RIP Grandma

Grandma went downhill last weekend. We visited her on Sunday. She was in and out of sleep and difficult to understand when she was awake. She had requested that we bring the girls to see her, so we did. It was a chance to say goodbye; she passed away at 8:45am Monday. Mom and Marie were with her.
Honestly, this is about the best way things could have happened. When we visited her the weekend before, I don't think anyone was ready to really say goodbye. This way we had a week to prepare and say goodbye. But since she was only sick for a week, she wasn't in prolonged pain. And since we knew it was only a matter of time, Mom and Marie were able to be with her.
It was still a rough week. The visitation was Wednesday. A lot of people came to pay their respects and show love and support. I'm thankful for that. The funeral was on Thursday. Dad officiated the service (is that the correct verbage?) so I sat next to Mom, with Marie on her other side. We spent a good chunk of the service crying. Grandma is having a wonderful reunion with so many loved ones, but we miss her here. One song in particular got us all. "I've Got a Mansion" was the last song Grandpa played on the organ, for a relative singing a special at church, before he had a heart attack and died. They sang it at his funeral 33 years ago. I think we may have sang it at Durwood's funeral (my uncle and my grandparents' only son), but Mom and I couldn't remember for sure. So of course, we sang it at Grandma's funeral. Or rather everyone else did while we cried.
When we went to the cemetery, I took pictures of the gravestones of different family members. Grandpa and Aunt Carla are buried there, along with both Grandma and Grandpa's parents. Since the mosquitoes were horrible and the girls react to them like I do, we put them with Chloe and Haylie in the Expedition, where they were watching a movie. The result? Ella laid on the horn (on purpose) in the middle of Dad's prayer. :s Oops.
I learned a lot of things I hadn't known before. Three of my four great grandparents on that side lived into their 80s. It appears I probably have a long life ahead of me. Carla was born alive, as the doctor was walking in the door of my grandparents' house. Mom says she probably would have lived if she had been born in a hospital, but instead she died that same day. I knew before she was a twin. But she was born and died on June 19, 1956. Brian and Amy, my twin cousins, were also born on June 19 (in 1979). Odd, yes? There were other interesting facts too, none of which I can currently remember.
I didn't see Grandma that often but I miss her already. It's just knowing I won't see her again here, the finality of that goodbye. But I'm glad she's not in pain and she's in heaven, reunited with so many of the loved ones she's mourned over the years. Now those of us left behind will mourn her and celebrate her memory and legacy. Rest in peace, Grandma. We love you.

Ella-isms

Yesterday she came into the living room while I was taking a breathe during my workout. She very seriously told me she needed to talk to me. So she sat on the couch and told me calmly, lower lip quivering, that when I yell, her face gets red and she gets angry at me. Is she aware or what? It sounds like something a mature adult would say, not a four year old. I explained that I yell when I get angry and when I get angry, it's usually because she's not doing what she's supposed to be doing. So if she does what I ask when I ask the first time, I won't yell, she won't get angry, and her face won't get red. And I thanked her for telling me. She later came to me and apologized for telling me she gets mad at me. Some days I swear she's four going on twenty-five.

Lately she's been saying she lost her goodbye voice or her sleeping voice. It's always suspiciously when she's supposed to be telling someone goodbye or going to sleep. Today she told me she lost her pick up power, so she just can't pick up her toys. Life is never dull.

And to preview her teen years, I was watching the Today Show this morning. She said, "Mommy, this movie is too lame for me to watch." Oh dear. Shortly after that, the New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys came on and I agreed with her and changed the channel after they alternated short parts of their hit songs. (Side note: One of the NKOTB walked down the catwalk, grabbed a woman by the hair, yanked her head back, and kissed her. Um, is that supposed to be cool? 'Cause it made him look like a pompous jerk who is WAY past his prime. And skinny jeans are no one's friend, let alone guys approaching 40. Seriously.)

And a quick run-down of other happenings:
- Nora is walking! It took her 13 months to do it but she's walking. She still prefers crawling but is walking more and more. She's also getting 4 molars and says "cheese" for the camera. Dancing is a favorite thing and she likes people now.
- Steve turned 28! And bought himself a Wii for the occasion. I also got a new laptop (mine was on its last leg and steadily getting worse).
- Mia is still deathly afraid of thunderstorms. Which has been fun, considering the number of them in the last two weeks.
- I'm getting a Body Media Fit! Same thing as a BodyBugg but has more features and the subscription is less per month.
- Leslie and Paul left for California. :( I'm excited for them and their new adventure but I'm not a fan of them being so far away. They're just getting to California today. I'm proud of them and thankful for cell phones, Facebook, Google chat, and a webcam on my new laptop, which means video chat. Hopefully all that technology will help fill the gap.
- My class is actually a class now! I switched to Tuesdays so the people interested can actually come. I've had two classes that had more than Kristy and/or my sisters. (Sisters, thank you so much for the support! <3) Tomorrow is Turbo for a Cause in Toledo. I'm going to meet Jenelle! Very excited for that.

That's pretty much it here. Life as usual. :)