Oh to be a kid again!

Seriously people this has got to be one of those moments in life I will never forget!  It's spring break 2013 for my kids and we decided to do a "staycation" and enjoy some activities nearby.  One of which was go kart driving!  Ok, so I look up the height requirements on the internet and realize my youngest child Pierson is 1/2 inch too short to be able to drive himself!  Argh!  He was devastated!  We thought high and low of an idea to make him taller...spike his hair (nah they would notice), put inserts into his shoes (tried that but they hurt his feet really bad), have him stand on his very tippy toes and pray they don't notice (yea they'd definitely notice that)...Then all of the sudden my step mom entered the room with her Shape Up Sketchers!!!  He tried em on and YES!  He was sold!  Although I was persistent that they looked super silly, he didn't care!  They were about five sizes too big and in order to get them to stay on his feet we had to tie them SUPER tight!  Anything to be able to drive himself for the first time in a race car!

We pull into the parking lot!  I'm literally praying this works.  I can't stand the thought of him being heartbroken.  We get out of the car and walk to the door (mind you he's walking like Frankenstein) and head to the counter.  The guy working there literally walked around the counter and looks at his shoes.  Doesn't say a word but asks him to come stand by the measuring stick.  Those sweet words the man then spoke "Yep your tall enough!!!" Those words were like angels singing from heaven to an 8 year old!!!  So off he headed to drive his first go kart!!!  Oh to be a kid again!!!

13 years ago....

13 years ago today I married the most amazing man in the world!

Last night, thanks to my mom, we were able to go out for a special date.  With some unexpected expenses this week, like having to fix our car, we needed to get creative with how to celebrate.  I must say, it was one of the most special times we've ever shared.  We went to eat at one of our favorite restaurants and instead of getting gifts, I surprised Jason and brought along our "love box".  We had a night of reminiscing.  You see, 13 years ago I made a love box for us which contains all of our love letters, notes, cards and special pictures we've shared together over the past 13 years, even from when we dated.  It was such a special time as we sat at our table and read these notes and special memories together!  At one point, the manager, who was a guy, came to our table and asked how our meal was.  We told him great and then he asked what the big box was.  We were able to share with him what it was and what it meant to us.  He replied "that is the sweetest thing I have ever seen!".  We asked if he was married and he said not yet.  We got to share for a moment our marriage, love for one another and love for God.  He not only congratulated us but with a very sincere heart said that he was totally inspired by our love.  As we left there, we felt so blessed.  The thing is, we are not blessed by our good deeds but by God's love for rescuing us!  1 year after getting married, we made the decision to become disciples of Christ.  We made the decision to put God first in every aspect of our lives.  With that came putting our marriage second to God.  We strive every day to do this!  It's amazing though how Satan can so easily distract us with worry and fear.  Worry and fear that if we put our spouses above our children, they might fail.  Worry and fear that we wished our spouses were different.  Worry and fear that our blessed lives will be disrupted by trials.  Jason and I have dealt with each of these worries and fears and I'm sure will continue to.  We've had many times where we've had to put each other back at the top of the list.  Many times we've had to focus on our good qualities and not the negatives.  Many times that we've been disrupted by life altering trials and tragedies.  But through all of this, we bring ourselves back to the vow we made many years ago....to always live a life for God putting him first!

Thank you God for rescuing us and thank you Jason Carroll Bewley for loving me!!

One last goodbye...one last gift...

Janice Ann Angsten is a name that should be posted on a billboard as the greatest grandmother ever!  I write this post with tears rolling down my eyes as I just said my last goodbye.  I'd like to tell a story, a story of our last goodbye and one last gift she gave us all...

Friday morning my dad got the phone call that his mom (my grandma) had been admitted to the ICU with heart failure and pneumonia.  I'm not exactly certain of the specific details, but within minutes of being there, she was put on life support.  We (myself, my sister, dad and step-mom) packed our bags and made the 13 hour drive desperately praying to get there before they took her off.  We arrived in time...within a few hours of being there, all of the siblings decided to take her off the vent and let her go.  We all, including the doctors thought she would go quite quickly.  Guess what...she surprised us all and made a miraculous turnaround.  She was again breathing on her own and within another few hours moved to a regular room.  Although it seemed she was doing better, she was fighting a double edged sword.  Her heart was continuously failing causing her to fill up with fluid and the meds to fight that were shutting down the kidneys.  After much discussion with her, the decision was made that she was tired.  She wanted to go.  She has fought for years to continue to live and she just couldn't fight anymore.   We assured her that we were happy with her decision to go and she found peace in knowing this.  That was Saturday when we had this talk.  

Sunday when we showed up to the hospital, Grandma was smiling, happy and had a few requests.  She wanted her hair brushed and her teeth in.  She wanted to feel pretty with all her visitors.  We spent the day literally cracking up and telling stories sitting around her bed.  Although she didn't say much, she would smile and even give her two cents worth occasionally.  She specifically asked for me to turn the tv on channel 46...the game show network.  Something she watched everyday.  When she would come stay in Georgia, we often would hide the remote in order to save ourselves from having to watch it so much :)  I laugh as I think about those days!  She ate a ton of food that day and for the first time in a long time, enjoyed it.  We fed her potato soup from Panera Bread!  Yum!  One of my youngest cousins was also there with her 2 month old baby (grandma's youngest great-grandchild) and the irony was bitter sweet.  Here was the oldest in our family sharing a very special moment with the youngest of our family.  We managed to capture it on video.  She didn't want to let go of baby Adabelle.  Later that night I was also able to capture another very special moment on video.  As my dad sat by her bedside, she wanted him to tell her a story.  Something he's always been good at.  Those Angsten's can really tell some stories.  I immediately grabbed my video camera and pressed play.  Neither of them knowing it was on.  The room was dark with just a hint of light shining on each them.  He sat for nearly 10 min and told her a story.  But Grandma being an Angsten, had her story to tell too.  She told about when she met my grandpa and places they lived.   Although it was very difficult to understand her and not a lot of detail, dad understood fine.  He continued to sit with her, with her opening her eyes to make sure he was still there every few minutes.  He sat with her until she fell asleep.  I think each of us felt a sense of hope that maybe she was coming around.  Maybe she would give us a few more years.  This is of course what all of us were praying....

Sunday October 28th 2012 turned out to be however her day to live.  She gave us this gift...one last gift!

Later that night, for the first time ever, I held her hand and we prayed together.  She's never been a "religious" person but rather a woman of great spirit.  She always had a smile and loving heart and would give the shirt off her back to anyone.  Now looking back, it was a last gift she gave us all!  A moment to say one last goodbye...

That night was my night to stay with her at the hospital.  I felt special and scared all at once.  That night was, next to taking care of my son with his brain injury, one of the toughest things I've ever gone through.  As the night progressed she very quickly went down hill.  She struggled to breath and would ask every 10 minutes for water.  At one point I asked her what I could do to make her feel better.  She cried for the first time and said she doesn't know.  She was scared and hurting.  The nurse came in with meds to help calm her and sedate her.  I held her hand and prayed again.  This time I prayed a very different prayer.  I prayed that God would take her.  I prayed a selfless prayer and I thanked her from every member of our family for loving us so much!  I assured her that although she would be missed, our love for her would never grow weak.  The roots she instilled in her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren are so deep that none of us would ever forget her.  I rubbed her legs for nearly 45 minutes until she fell asleep.  This really seemed to calm her.  By the next morning she was pretty much out of it.  She seemed to be sleeping peacefully.  Around 10 that morning I reached over and kissed her forehead and told her I loved her.  She opened her eyes and said it back.  It was my time to head back to Georgia.  Slowly as the day went by her children and grandchildren showed up to say their last goodbyes.  It was later that night as my Aunt sat holding her hand singing to her that Grandma took her last breath.  She went very peacefully and went knowing the great love that she had taught all of us was being given back to her.

I will always be inspired by the love that my grandmother gave to me.  She didn't have any monetary gifts to give but she gave me the biggest gift a person could ever give...love!  I love you Grandma!

Janice Ann Angsten 1927-2012

The words you say to your child they will always keep!

This is short and sweet but so impacting that it doesn't need to be long.  For the past year, I have packed my daughters lunch.  Each day, I put a note (often short and sweet, but always meaningful) in her lunch.  Not a day has gone by where I have forgotten.  Definitely nights when I've made the lunch and thought for a second, uhhh I'm too tired to do the extra step to get the paper and pen, but I've always done it anyway.  I remember once someone said to me "The words you say to your child they will always keep!"  Two nights ago, Reagan and I went and bought a new lunch box for her.  While I was cleaning out her old lunchbox, I found something that melted my heart and reminded me of those very words someone had once spoken to me!  She had kept them!  Every one of them!

Our beach trip...not what we expected...

Each year, we take a beach trip.  It's literally my kids favorite time of the year!  My boys especially love love the beach!  They spend all day soaking up the sun, riding the waves on boogie boards, playing in the sand, and riding more waves!  This year, my mom paid for us to go to Panama City Beach with her, her husband and my sister.  It was to be our first beach trip all together with her!  So exciting!  Friday we loaded up the van (when I say loaded I mean loaded) and headed to Tallahassee first to stop and pay a visit to Jason's dad and step-mom.

We stayed there Friday and then got up Saturday morning and headed for Panama City Beach!  Jason, crazy fool he is, rode his bike from Tallahassee to PCB.

We got to the beach around 1pm and went straight to ride go-karts and eat pizza!  Literally we did this before even checking into our condo!  The kids were so excited to be there and we wanted to start it off with a bang.  Reagan drove her very first go kart.  She drove it more like a car driving around the city taking her time, unlike the boys, driving like a bat out of heck with there foot glued to the pedal!  We had so much fun!  We then went to Mello Mushroom with mom, Troy and Krissy and ate the most yummy pizza ever.  I think we were so hungry at that point, cement would have tasted incredible!  Jason called 3 miles from the beach to say he flatted but he'd have it fixed soon and to save him some pizza.

We checked into our condo around 3pm and no joke unpacked and headed straight for the beach!  The tide was strong and winds were high but the boys thought that was great!  Just made the waves higher! Jason kept right by their side and the three of them literally played in the ocean for 3 hours!!

The rest of us reclined in our expensive rental chairs while soaking up some sun and chatted nonsense.

We then all went up to the pool at the condo and played in the pool.  Each of us were pushed in one by one by someone!  It was like a chain reaction...I pushed Parker, Krissy pushed me, Jason pushed Krissy, Mom pushed Jason and so on and so on :)  We were cracking up!  We took the funniest pictures with my sisters camera, unfortunately they were with her camera and she has yet to send them to me :(

We then headed that evening out to get an awesome dinner.  Mom and Troy treated us to what we thought would be some great BBQ!  Unfortunately the dinner turned out to be not so awesome.  We ordered ribs, which were served to us warm to the touch but cold on the inside.  It was a pretty redneck place we chose which we made the best of and cracked up while gnawing on our cold food!

We stopped by the grocery store on the way home and yet again my mom got the tab for the entire bill!!  Thank you so much mom!!!  We bought a weeks worth of groceries and headed back to the condo.  By the time we got back, we were exhausted!  We packed so much laughter and fun in that half day that we were all over our slap happiness and ready to feel the pillow.  We called it a night and couldn't wait to hit the beach in the morning!

Morning time came and Jason and I rose to put on our cycling outfits to take an early morning stroll before the day began.  As we stood and looked out the window, all that we saw were dark clouds, fierce winds and lots of rain!  Oh well we thought, we'll ride tomorrow morning.  As we sat around eating a fabulous breakfast made by Meme, my genius husband decided to turn on the weather channel.  That's when it all went south...This was Sunday and weather channel called for severe tropical storm Debby all week.  Heavy heavy winds with the possibility of a hurricane.  Panama City was dead center of it all.  We watched for about 30 min.  Then we called a Bewley family meeting in our bedroom.  We explained to the kids the danger in staying and that it would be best to jump ship.  The kids and I literally cried.  However we decided as a family that it was best to leave and head back to Atlanta for a stay cation instead.  We would drive to Marietta and stay with my dad and get up on Monday and go to White Water.  Then Tuesday we would go to Stone Mountain and head home Tuesday night.  With that decision, we sadly broke the news to mom, Troy and Krissy.  Thankfully they too had decided it would be best to leave :(  We loaded our cars and headed out within the hour.

As sad as we were to leave, we truly had such a great time the day we were there!  We are going to definitely have a re-do with mom, Troy and Krissy soon!  Thank you mom for making what short time we had there so special!  You have an amazing giving heart and an unconditional love for each of us!!

Our staycation turned out nice but also a bit unexpected.  Big thank you to my dad and Teresa for being so hospitable with no notice :)  We arrived at their house late Sunday evening.  Grammy (Teresa) had gone out and gotten us some yummy Olive Garden.  I could tell they really wanted us to still feel like we were on vacation and trust me, we did!!

Monday morning we rose early and headed to White Water!  We had so much fun and rode nearly every ride in the park!  We made so many memories including riding down 9 story high water slides, eating $10 dipping dots, eating leftover pizza given to us by complete strangers, and enjoying riding the waves in the wave pool!

When we got back home from White Water, we walked into an incredibly yummy dinner made by my dad!!  Of course his lovely assistant did most of the work I think ;) Thank you both for dinner Grammy and Poppy!!  It was like being at a fine dining restaurant but only better!  What a treat!

Tuesday we rose early packed our bags yet again and headed out.  Destination Stone Mountain!  We arrived around lunch time and I'm not sure which of us, Jason or I, had the wise idea to climb the mountain in 90 degree weather.  The kids were not too excited about it but once we bribed them (with dipping dots at the top followed by a riding the sky ride back down the mountain) they jumped on board with the idea!!

So up we headed!!!

The hike up was fun!!  Lots of silliness along with lots of water drinking!

Finally we made it to the top!!!

You think we'd be happy right?  Remember the title of this post, not what we expected...yeah well same applies here!  We got to the top only to find out the the shops were closed and the sky ride was closed.  The winds were so high, they were unable to open.  Ok so here's where the day went south.  The kids were devastated and exhausted!  I too became so upset.  Couldn't anything go right?  Ok God, you don't want us at the beach and obviously you don't want us riding down Stone Mountain.  Really by this point I was angry.  I'm not sure if I was angry at God or just plain exhausted.  As we walked down the mountain, I honestly had to walk it about 20 feet behind everyone.  I could barely take my mental complaining much less the children and their very out loud complaining.

The unexpected walk back down the mountain!!

I talked to God the whole way down.  Trying hard to get myself out of this funk.  That's when I realized how much each of us really needed to be home.  We needed our own beds, no more car rides, some much needed TV veg time and some quiet.  We were all so tired from all of the going!  We ran a good race but God was telling us to go home.  Although the kids seemed upset to suddenly leave Stone Mountain, after a few minutes they all seemed fine with it.  We have season passes and decided as a family once again that another day would be best to come back.

The drive home was quiet.  We pulled in the driveway, unloaded the van as a team and literally crashed.  My eyes closed the moment I hit the pillow.  I was one tired mommy!

Jason and I rose early the next morning to have a nice quiet breakfast at Waffle house together.  

We took our bibles and sat quietly and reflected on our week with God.  Speaking for myself, I took away a lot from this trip.  God taught me an important lesson.  Although our beach trip was not what we expected nor was our staycation, I'm choosing to focus on our fun times we did have.  I'm choosing to thank God for the precious memories we were able to make.  What a wonderful 24 hours of beach with mom, Troy and Krissy!  Incredible unexpected time with Dad and Teresa and being spoiled rotten by them!  An Awesome day in the sun at White Water with tummy taking thriller rides!  And an unforgettable hike up (and down) Stone Mountain that I am quite sure the kids will never forget!!!

Beach Trip 2012 = A success (with some added bonuses)

My first summer at home!

Wow, been a while since my last post!  With the end of school and beginning of summer, I haven't had much time to blog.  Which brings me to this blog :)  My first summer at home....


We are two weeks into our very first summer at home together.  The first week was rough.  I thought to myself there is no way I can do this!  I mean 24/7 I am with children.  I know what your thinking...I had them so I should raise them right?  Well yes, and had I had the last 12 years of practice, I don't think this learning curve would be here right now.  But I haven't.  I've had to work....financially that is.  Still probably financially speaking I need to, but that's where God's plan comes first.  


We are now just finishing week 2 and I'm feeling much better.  I've had to take the focus off of me and onto them and others.  I've had to remind myself that I'm not living this life for me but rather for God.  I'm grateful for this opportunity and I need to show it.  We've gotten ourselves into a great routine and I'm for the first time ever learning how to love being at home.  I've always been the type to go, go, go.  I've always been the type to put my needs over others including my children.  Being still and at home has never been my gift.  I'm learning however that with prayer and practice, it can be.  My children long for home.  They don't want to go everywhere all the time.  Most importantly they don't need to go everywhere all the time!  


I'm learning a balance of life for all of us.  Free time each day is until 10am.  The kids watch TV, play video games, eat breakfast and get ready for the day.  Mine includes a little sleep without an alarm, quiet time with God, breakfast and morning coke :) Daytime chores surprisingly are done without arguing and complaining complimented by fun times afterwards.  TV is off from 10-5 everyday.  Fun times include board games, pool time, riding bikes, playing with friends (the list goes on and on).  All the while because chores are done and the house is tidy, I enjoy it with them!  Sometimes, depending on the day, we have to pick up chores again in the middle of the day.  Each of my children has learned how to use the washing machine, dryer, vacuum, dishwasher, duster, lawnmower and blower.  Some days of the week we have "big chores" that require more attention than just 30 min.  They've learned I'm not a drill sergeant but instead we are a family and working as team is better than hearing one person scream out orders :)  We had a day of each and they chose which mommy they preferred :)  5pm hits and typically we have dinner followed by evening practices.  Pierson swims and Reagan and Parker are trying out for soccer.  This occurs usually 3 days a week and by the time we get home its about 7.  Just in time for baths, a snack and downtime before lights out.


Of course not all our days are perfect...often we have dr appts and or a few errands to run.  But typically speaking our days run pretty smoothly.  I pray each morning for God to grant me patience and to keep my eyes focused on him.  To keep my eyes focused on loving my children and loving others!  Everyday I also thank God for such an incredible supportive husband!  He not only loves our family so unconditionally but fully supports me both financially and emotionally.  He gives me my me time and everyday makes sure we have our time together as well!  He makes me feel so special and complete!  Thank you Jason for being the man you are!!!

Our big trip....

I grew up in a small town surrounded by tons of family. St. Joseph Missouri was my home until I was in about the 4th grade. I was fortunate to live in the same town as most of my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. My memories are fond with so many precious family fun times. Family gatherings were a norm and a huge crowd as well. I remember the day clearly, my dad came home and said we were moving to Georgia. He had gotten a new job and life from then on would be very different. Different in mostly many good ways! With the exception of one thing...leaving our family. We packed up and began our new life in Georgia and over the years, we've created new family gatherings and traditions. Don't get me wrong, life is and always has been great and I love our family and what my parents have given us. They've done their best to give us a great family life. But nothing can replace the feeling of gathering with all of your extended family. Yes, over the years, I have visited every few years or so, but missing them is something I've grown to deal with. A few weeks ago, my grandmother was moved to a nursing home in St. Joseph. My heart hurt and my mind started racing. I really wanted to see her while she was still alive and wanted my children to see her again as well as my roots and stomping grounds. That's when the thought first entered my head. What if I packed up the kids, loaded down the van and headed off to make the 14 hour drive alone back to St. Joseph! Jason would not be able to take off from work so if I were to do it, it would be an adventure I would have to do on my own. I went back and forth with the idea and then one night, I met with a friend for a late dinner and ran the idea by her. She told me about one of her greatest memories and that was one in which her mom took her and her siblings on a road trip alone. She said she would never forget that trip. It was then that I knew I was up for the journey! Honestly it was a mindset. I was on a mission to create memories and have fun! The kids were super excited to go and meet all of my family...their family! I spent over a week preparing for the trip. Packing, getting food, checking and rechecking my checklist, downloading movies, and most importantly praying. I prayed that I would not lose my patience and that the kids would get along as well as for God to put his arms around us and keep us safe. Jason and I sat down with the kids the night before and went over the ground rules. It went well and they all signed their lives away! We packed up the van and headed out at 4pm on a Saturday night.

 My goal was to drive to Nashville that first night and spend the night in a hotel. We stopped in Chattanooga for a root beer float and to take a few pictures and then back on the road we headed.

 The kids watched a couple of movies, played some games and listened to music. We made it to Nashville and now time to find a hotel. My stepmom was my land link helping me along my route. She called with bad news. Unfortunately there was a huge event in Nashville and there were NO hotels anywhere near there. Okay Angela, this is a part of the adventure. Panic hit me for a brief moment but then I looked in the rearview mirror and realized I had no reason to panic. The kids were fine. I would just keep driving for a while. I would eventually find somewhere to stay. Meanwhile Grammy (my stepmom) was on the phone still searching. About an hour and a half past Nashville, she called to say she had found a place. It was a MainStay Hotel. That didn't sound too appealing but sleep did! As we pulled into the hotel around 10pm, I was pleasantly surprised! We checked in and went into our room. Wow!!!! It was a beautiful suite! Probaly one of the nicest places I have ever stayed. Indoor pool and jacuzzi too! Grammy was my savior! The kids put on their suits and we headed down to the swimming pool! What a wonderful night and a memory we will never forget!

 The next day we woke early and hit the road. We had ahead of us a 6 hour drive to Columbia Missouri where we would go to my Aunt and Uncle's house to stay for the night. The ride was awesome! The kids never fought and really enjoyed themselves in the van. They watched 2 more movies and we also stopped for a great lunch at a McDonalds with a playland. We played for about an hour before hitting the road again. We arrived in Columbia around 4pm. My uncle made us a great homecooked meal and my cousin and his wife and their baby also came over. The kids stood around while their uncle jammed it out on the drums!  It was a beautiful day! The kids played football in the frontyard as we sat and visited for hours. We settled down in our beds and were ready to get up early the next morning to finish the drive to St. Joseph.

 We rose at 8am and hit the road. We made it to St. Joseph by 11am!!! We headed straight to the donut shop! Golden Glaze Donuts! I grew up on these donuts! The best on the planet! The kids agreed!

 After making that crucial pitstop, we then headed to our hotel to check in. We decided to stay in a hotel so that the kids would have an indoor pool and we would have our own space. We loved the hotel and had an incredible stay there! Our time in St.Joseph was filled with so many precious memories! Each night we were pampered with a homecooked meal by different Aunts, Uncles, cousins, and friends! My children couldn't believe how much family they had! The first night we were spoiled with an incredible meal by my childhood friends and their family.  We love the Goodwins!!

The second night we were there, we got to visit with my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents on my mom's side of the family.  It was so much fun and the kids and I were spoiled rotten with tons of great food and lots of playing with cousins!  As we sat and shared stories and watched our children play like we used to play, I was overwhelmed with gratitude.  No I don't live near them, but even distance doesn't keep us apart.  It was as if no years had really past.  Family just picks up where it left off.  Thank you to the Deatherage family for opening your home and making such a great memory with us!

The third night we were there, we drove down to my cousin and his wife's house for a good ole cookout! My dad was able to fly up midweek and enjoy some of our family time and also to help me with the drive home.  It was so great getting to see family with him!  The Barton family (my dad's sisters family) was so welcoming and we really enjoyed our visit.  We crammed food in our mouths as we watched out the front door at our children playing a pick-up game of basketball all while goo-gooing over our new baby cousin Scott Basil!

On our last night there, we invited some of my dad's side of the family down to the hotel to go for a swim and eat pizza!  It was just like old times, kids playing, people teasing each other, telling old stories, learning new ones and just loving one another!  One of my cousin's Melissa whom I grew up closest to, who now lives in Kansas City was able to drive up and spend the day as well!  Love, Love our time together!  She sipped on a beer and I a virgin Strawberry daiquiri as we watched the kiddies splash in the pool!

We also did some fun adventures while we were there. We went to my childhood park I grew up playing on, visited the Missouri river, went to a mueseum, played at the local arcade center, ate tenderloin sandwhiches and the biggest ice cream cones known to man, dined at the best taco shop on the planet and each day treated ourselves to Golden Glaze Donuts!!!  

Another special treat was the kids visiting my grandpa Leo and Grandma Eunice out at their pond house.  The kids got to experience exactly what I did as a kid.  Jumping on the trampoline, drinking pop and going for boat rides in the boat!  And although Grandpa clearly went over the rules, we know with the Bewley boys how that goes.  Within the first five minutes of being out in the boat (mind you they were alone in the boat just the two of the boys) they were standing in it rocking back and forth and managed to drop the paddle in the pond out of the boat!  Oh my!  That's my boys!

Last but certainly not least the reason for which we went!  To visit my grandma Janice otherwise known as GG!  She was recently moved to a nursing home and so once we picked up dad from the airport we bee lined it to visit with her.  I know this was very difficult for my dad to see.  Who ever wants to think about the day our parents get so bad they have to be placed somewhere.  Honestly though it was quite a pleasant visit.  She has a beautiful private room with a lovely view outside.  She's getting everything she needs there along with therapy twice a day to help her walk.  As we arrived, she lit up when she saw us.  The kids and I hugged her and visited for a while.  Until we all got sucked in to a game show she was watching on television.  FYI, my grandmother is addicted to game shows on tv.  As a matter of fact, when she comes to visit we often hide the remote from her just so we don't have to watch it.  But on this day it was different.  We cherished the moment!  

The next day we returned to try to get her out for a bit.  Really uncertain how that would go, we were pleasantly surprised!  That day, it was as though the old GG had come back.  She was alert and engaging all day.  We took her back to our hotel and ate lunch by the pool then headed up to our room.  Just as one of her favorite things to do is watch tv game shows, she also loves to play them.  So we laid on the hotel bed for quite a while playing computer games.  Just like old times!

This visit with Grandma was priceless.  She will have good days, she will have bad days, and one day she will have no days left...but I will forever have these days to remember in my heart!  What precious time together!  I love you GG!!

I know this was a lot to read but my hope is to inspire all of you mom's to create memories with your children!  Take risks to go on trips alone or adventures here at home together.  This trip was AHHHMAZING!!!  It is one that I nor my kids will ever forget.  Thank you to my wonderful husband for supporting me in this journey and for that great friend (Sharon Brooks) for inspiring me to go!  I am a strong woman and not afraid to live life to the fullest (kids and all)!!!