More

So when we started this blog we promised that it would be mostly about Nora... keeping our friends and family updated on her ever-increasing cuteness. But from time to time, we use it to share our hearts and today my heart is aching, so for those of you here for Nora alone, bear with me (Deanna, that is).
Yesterday my Grandma died - a bit unexpectedly actually. For those of you who don't know, my Grandma had been living with my parents for the last several years and our family has been privileged to get all this amazing time with her. She was a great woman. And I am so proud to be able to call her my Grandma. In fact, she is such a great woman that we named Nora after her (they share the same middle name).
My Grandma was kind, patient, and strong. She accomplished so much in her years on this earth, I can't even begin to recap it all. She loved to laugh, had a wry but truly genuine smile, was an excellent gardener, and enjoyed watching professional football - especially her Seahawks. She did all sorts of crafts (crocheting, drawing, embroidery, jewelry making, etc.) and would spend dozens and dozens of hours on detailed projects for family and friends. You won't find a better cross-sticher anywhere! Grandma also enjoyed doing crossword puzzles - which have always been mostly frustrating to me. When I once asked her what her secret was to enjoying them, she said that the trick is to only get the "easy" crossword puzzle books... that way you always feel smart! I've enjoyed crossword puzzles ever since! ( :
Although my Grandma had an excellent memory, she also knew the importance of getting things down on paper. In fact, over the course of her adult life, after her children were all off having children of their own, she began to write her story down. Hundreds of pages of little stories to be exact. Not because she thought the world needed to hear about her, but because she knew that all these little stories make up part of a much much bigger story. Pieced together, these little stories tell us who she was. For those of us who are related to her, they tell us a little about who we are too.
Grandma taught Sunday school for years and years. She loved Jesus. And she prayed with a reverence for God that is rarely found in current generations. She prayed often and specifically for every one of her 7 children, 27 grand-children or 27 (28?) great-grand-children and enjoyed bragging on all their developments and accomplishments. She was so proud of her family - and rightly so! My Grandma lived a good, long life - which was not always an easy life. But she was a faithful wife and mother and follower of Christ through it all. She taught me - and so many others - so much about what it means to serve and love and pray and persevere and remember and how to live life fully here and now even while anticipating our true, heavenly home. Today Grandma is with Jesus, praising God for his goodness and glory just like she did yesterday and the day before that, and the day before that -- and while I am truly happy about that...
I miss my Grandma.
Grandma knew full well that there is more to life than what happens in our earthly bodies. That death is not the end, but another beginning. THERE IS MORE.
I'm glad I'll get to see her again someday... but I miss her now.
So yesterday, after all this happened, I was crying with my mom via video chat and she was complaining about how sore her chest was... maybe from all the crying and stress. Later that night she went to the ER. Apparently she tore a hole in her heart between her left and right ventricles and needs surgery and a few months of meds to repair it. The doctors say it's all pretty routine. But it's not routine to me. I am aching to be with my family and finding it more than a little tough being so far away and isolated (without even a telephone yet to make/receive calls!) If you are a family member reading this, know that I love you dearly and am thinking of you all every minute.

Hit play. You won't regret it.