Goodbye to Grandma Glo/ 10-12-11

Her funeral was on Monday and was such a neat day. As hard as funerals are they are so neat at the same time. Such a great day to think about how amazing someone was in your life. I will miss her so much. I got to give a little tribute at her funeral. Here it is below:


Early in Glo’s marriage, my grandpa was going on a short business trip for only a day or two, which was a very rare occurance. It was going to be busy with business with bunch of other men, but Glo hated to be left at home and to be away from Grandpa even for a day ,so she left a few messages on their bathroom mirror with a bunch of stickers that all said “Take Me Along” .

Whether it was her marriage, her kids , or her grandkids. Family was Glo’s absolute focus. Above everything else. Everyone of us wanted a relationship as caring and loving as Glo and Blair. My Grandpa died when I was 5 years old , but I feel like I know him so well because of how much Glo loved to talk about him and their relationship. I always loved listening to her tell stories about my Grandpa and how much she adored him.

I found an inscription in Glo’s Weber State year book from my Grandpa:

Dear Gloria,

You have made this past school year the most successful and happiest I have ever had. The feel of you near me seems to make me just push a little harder to get things done. Chum, I really mean whats above. Its really been great. Time to turn in----goodnight Honey.
Love, Blair

There was no one that made you feel more special than Grandma Glo. You could always show up at her house, ring her musical doorbell, and see her smiling face at the door with a hug waiting. She was one of the best listeners …and really made people feel so loved.

She had such dear friends…whom we all knew well. I loved showing up to her bridge clubs when she was hosting and have her be so excited to introduce us to her friends, who in actuality already knew everything about us.
On the flip side, lots of people don’t know their friends’ grandmother, but my friends knew Grandma Glo very well. Lots of Great Grand children don’t know their great grandmas , but my kids and I think I can speak for the other great grandchildren knew her and loved her so much. It was a treat for them to go visit Grandma Glo. She had such a long reach into peoples lives.

She always went the extra mile to make things special. We always got a card in the mail from Glo wishing us a Happy Birthday, a Happy Halloween , and a Happy Valentine’s Day. The other day Amby and I were reminiscing about her when we both remembered a time when we stayed with Grandma and Grandpa while our parents went out of town. Glo kept a journal each day of the things we did with photos to go along with and then put it into a book for my parents when they returned. We always loved reading that. I also remembered my 4th birthday party when Glo showed up for my party and whisked me off to my parents bathroom and put me a darling dress that my mom wore when she was 4 years old. Then I came out for my party to surprise my mom. She loved doing things like that.

Glo was the grandma who showed up when you were sick at home and would bring soup and treats and sit through the day with you. She loved taking us into “town” to shop and go to the Tiffin Room. She never missed a figure skating competition , dance recitals, talks in church, birthday parties, swim days, or new babies. I remember her coming and sitting with me after I had my last two babies and just visiting and making me laugh.

Glo had a strong testimony of prayer, and really relayed that to me many times. I remember one time in particular in college where I was struggling with a few stressful things and she told me that she prayed multiple times during the day and that always got her through. I have tried to follow that advice and have also found great peace there.
I will miss my Grandma Glo’s fun, spunky, positive, lovely personality so much, but I love thinking about the reunion between she and my grandpa on the other side,

and after waiting and hoping for 28 years she finally got him to “take her along”.

Fall

Mary Poppins

Happy Birthday Lucy Love

Lucy turned 7 years old a couple of weeks ago. I don't think any of our children have grown up in a blink of an eye like Lucy has for us. She was just barely my little baby girl who was so mellow and easy. Slept all the time and cooed and smiled at whoever looked at her. She didn't walk until she was 16 months old and was totally content just sitting on my lap. She took naps until,....hmmm, well she probably would still take them if she were home during the day. But no, she is off to school all day and loving it. She is super social and loves her cute friends. She is tall and beautiful and creative, and has alway been our little bright light. We love her so much and don't know what our family would do without her.



I had to post this cute picture of Lucy and her cousin Nellie because these days there is no one that lights up Lucy's face like Nellie.


This year Lucy wanted a spa party where all the girls could come and get their toes and fingernails painted. It was so much fun to plan and the girls had a blast. Ryan even got into with spa music going and rounds and rounds of warm water for the girls feet when they asked. Lucy has such darling , sweet friends and it was so much fun to see them all together. We had four darling helpers that were so sweet to come and paint nails. Lucy's two cousins Anna and Abby came down and were so cute with all of the girls, and our good friends Abby Florence and Katie Lewis came to help out too, and even brought pictures of different styles they could do....a little nail menu. So cute! I am so bugged I didn't get a photo of the four of them.

Spooky

At the beginning of each October, Macy puts up a decorative banner that looks like this:


The other day, I walked into Lucy's room and there, hanging on the door, was this:


Lucy's her own girl. She doesn't always talk through her plans with us, doesn't always come to us to ask for help. Sometimes she gets an idea in her head, pulls out her prodigious supply of papers, pens, markers, crayons, and every craft tool available, and just does what she does (I think her version is better). It's always fun to be surprised.

And she's not the only surprising little girl we have hanging around here: