So Grateful!

Mother's Day is coming up and I am so grateful I was able to spend last weekend amongst some really fantastic mothers. Specifically, I am talking about my mom and my grandma Birdie. The reason for my visit home to CA is that my dear grandma Birdie's cancer came back at the beginning of the year and is spreading quickly. I really wanted to see her, and really wanted her to meet miss Sadie Jewel. There is a little family history behind Sadie's name; My grandma's name is Roberta Jewell, and she was named after Auntie Vi (Viola Jewell). It was so neat to see grandma light up when she saw Sadie.

Grandma is always smiling, and the things that made her smile the most were the simple things, flowers, nature, her family. She never fussed much over material things. My dad said grandma Birdie could always make something out of nothing. And a lot of times she had to! My grandma had 6 children, my dad being the youngest. When my dad was just barely 2 his dad Al died, leaving grandma to take care of a family and brand new house they had lived in together only one month.

Grandma said she cried a lot, most every night. Finally one night she put her fists together looked up to heaven and yelled "Al, you took the easy way out!!!" And then she never cried again, and did what she had to do, take care her family alone.

Grandma has always been very passionate about education. Maybe because she discovered the importance of it first hand with having to be the sole provider for her family. She was very smart and very educated.

Grandma would come over to our house every Wednesday and she would do the payroll for my dad's employee's. In the summer I remember always asking to wash her car and she'd pay me $10 :).

Whenever we'd pull up to grandma's house we could count on her being in her garden, planting, pruning, water, or just checking on her flowers/fruit/veggies.

Grandma will be missed so much. She had so many trials and yet always had a positive attitude. I wish so badly I knew more about her and her life. I would love to sit down and hear all about what she did and how she kept up with her 6 kiddos. I have a feeling she'd say "just smile" cause that seems to be a lot of what she is doing now as she faces her final trial; cancer.

I am grateful for the example grandma is to me. I am grateful for my mom, and I am grateful I can be a mom. A lot of times being a mom in and of itself is a trial. I am going to try and smile more!

This picture of my mom and her family was sitting in my parents living room. It was a picture from my Grandma Carol's house; my grandma Carol died January 2010. My mom is in the red, isn't she adorable! I just thought it was a cute picture so I took a picture of it. My grandma Carol's hair was cracking me up. I love vintage pictures!

I have so many special women in my life; both grandmas, my mom, and now Ryan's mom and grandma's as well. I am grateful for them all!