A Time For Loss
The title says it all for the past month. However, I know that with every ending comes a new beginning. I hope the next month will be full of positives and new beginnings.
I started adding pictures over three weeks ago, and then life got a bit busy. And now it has been another month and I haven't posted anything. It's hard to know where to start, so much has happened in the past month. February came to a close and March commenced. We have had almost every kind of weather possible, sometimes within only a few days. We've had our share of loss, and more changes in life, as well. I'll try to get through each event as I go through the pictures.
This was the beginning of the 2nd week in March. It snowed like crazy for quite a while. Owen, of course was pretty excited. He played in it for awhile and was able to make a pretty big snow/ice ball. The snow didn't hang around for long, though.
This was the end of that same week. We had a double full rainbow with much warmer temperatures, but only briefly before it was cold again.
Opposite side of the sky. It was a beautiful night.
Owen received an award this month for Star Student in his class. We also had his conference early in March. I was very concerned before going into the conference because he is struggling so much with learning his subtraction math facts and can't pass his timed tests. However, when we got to his room there was a graph that indicated how many students have passed it. There were only two so far. I'm not so worried now. His teacher had nothing but really good things to say about Owen. He is a great student and is doing everything he is supposed to be doing.
We have had very few nice days sprinkled in there, but not nearly as many as I would like for March. I am really looking forward to sunny and 75 degrees on a more regular basis. While Nick was gone, Owen went to Columbia with me to take Gracie to dance and we found a park to play at for awhile. Luckily this was one of the nice days.
Gracie went to work with Nick on a Saturday and Owen and I found ourselves at Rock Bridge State Park. He had a lot of fun hiking around.
We spent a lot of time finding rocks and throwing them in the water.
I think Gracie needs a new dirt bike. She has outgrown this one.
Annie brought Kaia and River up a couple weeks ago. Chad has taken a new job back in Iowa and they are getting ready to move everything. They have a house rented in Luther and Annie already has a job lined up. They are pretty excited. It seems that everything is working out for them.
Gracie and Kaia
Uncle Nick giving River a ride.
I took this picture when Nick was gone. Owen tried to stay up to watch NCAA wrestling with me, but couldn't stay awake.
Closing on our house. It has been one year since a hole was dug to start building our house. We closed on our construction loan on February 28. There were only a couple things that we had to hurry up and get done so it would pass inspection. There are still a lot of things to do, but the weather has not been cooperating with us. Nick was able to get a temporary porch railing up to make is safe and it has been nice having that there.
Here is a picture of the house from the entrance of our driveway.
Owen and Nick enjoying the covered porch on the back.
Another picture of the wrap around porch. We hope to eventually have stairs going down to the back yard. We will also change the railings to vertical spindles, more like what we have for our stairs inside. Nick intends to take these down to use for the barn when he starts that.
Just passing the time as we wait for our food.
They are so silly
Indee says hi! She is getting so big! I think she's almost as big as Sonita!
A month of loss. We have had a lot to deal with in the past month. They say things happen in threes and this has been true for us.
Rowdy
Rowdy came to us when Nick's mom moved to Florida. He tolerated more moves than he probably wanted to, but ended up being a pretty good cat. He continued to be ornery, always waiting for someone to swat at as they walked by. He was also Owen's favorite despite his behavior. Maybe they were perfect for each other. Rowdy had been losing weight for a couple months and he was to the point that he didn't even want to move. I tried to get him into the vet without the kids, but of course when I came home to get him, I couldn't find him. He finally showed up after the kids came home from school, so they had to take him in to the vet with me. I felt bad, but didn't want to wait any longer. I warned that them he is sick and might not be able to come home with us, but they didn't seem to understand until he actually didn't come home with us. Owen was devastated and kept asking if we could go back to get him the next day if he is better. So we went out for ice cream. A few days later, I asked if he had any more questions about Rowdy and he said no. He seems to understand that Rowdy can now put Jasmine in her place in heaven.
Gracie making Rowdy pose for the camera
Tom and Rowdy found the old couch cushions.
Owen with Rowdy at the vet. He didn't hesitate to try to help take care of Rowdy. It was very sad for both of the kids, but I hope I helped them learn a little about having pets.
Saying goodbye for a third time this month...
This probably deserves it's own post, but this is where I'm at. The last time we had gone to see my grandma was February 17 at her new home in the Jewish Life Center in Des Moines. She was doing well, and even a couple weeks ago had been doing well. However, the day after my boss passed, Grandma Jeanne developed pneumonia and was not able to recover from it. The day after we attended a funeral for my boss, the kids and I headed up to Iowa to visit my grandma exactly one week ago on March 18. I was so happy that she was alert for some of the time and she let me help her to eat a little bit of food. She knew who I was and also knew who the kids were. I'm so proud of my kids. They did not hesitate to give grandma Jeanne big hugs and spend time with her in her room. They tried to tell her things that are going on, but it was hard because she wasn't wearing her hearing aids. They were both helpful in keeping River entertained when he was there, too. When we left, it was very hard. I knew what might be happening, but part of me thought she might pull through again, as she has done so many times before. However, we were getting updates from my parents all week that she was continuing to decline and finally on Wednesday March 21, was no longer struggling and is at peace. I have been so blessed to have Grandma Jeanne in my life. Here are a few pictures from the past year.
Mother's Day 2017
Our family at Kavanaugh House in Des Moines
A different visit to Kavanaugh House. I think this was Grandma's first time meeting Kaia.
Grandma loved being at the Kavanaugh House. The people there were amazing. She lived there for 6 months before moving to the Jewish Life Center.
I could write a book of all the memories I have that include Grandma Jeanne. She was in my back yard every day for the first 18 years of my life. We always knew that we could go see her whenever we wanted. She helped take care of Annie and me whenever my parents were away. She attended many of the activities I participated in and taught me so many things. I will also never forget when Nick and I sold our first house and had no where to live. Grandma Jeanne opened her house to us and we lived with her for a month before finding somewhere else while we built our first house. That was also a very special time. She got to see her great-grand-kids every day for month. While it was stressful at the time, it allowed us more time together. Grandmas are such special people and she will be missed so much. I'm so happy that Gracie and Owen got to know her and will remember so many good things about her.
I think what I will remember most about her is that she was there whenever I needed her, even if she didn't know it. When Nick's Grandpa Mac passed in 2007, she came to the funeral and probably had no idea what that meant to me. It was such a relief to have her there and have her open arms of reassurance that everything will be alright. She seemed to know exactly what I needed that day and always knew what to say to help people.
I will miss her stories. I loved listening to her stories about her life and how her family lived. I hope I never forget the sound of her voice telling them. I will miss her cards. She always sent cards for our birthdays, Christmas, and other mile markers in our lives. She never missed. Her cards always told us how much she loved us and how proud she was of her family. I will miss how her whole face lit up when her grandchildren and great-grandchildren walked in the room with her. We were all the loves of her life and I felt we were the reasons for her happiness. That's how she made people feel. Grandma never held back how proud she was of us and how much she loved us. I also told her the same many times, but I don't know that anything can compare to what she has done for others. She is a remarkable woman and I can only hope that I can continue to make her proud and live the way that she did.
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