{this moment}

I found the prompt for this post on one of my favorite blogs (Little Miss Momma) and thought I'd give it a go!

{this moment} – A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember
Inspired by SouleMama

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)! 

Goodbye Grandpa

Today is a day that I hoped and pray would never come.

I know that's silly -- death is part of life. It's going to happen to all of us at one point or another. However, that doesn't make it any easier.

Today we lay my grandpa, Julius Wernsman, to rest. He'd been fighting a hard battle the last couple of years and God decided it was time to give him eternal rest.

There is no doubt in my mind that my grandpa is in heaven (with my grandma) right now. My grandpa was the sweetest (albeit orneriest -- more on that in a sec), hardest working, and most faithful man you could ever know. He flew planes over Germany during WWII, managed a sprawling farm for decades, raised 9 amazing boys, loved his wife of 65 years unconditionally, took care of my Uncle Mark after he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease, and cherished his Catholic faith. 

Everyone who knew my grandpa loved and respected him -- he was funny, generous, humble, and extremely intelligent. I will never forget his distinct laugh, stories, and love of Louis L'amour (you could always find him reading in his chair). Up until he turned 90, my grandpa even walked close to 3 miles a day -- that man put this 25-year-old granddaughter to shame in terms of endurance! 

I have several favorite memories of my grandpa but have to share this one that fully conveys his orneriness. I don't think I've ever talked about it before but when Brandon and I first started dating, we had our fair share of family hardships (a few days before Brandon and I met, my grandma suffered a stroke; when Brandon returned home from Afghanistan, my dad fell off a roof and was in the hospital for several weeks; a few months later, my grandma was backed into by a car, fell, hit her head, and passed away a few days later due in part to the blood thinners she was on from her stroke; and then a month after that, Brandon's uncle was killed in the line of duty). Brandon was first introduced to my extended family when we were in the hospital after my grandma's accident -- she had been unconscious since falling and the doctors said it was only a matter of time. 

Several family members were gathered in my grandma's room visiting, praying, and reminiscing when Brandon and I somehow got on the topic of Pepsi vs. Coca Cola, which lead to us betting over whether or not we could tell the difference between the two. So off to the hospital vending machines my brother, Brandon, and I went! We poured samples of the two into several cups so that everyone in the room could have a chance to participate -- it was a great way to lighten the mood for a few minutes and made everyone laugh. 

When it was Brandon's turn to guess, he stepped out into the hallway so he couldn't see what was being poured into which cup -- being the hilarious person that I am, I decided to pour Pepsi into both cups just to see if he'd notice. A few people saw me do this and laughed to themselves, and I noticed my grandpa look on without smiling or saying anything. When Brandon got the okay he came back into the room, took sips out of each cup, contemplated, and started to give me his answer when I hear a voice say, "What did you do? Pour the same thing into both cups?" 

It was my grandpa! He was calling me out in front of everyone! 

"Grandpa!" 

He just looked at me, cocked his head, raised his eyebrows, and shrugged. 

"Brother's in arms have to stick together!" Brandon exclaimed, receiving a nod and a chuckle from my grandpa. 

That's the grandpa I will always remember -- funny and ornery! Another memory I have from that day is my grandpa (with tears in his eyes) praying over my grandma; it was such a powerful, emotional, and beautiful moment that I will never forget. That same day was their 65th wedding anniversary -- a day we had planned to celebrate with a big party. 

This picture just reminded me of another story -- Jax cried through most of his baptism so I kept moving and bouncing him which lead to my grandpa whispering (he had a hard time hearing so his whispers were actually shouts) "What's she doing up there? Churning butter?" 

My grandpa is one of the greatest men I have ever known and I feel so blessed to have not just known him, but to have called him grandpa. Rest in peace, Grandpa -- you have worked hard your entire life and now God has granted unto you Eternal Rest. Thank you for the example that you set for your sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, family, friends, and community. You will live on in our hearts, thoughts, stories, and prayers forever. 

I love you, Grandpa. 

Goodbye for now. 

{this moment}

I found the prompt for this post on one of my favorite blogs (Little Miss Momma) and thought I'd give it a go!

{this moment} – A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember
Inspired by SouleMama

 

Random Crap I Found at My Parents

The title pretty much sums up what this post is all about but I figured I'd still give a bit of a back story: My mom wants to redo my room at their house and asked me to go through all my things and decide what to keep, donate, and toss. Anyway, 3 years later (See mom, I told you I'd do it!) and I'm finally starting to go through everything!

One of the first things I found/went through was my beautiful treasure box -- the place where I kept all things near and dear to my heart.

Wanna peek inside?

Ornament hooks, the head of a candy goose, a band-aid wrapper, and my Sam's Cookie Club card were among my most prized possessions. 

"To: Anabel Wernsman -- You're a good reader!" I'm glad I saved this heartfelt Valentine from a girl in my 3rd grade class (and for the record, I am a pretty good reader...)!  

Mom and me.. this makes sense and makes up for every other weird thing in the box.

The previous redeeming photo was just overturned by this autographed Adam Sandler picture that I obviously printed at home (seriously; what?!). 

Doesn't everyone save random, un-sharpened pencils? 

Why? 

A punchless punch card.. again, why? (I didn't even own anything from Limited Too because it was too expensive!) 

I have always been a gifted writer.
Screenplay for "Gypsies"
"The Jinken family was very poor. The mother and father were very drunk." 

Going through my treasure box was quite the walk down memory lane and brought a pretty big smile to both my face and heart. As sentimental as I am, I decided to go ahead and part with the candy goose head, kid's membership cards, and pencils, but kept my screenplays and pictures. 

Also, this wasn't in my treasure box but is still worth sharing:

The seat covers from my first car (a rusted 1994 Ford Explorer) -- I was way too cool for school. 

Please tell me that I'm not the only one who collected weird things as a child? What are some of the funny/cute/random things you've found at your parents? 

Happy Cinco de Mayo (& a Quick Update)!

From the Sandmeier family to you and yours, Happy Cinco de Mayo! We had a wonderful time celebrating and exploring the Mexican culture on Saturday in Civic Center Park -- Jackson especially loved all the fun music and colorful outfits! Today we will celebrate by making my signature Cinco de Mayo dish and maybe having a beer or two.. we shall see. 

As some of you may know, I recently started my NEW JOB and couldn't be more excited about it -- I'm the Colorado writer for an entertainment site and feel incredibly blessed to be doing what I love from home. With that being said, I'm still trying to get into the groove of balancing this new job with my current marketing job and my other two jobs (full-time mamma and wife), so I may be quiet around these parts for the next few days.. but never fear! I'll be back next week with lots of fun posts, pictures, and updates!

Have a great week! 

{this moment}

I found the prompt for this post on one of my favorite blogs (Little Miss Momma) and thought I'd give it a go!

{this moment} – A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

inspired by SouleMama