Pictures from Pittsburgh

Here are a few pictures of our time in Pittsburgh for my Grandma's funeral.  Most of these are from my cousin Jackie - I think I took 2 pictures total.  I think I just had my hands full holding the baby most of the time!

Molly and Luke "sneaking"

Gotcha!

Linde with Finn

Mom, Tammy, and Melissa

Madeline and Ana

Loey and Finn

John & Madeline

Patrick & Finn

Gone home

My Grandma Jennie passed away last Wednesday morning.  She was 97 years old, and had lived an extraordinary life, in a quiet and unassuming way.  She was a teacher, a missionary, an encourager, and a wonderful grandma.  She loved God with all her heart and loved people in real and practical ways.  She was funny, smart, humble, never complained, prayed without ceasing, and made awesome gravy.   Since Grandpa died in 2005, her health had been declining, and in the last few years she lived increasingly with anxiety and confusion.  She had been ready and waiting to go home to Heaven for a while, so now we are rejoicing with her.

On Monday we got the news that she was not doing well - blood pressure, heart rate, various signs that the end was coming soon.  Patrick and I took Finn and drove to Pittsburgh on Tuesday.  (The big kids got to stay with Bobbi and they had a great time.)  We got to spend the afternoon with Grandma.  She was on morphine, but still obviously uncomfortable.  She was more awake  than I had expected, but mostly just gave one-word responses to our questions, and seemed to tire quickly if we tried to talk to her much.  But we sat and held her hand, and let her listen to Finn laugh, and sang some psalms for her.   My mom also flew out from Colorado and arrived while we were there.  Before we all left, she suddenly asked about Elijah, which was the most she'd said all day.  We were all so surprised!  We had dinner and spent the night at Uncle Bruce & Aunt Margie's house.  It was really nice to get to spend some time with them, too.

We got up really early and drove back Wednesday morning so that we wouldn't miss Molly singing in the little Christmas program at our Bible study.  Mom called while we were driving back to let us know that Grandma died.  She died before Mom and Bruce & Margie could get there, but my great-aunt Jean and great-uncle Clark were there with her.  I am so glad that Grandma did not have to linger long, and that we got to say good bye, and to know that the last thing I said to her was, "I love you."

We took all the kids and went back out to the funeral, which was Saturday.  It was great to be with all my cousins (we were only missing two of my brothers - Stuart and Cameron - all the other grandkids got to be there) and celebrate Grandma's life together.  We also celebrated my birthday - how great to be able to be with my family that day!  I was so glad that we got to spend a lot of time with Mom & Dad and with my brother John and Linde and baby Madeline.  I thought it was going to be a long time until we got to see them again.  It was such a blessing to have that time together.

Mom, me and Grandma 2002

Grandma & Grandpa 2002

Four generations (with Elijah) 2007

Celebrating today ...

Wishing a very happy birthday to my daddy today!  We love you so much!

And thankful for all those who have and do serve our country, and the families who love, support, and sacrifice for them.  Thank you, to Papa, Grandpa, and our many friends and family who have served.  And a special thank you to Uncle Cameron and the men who serve with him in the Marine Corps around the world, to Nana and Grandpa and Uncle John and Aunt Linde who loved and supported him through deployment and war, and to Aunt Amanda who loves him enough to marry into the service and sacrifice of being a Marine wife.

Our new neice Madeline!

We love you, sweet girl!

Visitors from Colorado

Yay! Nana came out to visit and spent her whole spring break with us. The kids were so excited! We had a great week. Patrick and I got to have a just the two of us overnight excursion, and I got to leave the house on my own a few times - what a treat! Nana and the kids loved every minute of just reading, playing and spending time together. Mom and I also got a lot of fabric shopping and quilt design done for my new little niece, who John and Linde are expecting in April.

Some of the fun things we did during the week:

finger paints - always a favorite

A recent hobby - Legos! The kids are starting to get the idea of creative building. I love seeing them spread out all over the table - it reminds me of being a kid and building with my brothers on our huge basement table. =)

On Thursday evening Dad arrived, to spend a day with us before both he and Mom headed down to Alexandria for a quick weekend of quality time with Cameron & Amanda (we all have to get in as much as we can now, before they leave the country for a while). We all went out to dinner at the Olive Garden - Grandpa and Elijah totally agree on the greatness of the Olive Garden - and had a wonderful time.

sharing animal cracker "appetizers"

Both kids ordered - what else? - fettuccine alfredo ("noodles and white sauce"), and requested that they add red peppers. We had a very helpful and understanding server. =)

Reading with Grandpa

The kids really enjoyed having a day with Grandpa (Molly's favorite "silly guy," who she is now calling "Gramps," since she has to have a nickname for everyone she loves - her other grandparents are "Nan," "Bob" and "Pops"). We had a lazy morning with lots of reading with Grandpa, took Nana & Grandpa to Patrick's office to see the campus, and stopped to look at the house we're currently in process with. We had a great week with Nana, and a great day with Grandpa, and we're so glad that they could come out to Pennsylvania. We can't wait to see them again soon!

Playing in the pool!

While we were visiting John & Linde, the kids spent a lot of time playing in the backyard. One of their favorite activities was playing in the pool. So fun!

Water slide!

Little girls being silly together

Taking turns.

Snacks!

Uncle John adds some sprinkler fun.

Visiting cousins!

One week during our stay in Colorado, we drove out to Western Colorado with my mom to visit John, Linde and the girls. Dad drove his motorcycle over just for the weekend, too. We had a great time just hanging out together and playing and eating good food. The kids had a wonderful time together and got along really well. It was fun to watch.

Piper ("Take a picture of me and Woody!")

Reading with Nana

Playing play-doh

Helping Piper roller skate

Whoa!

Molly loved the dress-up clothes!

Sorry these are fuzzy - but so cute of the little girls playing together!

Taking a little break

The little girls wore their matching dresses from Cameron & Amanda's wedding to church - so we finally got a picture of them together!

On the way back to Nana's house, we stopped for lunch and a treat - fun!