Fall Break, Grandma Head, Apples

Fall break didn't turn out quite like we expected. Our drive on Thursday was completely normal, and we had a nice stop at lunch. Friday, we left for Victor to see the grandparents. We got lunch on the way and planned to see Grandma Head one last time since we knew she wasn't doing well and had been in a lot of pain (or sleeping.) When we were about 30 minutes away, we got the call that Grandma had passed away.

James and I went in to see her. She lay peacefully in her bed as if she were sleeping. Everyone in the house was feeling pretty emotional, but the dim lighting gave a sense of calm at the same time. We didn't stay too long (and the kids were outside the whole time), but I'm glad we could see her. We went kayaking for a bit and then went back to Rexburg. Being on the water was soothing, but I still struggled a lot the next few days. I didn't sleep well and had either a headache or stomachache until we left on Monday.

We did have some fun moments. We visited the gardens on the BYU-I campus where James and I got engaged and had ice cream with Grandma and Grandpa Lee on Saturday. Everyone came for dinner on Sunday. The kids adore their cousins, and I'm grateful for that.

Monday, we got home around 5 P.M. I've been super busy for the past few days with laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, parent-teacher conferences for 3 kids, and processing apples from my in-laws. I've made 15 trays of dehydrated apples and canned 6 quarts of apple sauce. We still have more apples to dry next week and a drawer full for snacking.

So we're leaving tomorrow for a quick trip to Rexburg for Grandma's funeral, which is on Saturday. We'll come back Sunday. I left our church stuff there, so I'm hoping the packing today will be light compared to our last trip. I'm a little worried about my emotional state this weekend, and it's also going to get cold and possibly snowy, but I've made it through this before and I'll do it again. I'm grateful for eternal families.