Way Up High in the Sky

Hello Blogger Buddies. I'm so sorry for my overdue absence. The past few weeks have been anything but good.

I spent the last week of January and the first week and a half of February preparing for a Trade Show that we have in Orlando every year. I was excited to go b/c it's kinda like my little project, but it would be the first time that I had left Josh with both kids. He's a super dad -and I mean really SUPER, but a mom still worries about these kind of things.

Well, I left really early on Monday morning 2 weeks ago and had the worst luck getting to Orlando. First I was stuck in traffic so I decided to take Marta in hopes that I'd get there faster - that was a mistake. Traffic cleared just past the station, and Marta took over 60 minutes! Needless to say, I missed my flight and had to wait over 3 hours for the next available flight.

Once I got to Orlando, I was busy from sun up to way past sun set. Monday and Tuesday were 14-15 hour days -and I was pooped before the show even started on Wednesday. But on Tuesday night, at about 11:30, I was feeling really uneasy. I had talked to Josh, checked on the kids, finished my work...but something was bothering me. I finally got out of bed and just started praying. Now, I pray every night, but that night it was different. Something, or someone, was demanding that I pray in that hotel room. I can't even remember what I prayed for, but I do remember one thing. I prayed over and over again for my grandmother and my mom. My mom's had some struggles recently with her health so I just felt like she needed it. And even though my Grandmother was fine, she was 87 years old and I just felt like I needed to be praying for her. I remember clearly praying that God would be with her and that she still turned to Him for comfort. I prayed that He'd keep her safe that night and always.

The next morning, my brother called me at 8:00 and told me that my Granny had passed in her sleep the night before. I've never felt my heart sink as low as it did that morning. I still can't believe that she's not here with us now. But I've found comfort in knowing that somehow God was telling me that she was going to be alright and that He would answer my prayer and keep her safe always.

I left that morning to come home and be with family, and we buried my dear Granny the following Saturday. The following Wednesday she turned 88 at Home with her Father. What a way to celebrate turning 88!!!! I'm sure the super she had with Him was much better than the lunch we had planned for the following weekend!

In the midst of all of this, Josh and I have had the flu and both kids have had viruses and ear infections. We were quarantined all week last week! It's been no fun at our house. But we've been spending time together and enjoying each other - so it's a blessing in disguise.

Olivia - my dear sweet angel - talks about Granny every night. She knows that her Granny went "Way up High in the Sky" to see God and Jesus and her Big Mama (Josh's Grandma who we lost in November). She still asks when she can see Granny again, and asks to see God every day. I never thought it would be so hard to explain such things to a 2 year old. We finally satisfied her desire to talk to God by calling him on the phone. He talked to Livi for quite some time...and strange thing is...God sounds a lot like my dad!

Our family has really pulled together during all of this. My grandmother lived for Sundays b/c she cooked a HUGE lunch for all of her kids, grand kids, great grand kids...and yes 2 great-great grand kids every Sunday without fail. We all gathered at Granny's house after church and visited with aunts, uncles, and cousins. The kids played outside, the adults sat around and talked, and Granny made sure that everyone had eaten before she ever sat down. She was almost 88 years old and she still got down and played with all of her great grand kids. She is a woman like no other! And I'm happy to say, the past two Sundays we've all continued to go to her house and have Sunday Lunch. It's been weird not having her there - but she's left us with a lifetime of love and memories that were made on her front porch and in her kitchen!

We love you so much, Granny. We know you're watching over us, and we can't wait until we're all together again! We love you!!!!!