Closure

On May 25th, we lost an amazing woman. And when I say amazing, I mean a truly special spirit. One I was blessed to know and call grandma for 14 years. Tillie Stevens, was and will always be John's grandma and the girls great grandma. She was 96 years old when she passed. Her death wasn't a surprise- I mean she was 96. But it did catch us off guard. She was so feisty and spirited until nearly the end. I am so glad and feel peace knowing she wasn't in pain for long.

Gma T loved her family like no other. She admired and loved her only child (John's mom, Nancy) so much! She was so proud of her- of the child she was, the lady she grew to be, the mom she became and the grandma she is. I remember driving Gma T home from Easter dinner and the whole way home she spoke of what a lovely person Nancy was, how many talents she had, her caring soul and various other attributes. It was so sweet! She really couldn't have been more proud! This has made me realize how important it is to tell the people who matter- just how much they matter. All the time- never take for granted that they know or assume. Leave them no doubt that they are loved, cherished and appreciated!

She gushed about her grandsons, Luke and John, to everyone that would listen. And soon she was gushing and bragging about her great grandchildren. She kept a diary in latter part of her life. The daily posts weren't lengthy- just a sentence or two. But I'm so glad we have those for the girls to read and know her better. Gma T was adored by many for her years of teaching and service to the community.

I personally loved her because of her humor and spunk. When John and I found out we were expecting the twins- he came home one day telling me how worried he was because his mom was telling his grandma about our situation. I had only met the woman a few times and was concerned that John was so concerned. I was a complete mess the next time we saw her. Worried about what she would say, disappointment like everyone else? I sat down next to her on the couch, half expecting a lecture of some sort. She patted me on the leg and said "I had never expected to live long enough to see great grandchildren- thanks for taking care of that!" and smiled her ornery smile.  I knew from that moment on- she would forever be in my heart! I would spend hours talking to her at Christmas- in the morning before the kids would wake. Her divinity was to die for! She was so proud of her heritage, what her parents endured immigrating to this country. She was a smart a*#- and I loved it! Kindred spirits...her and I! I will forever miss her.

Grandma T's ashes were laid to rest this weekend. Just a small family gathering. Exactly what she wanted...and you always did what Gma wanted! :)

This service gave us all a sense of closure. Something for the great grandkids to process. 

I wish Evie could have known her better, but the way they looked at each other in the short 9 months they had together- I feel as if they knew each other from before.

The grandkids each wrote Gma T a letter and placed photos in her box. Each had a chance to tell her goodbye. 

We love you Gma T! Corynn is like you in so many ways!  A perfect namesake! We will miss you always! 'Grandma runs' to GI won't be the same, but we still visit you every chance we get! The holidays will be hard and we will all miss you...things won't seem right without you there. Please know how much we loved you and admired you! I hope that the girls saw all of your wonderful traits, strength and humor. I hope they become women you are proud of! 

Kelly Family REUNION

And a reunion it was! We haven't all been together in 9 years! And although we've lost a few since that last get together - we have added two spouses and 5 children to the Kelly clan! From the original 4 siblings and their families, we were only missing two people! Which is pretty darn good! Folks traveled from Indiana and Texas...so it was pretty special!

I was a little concerned last year when Aunt Kate (which is short for Sheila) approached the family suggesting a family reunion at Mahoney State Park. My concern came because most of the Kelly clan aren't really campers. We are all very domesticated and love our air conditioning. Despite that- I dove in head first and supported Aunt Sheila Kate full force!

Welcome bags for each cabin! (contents included a first aid kit, bug spray, gumballs, kleenex, chocolate, popcorn, sanitizing wipes and a roll of toilet paper aka the good stuff)

The event was superb! It was so fun having all the 'grand cousins' (grandkids of the original four siblings) all together! There was swimming, hiking, hide and seek, paddle boats, tower climbing, kite flying, bug catching, marshmallow roasting and tons of laughs! The ages span from 14 to 11 months and they all got along remarkably well!

I especially loved the story telling over dinner! One sibling would begin sharing a childhood memory and a different sibling would chime in "No no no that's not how it was... it happened like this..." and then another sibling would give their version. It was funny! And even funnier when spouses of the siblings would jump in with their versions (from hearing the stories so often and for so long!).

A fun little parting gift...a bag of Trail mix with a tag saying 'Happy Trails!'

It was a good time and I sincerely hope it isn't another 9 years before the clan gets together again!

updated pix

Every summer I like to do a mini photo session with our girls. I hate school pictures and only order (the smallest set) for posterity sake. Here's a peak at today's photos for 2012

And just when I thought this would be our only good group shot...

I luckily managed to snap this one! 

Not perfect...but I'll take it!

We have a professional photographer taking family photos next week...wish us luck with that! 

Zombie love

I really want to get something like this for our van! We like the show The Walking Dead and I think this is hilarious! My mom, uncle, his girlfriend, the girls, family friends and I will be doing the Zombie Walk later in the month- which is going to be AWESOME!

Here are some zombie family decals I've found... (just googled Zombie family decals)

So if you see a silver minivan around town with a Zombie family on the back window...its most likely ME!