Mama Moon

This week, we received one of the greatest blessings that we could ever imagine.

My grandma Simone, who is 90 years old, flew here all the way from Oregon so that she could meet her great-grandchildren Jack, Rowan, and Ellie for the first time.  It has been seven long years since my family was all together in Oregon. The last time she saw her great-grandson, Elijah, he was only three years old. We are so incredibly grateful to my aunt Louise and uncle Denny for flying Grandma out to see us.  We were supposed to go to Oregon this past summer, but Jody's Crohn's surgery happened later than we had planned, and then came my tonsils.  We thought we had missed out on a huge opportunity, so we were very thankful when we heard that Grandma was going to try and make it here.  

Our week together went by so incredibly fast, but it is a time that I will never forget.  The boys had a special name for Grandma:  Mama Moon.  Just as anyone else who has ever met my grandma, they loved her!  Every night and every morning, she was one of their first and last words of the day.  We all wished that Grandpa Don could have been here to share in this experience, but we all felt his love and spirit with us.  As Denny pointed out, Rowan gets his love of buttons and anything electronic from Grandpa Don, and this week Rowan was tinkering with anything and everything that he could get his hands on.  I'm quite sure that put a huge smile on Grandpa's face. 

Here are some of my favorite moments from our visit.

The whole family

 

Love my little family

 

Grandma was so happy to finally meet the boys.

 

First time meeting Mama Moon

 

Jack and his nightly reading buddy, Aunt Louise

 

Reading with cousin Elijah

 

Enjoying lunch with Grandma

 

Showing a book to Mama Moon, Aunt Diana, and Uncle Tim

 

Best Buds!  The boys' favorite new name--Uncle Denny!

 

Dancing to Grandpa's song

 

Jack and Ellie brushing their teeth at Grandma's.  We had lots of late nights over the past week, and it was worth every minute of it!

 

Goodbye kisses from Mama Moon

 

So, after this wonderful week, I'm desperately trying not to think about the fact that my sweet family is back on an airplane and flying home.  It hurts my heart to see them go!  We would love, love, love to make it to Oregon this summer, and this time, maybe we'll just make it happen.