Celebrating Grandma

I feel so incredibly blessed that I have such a wonderful grandma.  I will miss her so much, but I'm so grateful I could fly home to be with my family as we celebrate her life.  Most people who think of my grandma think of the hospital where she and Grandpa volunteered for years and years.  I loved being a junior volunteer with them when I was young.

Speaking of young.... here's the young crowd at Grandma's viewing: Emily, Megan, Tyler and Cade

The Cowles Clan

Wendell, Michelle, Kallie and Mark

I got to meet my cute nephew Nicholas for the first time. Cutest baby ever, except mine of course.

My great sister and brothers

Grandma's funeral was at the church that she and Grandpa worked to build.

The Bradys:  Heather, Dan, Tyler, Megan, me, Emily, Mom, Michelle, Taycina, Wendell, Nicholas and Jeff

The Riches

So grateful for my mom and sister

All of the Cowles cousins.  

Back row:  Mark, Melissa, Casey, Ginney, Sarah, Josh (in the picture), Craig, Danny, Jeff, Lance and Jason

Front row:  Kathy, Amber, Andrea, Dallin, Darby, Erin, me and Michelle.

I LOVE this picture.  It is a very rare occasion when we are all together.  These are some amazing people.

I got to visit my angel's grave.  I feel so blessed I got to be home, be with my family and know that families are forever.  Feeling so grateful.

Grandma Grace

You hear on the news all the time of rich and famous people dying.  Most of the world will never meet my grandma, but her influence on those who loved her is far greater than the influence of some known throughout the world.  My grandma died today, and it has left such a sore in my soul.  I loved everything about my grandma.  I loved it when she held my babies for the first time.  In this picture she is holding James.

 I loved her love of traveling.  I remember when she and Grandpa were always cruising somewhere.  I loved that she came to see me in Long Beach for her birthday in 2008 and we went to see Wicked with my mom and Aunt Margaret.

 And of course Disneyland.

Hope's blessing and Hope at Christmas

This is the last time I saw Grandma.  A few weeks after this picture was taken, we moved to Australia.  I didn't know then that it would be the last time I was with her.  

My grandma was the kind of grandma every child should have and the kind of grandma every child wished they had.  I can't imagine a world without my grandma or without Sundays at Grandma's house.  As deep as our loss, how great is my joy for my Katie who gets to have her grandma.  Until we meet again, Grandma.  I love you so much!!!

Go Grammar

 Even though mornings in Canberra are getting very COLD, I still brought the cheerleaders out to watch James play rugby today.

 It was an exciting game. James made his first touch down! Except it's not called a touch down, it's a try.  There he is running into the end zone, except I'm pretty sure they don't call it that either.

 Faith used the Bible Spencer got at school as a hymn book and sang a lot of the game away.

 I had a jacket for Hope, but she refuses to wear it and takes it off.

 Getting ready to scrum. Not sure what that is or why they do it.

James did awesome. Besides his try, he had a lot of great tackles. His coach said he tackles like a demon.

Down on the Farm

 Big things are happening at Faith's preschool today with her first ever field trip (they call it an excursion).  Here they are all lined up and waiting for the bus in the foyer of their school.

 I've never seen the kind of yellow school bus we have in the States in Canberra.  The school buses here are just regular old city buses and at the top where it displays the buses' route, it will say "school bus."  

 Faith is so funny. Even though Hope and I were on the bus with her, she had no clue.  She just hopped right on to sit in the front seat and didn't care who she sat by.  

 This farm is so cute for the kids.  They got to go in the pens and brush the animals.  Here they are with a donkey.

 This is one patient miniature pony.  I don't think I could handle that many four-year-olds brushing my hair and decorating me with flowers.

 Feeding the chickens

 They got to feed the sheep a piece of bread.

 A break for morning tea (snack)

 Feeding the baby lamb

 and calf (Faith says coff, just like an Aussie)

 Holding guinea pigs...

 and bunnies

 I thought this was so funny.  They marched the kids into a pen with a cow. Right in the middle of the pen was the world's largest pile of poop.  Odds are that one of them will step in it.  Odds are right; glad it wasn't my girls.

 While the lady was showing them how to milk a cow, Faith told her she didn't want to milk the black cow, she wanted to milk the beautiful golden cow next door.  She's not racist or anything.

 The beautiful jersey cow next door.

They got to chuck bread at the pig.

 And throw peas to the turkeys.

 What a fun day with my girls.