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| L. to R.: My sister, Abby; my Bonny; my Morganne; my sister, Gina; Granny; my Lliam; Big Daddy; my Brennan; me Taken about 1999 |
We have felt Granny's sweet, loving, happy spirit nearby all through this process.
The funeral was last Tuesday at 11am.
This past week has been a busy one, driving back and forth to Peoria, and visiting with the family in town. It's been really nice, and Granna, Pa, and Morganne visited with us yesterday. They will go back to Idaho tomorrow, but we're enjoying them while they're here.
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| Abby, Wade, my dad, my mom, me, Gina |
My sisters, Abby and Gina (with her little one, Emi) and my brother, Wade all flew in on last Monday. It was so fun to spend Monday afternoon with my sisters! Emi is really smart, and speaks in full sentences, even though she's only 2 years old. She is red-haired and potty-trained already, and she and the little girls had a WONDERFUL time playing and playing and playing. :-)
We had a nice visit, and then Russell drove them back to my Aunt Ann's house after he got home from work.
So then, Tuesday morning was Granny's funeral. We went out to the van, and... it wouldn't start. The interior lights had been left on, and the battery was dead. After working with it, charging it, and starting it again and again, Russell finally got it going. WHEW! Soooo typical!
So we drove to Peoria, and everything was fine, until we pulled onto the street where the church was at. Right then, Eryn (age 3) started puking.
Oy.
Luckily she was just carsick, and I spent any spare minutes we had cleaning her up in the church parking lot before we went inside. THANK GOODNESS she was wearing a zipped-up jacket that caught everything, and her dress was mostly fine.
We hurried in, and rushed to another room to practice our song (Our family sang "Oh, My Father" as a musical number. It went well!). That left us with just a minute or two to view Granny's body and greet all of the family.
I played the piano, and Morganne lead the music. Russell said the opening prayer. Ann gave Granny's life sketch. Then we sang our musical number. The Spirit was really strong. :-) Next, my awesome cousin, Bryan, gave a lovely talk on the plan of salvation, and then we were allowed to take turns coming up to talk about Granny and our memories about her.
It was great!!! :-) So much laughter amidst all the tears. It was awesome to talk about how she used to be-- how she is once again! That was cool.
The luncheon was yummy and we stayed and talked and ate for a long time. The little cousins played and played. (Unfortunately, Wade couldn't bring any of his kids. :-( That was sad!) We all worked together to take down all the tables and chairs, and they sent us home with all the leftover food.
We spent the rest of the day at my Aunt Ann's; eating, reminiscing, and watching kids' movies.
So then, Tuesday morning was Granny's funeral. We went out to the van, and... it wouldn't start. The interior lights had been left on, and the battery was dead. After working with it, charging it, and starting it again and again, Russell finally got it going. WHEW! Soooo typical!
So we drove to Peoria, and everything was fine, until we pulled onto the street where the church was at. Right then, Eryn (age 3) started puking.
Oy.
Luckily she was just carsick, and I spent any spare minutes we had cleaning her up in the church parking lot before we went inside. THANK GOODNESS she was wearing a zipped-up jacket that caught everything, and her dress was mostly fine.
We hurried in, and rushed to another room to practice our song (Our family sang "Oh, My Father" as a musical number. It went well!). That left us with just a minute or two to view Granny's body and greet all of the family.
I played the piano, and Morganne lead the music. Russell said the opening prayer. Ann gave Granny's life sketch. Then we sang our musical number. The Spirit was really strong. :-) Next, my awesome cousin, Bryan, gave a lovely talk on the plan of salvation, and then we were allowed to take turns coming up to talk about Granny and our memories about her.
It was great!!! :-) So much laughter amidst all the tears. It was awesome to talk about how she used to be-- how she is once again! That was cool.
The luncheon was yummy and we stayed and talked and ate for a long time. The little cousins played and played. (Unfortunately, Wade couldn't bring any of his kids. :-( That was sad!) We all worked together to take down all the tables and chairs, and they sent us home with all the leftover food.
We spent the rest of the day at my Aunt Ann's; eating, reminiscing, and watching kids' movies.
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| Wade with Granny at his mission homecoming |
Wednesday and Thursday
Gina and Emi flew out early Wednesday morning, and then Ann and Pa flew out to Alabama with Granny's body for the burial. Abby and Granna were going to bring Wade to our house, but they started too late, and so they had to take him straight to the airport. Granna and Abby came to stay at our house. Bonny had ballet, and then the kids all left for the Cultural Celebration dance practice. (It's going really well!)The next morning, on Thursday, I took Granna and Morganne to the temple Open House. It was wonderful! It's my second time going through, and the Spirit there is so strong. We had a lovely time.
We went back to the house and grabbed Abby, and went out to lunch, just us girls. We then went to Wal-Mart so that I could buy decorating fabric for the Family Ball on Friday. The kids had a great time doing crafts with Abby that night.
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| Abby and Grayse |
Crazy Friday
Friday is now our crazy TJLA day. I ended up helping with Shakespeare in the afternoon, because Sister S-- was sick. I got to help Lliam and Katelyn on their scene-- the one where Lysander tries to talk Hermia into sleeping in the same spot. AWKWARD! But they did a good job, and are making some good acting choices. They are also making it completely G-rated, which I think is awesome, and they are both wonderful kids. I'm so proud of them!All during the lunch hour, Sister D-- was here working on the table centerpieces. She did an AWESOME job with the Ball! It looked like a gorgeous wedding reception! She put a LOT of work and effort into it.
Friday night was the TJLA Family Ball at the Barn and it was AWESOME!!! V-- was the MC, and she and Lliam taught everyone how to do the waltz and the swing. We had awards for the different scholar classes interspersed between the songs, and there was lots and LOTS of food. We even had a professional photographer there. It was a SMASH! Everyone had a great time.
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| Avalon dancing the night away with a small gentleman |
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| Lliam giving dancing encouragement and instruction |
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| Davy dancing with Bonny |
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| Lliam teaching MacKenna to dance |
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| Dierdre dancing with a dashing young man |
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| Granna dancing with Eryn |
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| Gavin refusing to dance |
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| Ronan also refused to dance |
Abby and Granna came to the Ball for a little while, and Abby got some pictures with her camera. One of the cute little boys in our group and Avalon danced the night away, and it took another sweet little guy almost the entire evening, but he FINALLY, with the help of his mom, asked Grayse to dance. LOL!
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| Grayse dancing with a sweet little gentleman |
Saturday
Abby flew back to Austin, TX Saturday morning, and Granna and I went through TJLA costumes for Midsummer Night's Dream Saturday afternoon. I am excited to try them on everyone in the cast, and see what else I need to make.Costumes to Sew
The Gilbert Temple Cultural Center is coming soon, and the teens at our house are busy learning music, dances, and sign language in preparation. I will be busy this week making the costumes for their big dance number. I have two girls' costumes and two boys' costumes to sew, so I need to get busy! If I get them all done quickly, I will have time to sort more through the Midsummer Night's Dream costumes.
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| My Big Daddy and Granny as newlyweds |
I love Granny!
I am so grateful and relieved that my Granny is no longer suffering from the debilitating effects of her dementia. I know that she is now FREE!!! She is the same funny, spunky, witty, loving Granny that we all knew and loved. I have never met anyone else like her, and I know I never will again.
I feel her presence with me from time to time, and I know that she is doing an important work on the other side of the veil. She has already performed little miracles for us, since she's been gone. I love her dearly, and I KNOW I will see her again.
She gives me strength to keep doing my best, and to not give up on anyone. She was a wonderful example of love for me, and she will always be an amazing woman that I look up to.
We love you, Granny!!!
