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.

Tennessee!!!

We took our annual road trip to Tennessee at the end of November, perfectly planned around the Rock N Roll Nashville 1/2 marathon.  However, after all of those hours in the car....we lost control the last 45 minutes.  Everyone was belting out the Frozen soundtrack, and there was no stopping them.

 We finally made it, safe and sound and spent the first day playing outside.  The four wheeler was the big hit.

 Nicole finally talked her daddy into letting her drive.  She was a natural

 The guys (and maybe some girls) had fun getting some shooting in :)

 Learning how to shot a .22

 Nicole and Susannah came shopping at Dollar General for Hannah's birthday.  They had a great time.

 Sweet little Hannah shared her 8th birthday with us.  Isn't she adorable?

 We ate at the famous Pancake Pantry, where there is always a line around the corner.  It was delicious.  I didn't listen to my friend and ordered pancakes instead of french toast.  I regretted it the rest of the day.  That french toast was amazing!

 We spent the afternoon at the running expo.  It was so much more fun this year compared to last.

 Jeremy ran the 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles).  Nicole and I ran the 5K (3.1 miles)

 There is a cool wall where you write who you run for.  I put my sweet friend Ashley, who is on the waiting list for her second double lung transplant.

 The special picture of grammy and gramps with ALL of their grandkids

 We got to visit The Parthonan...in Nashville, not Greece :)

 All of the cousins, aren't they cute?!?

 Hannah's birthday cake at the restaurant.

 Hannah made a great sign for Jeremy.

 And then one for Nicole and I.  Unfortunately, the rain ruined her sign and she couldn't use them.

 The racers.

 Just a few of the 5K runners.

 We finished!  Praise the Lord!  It wasn't a PR, but we finished :)

 There's Jeremy, a bit past mile 9!

 Me and my crew, cheering the runners on their last tenth of a mile.

 The kids spent a lot of their time in this fun play room, playing wii and talking about Star Wars.

We took a "side" trip to Ohio to see my grandma.  Nate's not really drinking a monster here, but it was a funny picture.  We were starting to go bonkers again.

 After a six hour drive, we finally made it Grandma's!  Nicole spent almost every moment sitting next to her.

 We also enjoyed some of the OSU vs Michigan stuff at my Aunt's

 We love grandma!!!

 We got to swing by our friends' house in Louisville and say hi for a bit.  It's fun to have friends all over the country :)

 One thing I'm "known" for as Aunt Michele is taking silly selfies with my nephews.  Somehow it's helped to break the ice with them.  I slowly worked with George all week, and the last day, he finally let me spend some time with him and take silly pictures.  Here are a few of my favorites.

 I finally got a smile!!!

It was a seriously fun trip.  It's always great to see them and spend time with them.