I've taken a little break from my blog. Not consciously, but I go in phases. This past month has been a really hard month emotionally for me. On October 25, my grandma passed away. She was old, and we knew we would be getting that call "some day", but never really thought that some day would come, if that makes sense. She didn't have anything life threatening going on, but was in the hospital awaiting a fairly common surgery. It was a shock because we weren't expecting it, as she hadn't been sick or on her death bed or anything like that. I feel so blessed because I spoke with her just the previous week when she called ME. It was the second time within about 2 months that she called me, which is so unusual for her. She doesn't like to spend her own $ on phone calls, so waits for the rest of us to call her. She was bored though, and wanted to hear my voice. Because of that, I was able to talk to her right before she died, and I have no regrets. I know I would have if she hadn't called me, because I probably wouldn't have called her until Thanksgiving, I am so bad about calling people. My friends can attest to that! That Sunday morning, I got a call at 7AM on the dot (6AM his time) and it said dad on my caller ID. I knew immediately that it was about grandma. Dad doesn't call me often unless it's about something specific, Mom will call just to chat and then hand the phone to dad. I knew Grandma had died before I even said hello. They chose not to do an autopsy, so we will never know for sure, but I think her heart just gave out on her. Everyone that was there and had talked to her said she was sound chipper and happy, and I got the same impression when I talked to her the week before. I guess it was time for her to go be with her Lord and her husband. I grew up near my maternal grandparent's, and so was very close to grandma. She will be missed by many.

I flew to Bend solo to attend the funeral in Bend. She had a memorial service in Utah for all the family there so they wouldn't have to travel, and then they flew her body to Bend to be buried next to my Grandpa. I flew in on Friday and came back home the following Tuesday. It was a nice service, and I was so blessed to see many dear ones I haven't seen in ages. I stayed with LaRonda and Joe for a couple of nights, and it was so wonderful to spend time with them again. I missed LaRonda so much! She was such a big part of my teen and young adult life, and I just feel so blessed to reconnect. It is like coming home. It was also nice to spend time with my parents, despite the circumstances. Mom held up really well. When I get my pics uploaded, I will post some under this post.