Remembering Mee-Maw

I feel like we were gone a long time, but we were really only in Houston one night. It was a busy & emotional 24 hours. We semi-caravaned with Bryan & Sarah (I say that because they were a few minutes behind us and ended up having to change a tire...) after church on Sunday to Kingwood. We checked into our hotel and then attended the visitation at the funeral home next door. The flowers were beautiful and we enjoyed watching a slide show with pictures compiled from all the many happy years of my grandmother's life. We then drove to my grandfather's house to eat and fellowship with the rest of our family.

We headed back to the hotel to put Matt down for the evening. It was our first time to have him with us in a hotel and we weren't quite sure how we were going to pull off the sleeping routine. Thankfully, Matthew still loves his pack & play and is a sound sleeper. We put him in bed and then Steven & I hid out in the bathroom until he fell asleep! It worked. Then we watched TV on mute the rest of the evening. Exciting, huh?

The funeral the next morning was lovely. You could see the outpouring of love from all of my grandmother's many friends and family. Zach & Joy, the incredible people that they are, watched Matt & Audrey out in the foyer during the service. I knew that Matt would not have sat still for such a somber occasion & I was just picturing myself running down the aisle with a squirming, whining toddler in my arms missing half the service. But thanks to my amazing friends I didn't have to worry about it. Thank you!!!

After a quick box lunch back at the hotel we drove down to Lake Jackson for the burial. Zach & Joy took Matt with them back to Austin so we didn't have to drag him everywhere with us that afternoon. It was a gorgeous day & frankly one of the nicest days I think LJ has ever had. There were only a few mosquitoes. After the burial we were able to view Mom's gravesite and leave some flowers. I just can't believe how much our family has been through in the past few years. We hugged on each other and then drove over to the Brawley's house for a change of clothes and some refreshment before heading back to Austin. Mrs. B made us homemade cookies! Yum.

I'm so thankful I had the privilege of having my grandmother in my life for 29 years...and that she and my grandfather lived close by so we could see each other often. She loved us all so much and was always so thrilled to spend time with us and in later years to gush over our own children. She and my grandfather were married for 63 years. He was always so loving and attentive to her. I remember spending weeks with them in the summers (just my brother & I) when we were kids, playing cards & watching Jeopardy (she was good!), and playing hide & seek in their house. She loved to entertain, and Thanksgiving was always her holiday. And what a spread; complete with a jello mold and giblet gravy. We looked forward to that Thursday every year. When she hugged me it always felt so sincere and like the love sprung from the very depths of her heart. She had a great laugh I'll never forget, too. Her eyes would sparkle and you couldn't help but giggle along with her. She was a wonderful lady, and she will be very missed.