Ups & Downs

This last week has been one roller coaster of emotions.. I'm not even sure how to put it into words but feel as though I need to (this blog = my therapy).

As I mentioned on Tuesday, my grandpa passed away last Thursday -- he had been sick and suffering for awhile so his passing was definitely a blessing (which was a comfort to his family). When I saw him for the first time at the rosary on Monday, I was surprised by how well I kept it together.. Maybe it was because he looked so peaceful? Maybe it was because I still had a toddler to chase around? Maybe it was the comfort of having our entire extended family together? A combination of the three? Who knows.

After the rosary, everyone headed to my Uncle Paul & Aunt Kathy's for dinner -- it was a full house (my dad has 7 living brothers and they were all there with their families) and I was too busy visiting and keeping an eye on Jax to dwell on the fact that neither my Grandpa nor Grandma were physically there. Upon our arrival at the hotel, Brandon made a quick Sonic run for everyone, mom & I gave Jax his bath, and then we all turned in early (which allowed for little time to dwell).

During the funeral, Jackson "sang", read, and prayed (cutest thing ever), and then crawled from headstone to headstone to smell all the artificial flowers during the burial. Again, I was too busy watching him and making sure he was staying out of trouble to fully grasp what was happening.. which made the drive home really, really hard. After we finished lunch, said our goodbyes, and started the trip home, it finally hit me.

Grandpa was gone.

I had a good, long cry on the way home from the funeral and have had a few breakdowns when I'm alone but am comforted by the fact that grandpa is no longer suffering and has been reunited with the love of his life (my grandma). Please continue to pray for my family (especially my dad and his brothers) during this difficult time -- to say that grandpa will be missed is an understatement. 

As the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi states: Where there is sadness, there is joy -- so here's a look back at some of the happier times from this past week.

I was so glad that my parents came down for Mother's Day weekend -- they didn't think they'd be able to because of my grandpa but decided to come after he'd passed and all the arrangements had been made (both my grandpa and grandma would have thrown a fit if they hadn't come because of them). I think Jackson may take over my parent's engineering company once my dad retires!

Mom, Dad, Brandon, Aunt Millie (my grandpa's sister), and I went through pictures on Saturday night for the funeral -- it was extremely nostalgic but everyone really seemed to enjoy the time together laughing and reminiscing.

Brandon had to work on Mother's Day (his scheduled just switched -- he now works Sun-Wed but has Thurs, Fri, & Sat off!) so my mom helped me host Mother's Day brunch! We made a delicious casserole, my pecan sticky buns, a fruit bowl, and served several little appetizers. It was great hosting family and friends -- I hope it's a tradition we can continue for years to come!

My Aunt Nancy brought me these gorgeous peonies for Mother's Day -- they now reside on my nightstand and I can't help but smile every time I see them.

We had a Sonic down the street from our hotel and ate there 3 separate times in an 18 hour period.

This week reminded me again of how blessed I am to be married to Brandon -- he worked 8 straight hours on my grandpa's memorial video and it couldn't have been more perfect (he was also the resident military expert who helped my uncles adorn my grandpa's WWII uniform).

Jackson thought that Leah (my cousin's adorable little girl) was pretty fun & hilarious! I'm so glad they got to play together -- their great grandparents would have gotten a pretty big kick out of them!

Yesterday Brandon and Jackson took me to the zoo for a late Mother's Day outing -- Jax wasn't sure what to think about everything but enjoyed walking around and watching all the kids.

I hope that everyone has a fun and relaxing weekend! I'll be back next week with some fun posts (for real this time)!