Saying Goodbye to my Grandmother

After just a relatively short time from moving out of her house, Grandmother passed away on June 22, 2011.  Even though it's heartbreaking to lose her, I know that she's in a much better place.  She's finally reunited with my Granddaddy, her brother, sister, parents, and many cousins.  I'm so thankful that we moved back to Alabama in her final year, so that I could see her a little more often.  She meant so much to me my entire life.  She and Granddaddy provided so much opportunity for their family, and especially for me.  I lived with them several different times, and although the circumstance in which I was brought to do so were hard, I am so glad that I had that time with them.  It created an even deeper bond that was more than just grandparent/granddaughter.  I felt like I was their child too.

Even though she had her quirks (and who doesn't?), she had so many great attributes to pass on to me.  She loved her husband so dearly and set such a great example of how to love, honor, and respect your spouse.  She was so very proud of Granddaddy and I never heard her speak one negative thing about him.  She also loved God.  She hardly missed a Sunday or Wednesday at church.  She was very involved, volunteering for positions in her Sunday School class and serving supper on Wednesday nights, among other things.  She was also very proud of her family and heritage.  She spoke so frequently about them and her ancestry that everyone in our family now has such a strong appreciation for it.  We love to hear stories of our family's past and to know as much as we can about where we came from.  She was also very active.  She had lots of hobbies, but her favorite was definitely golf.  She played most every Tuesday, for as long as I can remember. She played in countless tournaments, was published in the paper so many times for winning, and even had two holes in one!!  And, although some might not see it as a positive, depending on how you look at it, I loved her cleanliness.  I definitely inherited that trait!  And Jonathan says I sometimes take it too far. lol  I can't help that I think everything has its place, and everything should be in its place!

Along the lines of being proud of her family, she was always taking pictures.  I am so very appreciative of the albums she dedicated so much of her time to for all the grandkids.  We each were given several very large albums of pictures taken throughout our entire childhood.  Thus starting a new tradition.  As kids, the cousins would line up in age order everytime we were all in town together.  It's been fun seeing the changes as we've grown older.  Take for example these...

She would have been so happy to see the new generation of cousin line-up pictures that were taken the day of her funeral. 

I miss her so much already, but one day I know that I will be reunited in Heaven with her.  I love you Grandmother!

23 Month Bear Pic

Only 1 more month to go... this is crazy!

Gulf Shores Trip

Jonathan had to go to his company's Foley office June 15-17, so Leighton and I decided to go with him to sneak in some beach time.  It worked out great, b/c while we were there, so was Ginny and Banks and Martha and her family.  The first day, L and I went to Ginny's grandparents' condo in Gulf Shores.  Leighton loved the beach!!

The next day, L and I went to Taylor Griswold's parents' beach house in Gulf Shores and met the Wilkins.  Then, later that day we picked Jonathan and brought him back for some beach fun.  Leighton finally got into the water with J and absolutely loved it!

Cousins

Leighton loved to pat on Banks' head. She was being so sweet!

Cousins!

Uncle Jon holding Banks for the 1st time.

Chuck-E-Cheese

Today we took Leighton to Chuck-E-Cheese for the first time. She was being her useful self at first by being very shy and afraid, but thankfully, we were able to find some games that helped cheer her up. She loved the telephone game!

And toddler whack-a-mole.

Barney scared her, so she would only get on the choo-choo train with me. I guess it's not so bad that he scared her, since I don't have to watch that show! :)

"Quack, Quack" is one of her favorite things to say!

She loves playing with the steering wheel!