Here's a memory of my grandma....she used to chew wrigley's spearmint or juicy fruit and when she was tired of chewing it but not done with it, she would roll it in a little ball and set it on the counter, like on the ledge of her recipe holder....later she would return to it and chew it again. That always made me laugh!

Today I am working on thank you's from our wedding showers--finally!! It really is quite amazing how giving and generous people are when you are getting married, it really blows me away. I love writing thank you notes b/c you can really thank people and leave comments with people that you don't talk to on a regular basis and everyone loves to get thank you cards.

Does anyone have days where they ask themselves, am I really making a difference in the lives of others? I was having one of those days and then I got an email from a friend in Des Moines who thanked me for ministering to him and teaching him more about God by the way I lived my life...I again am completely humbled and blown away and was really encouraged by that...so my encouragement to everyone today is that even when you don't feel like it, know how it's happening, and don't see it, God is ALWAYS using us in the lives of others...we just have to be available.

Today was a day of remembering my grandma

Today was my grandma Elsie's memorial service..I had the privilege of sharing with everyone a poem that I wrote about her, based on a letter I wrote her a couple weeks before she died. It was a beautiful service...really strange though to see the urn where her ashes are sitting up there knowing that was my grandma. The urn has butterflies on it which I thought was beautiful and perfect cuz grandma loved butterfliess...funny, b/c I do too. Funerals have really united my small family the last couple years...first with my dad, then my cousin Christopher who was only 6, and now grandma...so good is definitely brought out of them.

Here is the poem that I wrote:

Today is a day of remembering and celebrating my grandma's life.
These are the things I will never forget.
Her laugh
Her smile
and how it could light up a room

Her acts and words of kindness
Her warm and loving countenance
and the prayers she prayed for her family and friends every night.

Her love and support for all we do
The root of her worry for others
was out of a heart that cared so deeply.

The way she took care of others
and welcomed them into her home
always with great food made with love to share
and conversations that would last for hours.

She was a model of a beautiful woman,
who was giving, kind, generous, hardworking, funny, caring and loving.
She was a committed wife
and her and grandpa modeled a marriage rooted in faith, laughter, and love.

We all can learn from her life
the way she gave relentlessly
her thoughtfulness in all she did
her persistent prayers and her faith in God
and the way she loved those around her unconditionally.

Today is a day of remembering and celebrating the life of my grandma.
And though she will be greatly missed,
she has left a legacy of love and memories in our hearts.