Friday Thoughts

Some random Friday thoughts. . .

This was my bathroom mirror quote this week.  Love it!

And oh what a difference a week makes--this is last Wednesday after school at this park

This is this Wednesday after school at the park. Crazy weather!

I have been reading this book for the last few weeks.  Finished it last night.  I loved it.  I do believe Brokaw was correct in calling the WWII generation The Greatest Generation.  They went through so much--The Great Depression, WWII, and then all that came after.  We have so much to learn from them, and all we have now is because of what they did.  What a blessing.  Reading it did make me sad because it reminded me of my grandpa--Grum who wasn't old enough to get into the war until after Germany had surrendered.  He was in Germany after to help rebuild, during the Nuremberg trials, and during the Berlin airlifts.  He passed away last year, and I never really got to talk to him about it.  Reading this made me sad I couldn't call him up and ask him about it.  Thankfully he wrote his life's history and had it published so I have a copy.  What a huge blessing!!!  Miss A is currently learning about WWII in her high school history class and had to do a paper about "My family in WWII."  She used Grum's book.   Thank you Grum for leaving us that!

Thank you Grum for all you did for us!  Sure miss you and love you!  You were definitely one of the Greatest Generation!!!

Grum's funeral

Wow.  What a week!  It was wonderful, sad, exhausting, exciting, full of laughter and full of tears.  Here is a look at it. . .

I flew on a plane by myself.  I haven't been on a plane in over 7 years, and I haven't flown by myself since college.  It was fun.

But the plane ride was a means to an end to get me to this wonderful lady--my grandma DeeDee.  

This is Grum's Santa suit.  Grum wanted his 18 grandkids (who were all at the funeral) to sing "We wish you a Merry Christmas" because Grum and DeeDee started a sub for Santa years ago and blessed so many family's lives.  Grum always was Santa and everyone else carried in the presents and cookies and such, and as they came in they always sang, "We wish you a Merry Christmas."  What an amazing man!

These are my other set of grandparents.  I am so lucky to have them!

All my siblings were there.  It was great to be together!

My aunt's friend made these roses for the funeral.  They were amazing!

Here is a close up.  She did them with a laser???  So cool!

Elder Russell M. Ballard from our church was a great friend of Grum's.  He spoke at his funeral and after I had the chance to meet him and talk and, of course, get a picture.  He is an amazing man.

My uncles, dad, and cousins as pallbearers at the cemetery.

A beautiful shot at the cemetery.  My grandpa was in the air force at the end of WWII, so they had a gun salute for him and a touching military ceremony for him at the cemetery.

My family.

Also my family--the 18 cousins/grandkids, some spouses and some of the 20 great-grandkids.  I know Grum was happy with the day and was smiling down on us.  We love you and miss you like crazy Grum!!!

Saying good-bye

On Sunday I said good-bye to my Grandpa--Grum for the last time on this earth.  He passed away this week.  Saying good-bye was so hard even though we knew it was coming.  More about my amazing Grum in this post here.  We are not meant to live forever.  Death is a part of life.  I know where my Grum is now, and I know what he is doing.  I know he can look down and see me and my family, and I hope he will be proud of what he sees because I know someday I will see him again.  We like to think we are in control of things in this life.  I do.  I am a planner.  I am one that likes to be in control.  I am a mom of 4 kids, and I have to be organized or life would be insane, dinner would never get on the table, laundry would never be clean, the house would be a mess, and we would never do anything or go anywhere.  I plan.  I calendar.  I have a schedule, but I am also a realist.  You have to be flexible.  I realize life happens.  Appointments get canceled.  Kids get sick.  It rains.  Life happens, and along with life comes death.  To all of us.  It came this week to my family.  Very sadly it came to many in Connecticut in December and also this week to families in Boston and Texas.  We never know when it will come, and I fell very lucky that I was able to say good-bye when many are not.  So we need to live and love and enjoy every day.  My Grum was a good example of that.  I am very lucky to have him as my Grandpa.  Family is so important.  It is very important as we go along our road called life that we realize what really is important.  Family--our faith, our friends, and make those the priorities.  We just never know when we will have to say good-bye.

So I am taking this next week off to be with family, attend the funeral, and celebrate the wonderful life of my Grum.  I love you Grum!

My Grandpa--Grum

I have been extremely blessed to know many great and amazing men in my life.  The greatest man I know is my husband Ben--bar none, but a very close second comes my dad, my father-in-law, my grandfathers, and Ben's grandfather.  My brother, brothers-in-law, uncles, and cousins are also right up there.  I have been extremely blessed to have both sets of my grandparents be a big part of my whole life.  Both sets are in their 80's now, but they are all still with us.  I am so glad my kids have been able to have their great-grandparents be a big part of their lives.  It is a huge blessing.

These are my maternal grandparents--DeeDee and Grum.  Grum was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in August of last year.  Just in case you didn't know,  let me just make it clear that cancer sucks.  I know many of you can attest to that from personal experience.  This picture was taken in November when my family went out to visit my grandparents and in-laws for Thanksgiving.  They do not live close to me--about 1150 miles away, but I didn't know what the next year would bring, and I wanted to see them, so we made the long drive for Thanksgiving.  We had a great time, and I am so glad I went.

We don't know how long my Grum has left.  We don't know how long any of us have.  Life is a precious gift, and we need to cherish each moment we have.  Even though we can't see him often, we call, we send letters and cards, and we pray fervently for him and my DeeDee every day.  It is in the Lord's hands, and I know everything will be okay.   I know that if he or I go tomorrow that we will see each other and our families again.  Families are Forever.

My Grum is a great man.  He has taught me so much.  I didn't ever grow up living very close to my grandparents.  Most of my life they lived about 1150 miles away, but that doesn't mean they weren't an important part of my life.  They are a huge part of my life and why I am who I am.  I just wanted so share some thoughts I have been having lately about my wonderful Grum.

Grum tells the best stories.  As a little kid I would love to curl up next to him on the couch and listen to his stories.  My favorite was his version of The Three Bears with Papa bear, Mama bear and Yucky, pucky baby bear who didn't like their porridge (who would? he would ask) so they went to McDonald's for breakfast.  A classic bedtime story at it's best.

DeeDee is an amazing cook.  She makes world renown chocolate chip cookies.  Grum makes London Broil.  If Grum ever cooked, you always knew what was on the menu.  Yum!

Grum always listens, and he always has a plan, a deal, and advice for you.  

Grum tells the best jokes.

He and DeeDee love their family so much, would do anything for them, and are so proud of them.  They had a license plate for many years that read "My grandkids are cuter than yours."  One day he told the story of a lady that followed him home, pulled up behind him and put up a sign that said, "No they aren't," and then drove away.  Grum thought that was pretty funny.

When I was 14 I could start driving in the state I lived in.   I remember one of my aunts giving me a piece of driving advice.  "STOP" she said, "does not stand for 'slight tap on pedal."  I remember thinking, she must have learned the opposite of that from Grum because anyone that has ever driven with him knows his definition of STOP is 'slight tap on pedal.'

DeeDee always sent us packages growing up full of individually wrapped cookies, candy, sometimes homemade seasonal pillowcases, etc.  She continues to send them to me and my kids.  Love in a box.  The packages were always from DeeDee, but Grum always stuck something in from him.  A note and a $2 bill.  That is Grum's signature.  Grum is just like those $2 bills.  

$2 are rare.  I remember one time my daughter took her $2 bill to the store to buy something.  The clerk wouldn't take it.  She didn't think it was real.  She had never seen one or heard of one.  She had to call her manager before she would take it.  The manager said, "Wow.  Those are really rare!"  Grum is very rare.  There are not many people like him.  He is one in a million.

$2 bills are priceless.  They have a face value of $2, but are really worth more.  When another daughter was young she took one for show and tell.  One boy asked her how much it was worth.  She, being a very smart kid, looked at him and said, "$5."  "Wow!  Can I buy it?" he said. She didn't do it, but that would have been a deal Grum would be very proud of  :)  Grum is worth much more that you think, he is priceless.

$2 bills are treasures.  I try to go through my kids' stuff every so often because they have so much, and it is much easier to sort through and get rid of stuff when they are gone.  As I have gone through each of my 4 children's things at different times I have found a $2 bill from Grum safely tucked away.  It is in a safe place, an important place.  They aren't going to spend it.  They are keeping it.  It is a treasure to them, just like Grum is.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for my Grum.  Thank you for putting a $2 bill in my life.  He is rare, priceless, and a treasure, and I will always be grateful and continually blessed that you allowed him to be my grandfather, part of my life, and my children's lives.  Bless and keep him and let him feel of our love.

I love you Grum!