My sweet Grandma Roxie died on May 5th, 2013. Five days before her 95th Birthday.
This post is a little hard for me to write in fear of not portraying how much I love, respect and admire my sweet grandma and because I don't want to leave anything out. Many of you know that my family has had the privilege of having my grandma live with us since we moved to Idaho in March 2006. She had her own little apartment connected to our house where she spent most of her time. With her big white doors always open, you could always count on seeing Grandma sitting in her chair, crocheting, playing games, facebooking or playing games on her ipad, cheering on a football or basketball game, or maybe just taking a little nap or watching some tv. It was ALWAYS fun to go home and have her be just as excited to have another kid come to visit!!
Having Grandma live with us gave me the opportunity to know her a lot better than I would have if we had just visited her a few times a year. I was so lucky to get fun experiences like, after I went shopping, I could come into Grandma's apartment and show her all my cute things I just found and have her be SO excited for me. (I loved how Grandma LOVED getting new clothes, so I knew she'd appreciate a good find when I showed her one.) Or to have her awesome creative mind check out the fabrics I picked for some craft project or skirt or blanket and brainstorm with me on how it would look the best.
I also had special opportunities to hear Grandma's testimony on Christmas Eves or hear her sweet stories about how she did things when she grew up. Grandma was no wimp!!! Grandma comes from a very hard working family and there were times where I really got to see how patient and determined she was. One of the times I got to work side by side with her was during canning season. I was home visiting mom and it was time to do some canned apple sauce. And let me tellllll ya what, canning is HARD work! Not only does it have a lot of steps, but it takes a long time and a toll on your feet from standing so long. My Grandma, even though she couldn't walk a long distance or stand for long periods of times, still came and helped can that apple sauce!!! She knew it was important and she wanted to be a part of it!! I hope that I will still be so awesome and hard working when I am a Grandma.
It was no secret that Grandma loved her family more than anything in the whole wide world. She'd spend a good amount of time every day on facebook checking up on her kids and grandkids. After there was a formal dance in one of our cousin's schools or a new baby born, she'd come out of her apartment with her laptop and show us all the pictures that were posted onto facebook. She LOVED her grandkids and seeing what they were up to. She also loved to serve her family. Something that I will ALWAYS cherish is a blanket that she crocheted for me. She made one for EVERY grand daughter in the family and it is one of the most precious things I own. Not only because she made it, but because I saw her make it! I saw how hard she worked and how long it took to make them.
I am so lucky to come from such a strong family, that was raised in the church and taught how to be hard workers and to LOVE your family. I'll never forget the family reunions every year at the lake Grandma and Grandpa made happen. Those were some of my favorite childhood memories. I am so happy for Grandma to be back with Grandpa in such a wonderful place. But Grandma, you are truly missed and I love you so very much!! Thank you for teaching me the importance of raising a family in the Gospel and loving your family more than anything. I LOVE YOU.
Grandma had a 95th Birthday Party planned before she had passed away. We decided, we would still have a party and celebrate her life! Almost the whole family was able to be there for Grandma.
I thought this picture was super cute of Grandma and Grandpa.
