or 3 years old, so I never remembered them married.  It was "normal" for me, although I knew it wasn't normal for the rest of my family.   However, I learned some parts of the story I never knew and was greatly encouraged by.

Grandma and Grandpa probably would have considered them "church going" type people for most of their lives, but looking back, they probably weren't born again believers.  In fact, from what I understand, it was the divorce that drove Grandma to the foot of the cross.  I believe my aunt was recently converted and shared the gospel with her hurting mother.  During that time, Grandma, and almost the rest of the family came to know the Lord in a personal way.  It was so encouraging to hear that through the most painful time in the life of the family, God redeemed that for himself.  That is something I will always remember and be encouraged by.

It was a whirlwind of a trip.  The kids did amazing in the car.

We love grandma, and will miss her.  I'm thankful the kids knew her, and I believe they will all remember her.  I will think of her when I eat M&Ms, watch anything with Johnny Depp or Patrick Swayze, and when I see bright pink.

Nathan lost a tooth.  Justin drove at times.  The kids made friends with their 2nd and 3rd cousins.  And, I got to see family I missed.