Easter Weekend

A few weeks back Peyton and I had the opportunity to hitch a ride with my parents down to visit my Grandma Grace. For those of you who don't know much about her, Grandma is one of the most wonderful ladies I have ever met...and I'm not just saying that because she's my Grandma! For as long as I can remember, she's always been a shining example of what a loving, servant-hearted, godly woman should look like.

My memories of growing up a few miles away from her and Grandpa are so incredibly wonderful! Our days were filled with ice fishing, gardening, going for walks up the dirt road they lived on, swimming in the creek just down the road, spending hours upon hours playing out in the woods, making the world's BEST dill pickles with Grandma, drinking TANG and "kids coffee", gobbling up Grandma's AMAZING spaghetti, going to auctions, bird watching, splitting wood for the winter, visiting neighbors up the road and giggling as they spoke Swedish with Grandma, enjoying a tractor ride from Grandpa...the list could go on and on. I just remember always feeling so excited to hear, "We're heading over to Grandma & Grandpa's house"...even when I was a teenager! We usually spent Sundays with them, going to church together and then after lunch we'd go spend the afternoon/evening with them just hanging out playing games, watching football, listening to the Brewers on the radio, singing around the organ or listening to Grandma play the harmonica. I've probably mentioned this before, but some of my favorite memories of spending time with Grandma was when we'd get to sit with her in church! What a treat! As any good Grandma does, she always had Tic Tacs in her purse for us (my kids are now addicted to these - thanks, Grandma!), but the thing I always loved the most was singing next to her. She has a beautiful alto voice - between my Dad's fantastic tenor voice and my Grandma, I learned how to pick out harmony lines by ear and ever since I was young that's something that has always brought me great joy - singing.

Grandma celebrated her 91st birthday in January and recently her health has begun to deteriorate. But how refreshing it was to walk in the door on the morning of Good Friday and see, despite the fact her body isn't as strong as it once was, she's still got her spunky personality and hilarious wit! We enjoyed a wonderful weekend with Grandma talking about everything from what's going on back home in MN & WI, to Grandma's childhood/upbringing, to all the funny stories from us kids growing up. It was such a special time - and the best part was that Peyton was able to be a part of the weekend and have some time with Grandma, too. I remember back when I first found out I was pregnant with Peyton...we didn't know what we were having, but I knew that if we had a girl I wanted her middle name to be after Grandma (Grace). Peyton Grace...little did I know the day she was born the special connection her and Great Grandma Grace would have. :) And even though we haven't lived as close over the past several years, Peyton still talks about Grandma regularly and those two were like two peas in a pod when we were down to visit. Grandma called Peyton her "bedmate", and Peyton wanted nothing more than to simply lay in bed with Grandma and spend time with her. The first thing she said to Grandma when we got there (once she warmed up and realized it was still the same old Grandma Grace, even if she wasn't able to get out of bed like she could last time we visited) was, "You wanna snuggle with me?". What a special, special weekend, filled with lots of laughter, catching up, and of course, a few tears as reality set in that this could very well be our last visit with Grandma here on earth. But what a comforting thing to know that we'll be able to sing together forever with the Lord in heaven!! :)

Here are a few pictures of Peyton and Grandma from the weekend:















Grandma singing "I Have Decided To Follow Jesus" with Peyton (one of Peyton's favorites!)

















Peyton & Grandma being silly laughing together















Grandma kept talking about how worthless her hands are now and Peyton's response was, "I can hold your hand!"...and she did, every time she crawled up in bed with Grandma
















Peyton showing Grandma her beloved CARS















Weekend "bedmates"