Our precious grandma "E" went home to be with Jesus on Wednesday, July 28, 2010. She went quickly and with little to no pain. Although it was a shock to our family, we feel so blessed to have this amazing woman in our lives. I flew down to Seal Beach on Wednesday night with Paul and we met up with all the family. Thursday was a special day planning the memorial service. My mom and her siblings made plans together and my sisters, cousin, and I drove around and picked out flowers, pictures, decorations, and food for the celebration of Grandma's Life. We had such a wonderful time picking out many of her favorite things and purchasing items we knew she would get. She was a very special lady to each of us and we knew her so well. I flew home Thursday night so we could take Andrew to the doctors on Friday. Andy and I drove down to Seal Beach with the kids on Friday afternoon. We stayed at a little hotel in Seal Beach. Friday night we spent time at grandma's house with family. On Saturday we met at Grandma's house and then took limos to her church, went to the cemetary, and then back to grandma's house for food and cake. It was a beautiful day celebrating a beautiful woman!! Andy and I both spoke at the service. One of these days I will re-type my speech and include it in this post. It was very special to reflect back on my relationship with grams and write about what a special lady she was. I had helped put the program together and I wanted to include the note we wrote to grams inside....
To an Amazing, Beautiful, &
Strong Woman…..
You are a hero to all of us and you will be
truly missed. You exemplified kindness,
generosity, and love in all areas of your life. As
we reflect back on your life, we can truly say
that you lived life to the fullest. From a young
girl on a farm in Ohio, to a life filled with an
amazing husband, four children, being “Grams”
to 9, and finally becoming Great Grandma “E” to
6 little ones, you always “LOVED” completely.
Through every trial and difficult time, you
persevered and proved that you were a strong
and stubborn lady, and you taught us all lessons
that we will hold onto forever. You constantly
welcomed people into your home, filled with
hospitality, love and lots and lots of food. Your
cookies are famous and holidays will never be
the same without them. You have taught us all
the art of giving ourselves up for others; you
were truly a role model to each of us.
We can picture you now, our sweet mother
and grandma dancing in heaven with your
Frank and being reunited with many of your
friends who have passed on before you. What a
joyous time you must be having!!
We Love YOU Grams....
Grandma E's house is a very special place to our family. I wanted to take some family pictures in front of her house because it is so special to us!
Saturday night after grandma's Memorial Service our family did something I thought they would never do...got tattoos!! Toni, Katelyn, and Aunt Jamey had gotten a tattoo a couple months ago with grandma. Grandma wanted them to get one that AMORE..so they did. The whole family headed to the tattoo parlor in Sunset Beach at about 9:30 Saturday night. My mom, Aunt Emmie, and myself got one on our foot and my dad, Paul, Matthew, Jimmy, Jesse, and Uncle Mario got a larger one on their arm. Andy was a trooper and stayed back with the kids. It was a very special time to honor grams and mark our bodies with something that we will always have. My favorite part about the whole experience is that our family is one of the last groups of people I thought I would ever see in a tattoo parlor at midnight on a Saturday night. Grams is also someone who I thought would never want any of us to get a tattoo, but she had eyes full of tears and felt so honored that the girls wanted to get a tattoo in her honor. It was an amazing way to end the day celebrating GRAMS!!! She was so incredibly special to us and I am so proud to have a TATTOO in honor of her. 
