Remembering Grandma & Grandpa

This past weekend we took a quick trip to Chicago to visit my son at his internship. It was definitely a fast trip, but great to see him and what is happening in the church where he is serving this summer.

On the way back, we stopped in Thorntown, IN – the place my grandparents used to live, where I spent many Thanksgivings and the town in which they are buried. It didn’t strike me that we would go right past their exit as we traveled back and forth to Chicago, so it was an unexpected bonus to the trip.

This was the first time I’ve been back to Thorntown since Grandma passed away in 2008 (hard to believe it has been than long). I like the fact that their headstone has not only dates of birth and death, but also their marriage date. On the back it has the inscription “Parents of David, John & Jay.”

A flower arrangement was placed on the headstone by my parents and uncle and aunt in honor my grandparent’s anniversary. Not sure how well the picture shows it, but the arrangement contains pictures of my grandparents. Thought that was a very nice touch. They would have celebrated 70 years.

Love the change to remember and grateful for the memories I have.

A Smile for Your Day

My Mom and Dad were able to go visit my sister Krista, her husband, Jason, and my niece Riley last weekend.  Riley is 2 1/2 and loves to see her grandmas and grandpas.  My Dad put a few pictures of her on his Facebook and this was truly my favorite.

That is quite a smile!  If you needed a smile for your day…here ya go!

Remembering Grandpa

Grandpa died December 11, 2002 (hard to believe it has been that long). One thing that I always think about when Grandpa comes to mind is basketball. He was a coach, loved to watch ball (especially I.U. – must be genetic) and I remember shooting around with him when I was a kid.

My daughter is really into basketball. It is her passion; the thing she loves to do. The bonus is that she is pretty good. This year I have been trying to keep track of stats and newspaper clippings of her games.

Last week her team beat their big rival for the second time this season. There was a nice write up in the paper this week about it and she was mentioned twice. I sent it to my Mom and Dad since they live out of state. They both sent the same response: Great-Grandpa would have been proud!

It was one of those bittersweet moments where you are both happy and sad. I knew Grandpa would have been proud and that made me smile. But, Grandpa never got to see her play and that is the sad part.

All in all it makes me so thankful for my family, for their influence in my life and most of all the reminder that this life isn’t all there is. God has much more waiting for us.