Our Special Day of Remembering Nanna

Yesterday was our "Nanna Day"--Our day to remember my dear "Mom-in-Love" and the best Nanna ever.

 

This picture was taken soon after Nanna was diagnosed with Multiple Melanoma--cancer of the blood plasma.  It was the Fall of 2006.

I wish I could explain to you how special Mom was. She was just a really wonderful person. So many people complain about their mothers in law, but I never did. From the very beginning, I have felt so blessed to be a part of her family. God is so good.

My children and I spent the day remembering Nanna yesterday. Not that we don't remember her every day, but we spent yesterday doing special things and eating special foods (foods that she used to make or buy for us on our visits).

We began our day with, what else? Poptarts!

Nanna always had Poptarts there for their breakfast!

We had a quiet morning--just like when we're at Nanna and Pop Pop's house. We watched TV, read books, and did some stuff on the computer.

For lunch, we had another "Nanna staple"--Emilie's favorite Italian bread and WHITE American cheese. Yes, we live in the cheese capital of the world, but we can't get good WHITE American cheese!! So, Mom always had some waiting for us. She was always so thoughtful that way.

We made grilled cheese, (using the closest thing we could get to good white american!), which wasn't as good as Nanna's but still good.

 

For supper the kids requested Chicken Pot Pie. :-) Pop Pop would get a kick out of that! I couldn't get the kind they get, but we found some good little pies that we enjoyed.

For dessert--THREE choices! :-) It couldn't be a Nanna Day without SALTED PEANUT CHEWS. And the kids wanted Italian Water Ice and these icecream things:

I wasn't sure if Nanna always had these Ice Cream cones, or if the kids just wanted them, lol. :-)

My favorite part of the day was after supper.  We spent the evening watching Anastasia, which Nanna played the lead roll in during her college days (in her college play).

Then came the best part of all...

Reading the Nanna's Day Cards! Every month, from the time our kids were six months old until she got sick (our oldest was eight!), Mom would send the kids a card on their special day (the day that corresponded to the date of their birthdays). She did this every month for each of her ten grandchildren...for over 15 years!!

What an amazing woman.

We began reading through her cards and letters, and before we knew it it was 1 am! We shed some tears, laughed a lot, and just had a very special time remembering how special Mom/Nanna was.

Some special memories:

This is one of my favorite pictures! Mom used to read this book to Nathan over and over. In the back of the book, there was a song that she would sing to Nathan. He would hum along. It was so special. Last night I came across one of the Nanna's Day cards that had the words to their song (sung to the tune of Where is Thumbkin):

God, I love You,

God, I love You,

You're my Friend,

You're my Friend,

Please be with my always,

Please be with my always,

A-men.

A-men.

Here's another favorite:

Our kids wearing the sweaters that Nanna knit for them.

 

And this one. She and DH had such a special relationship. 

This was our last Christmas with Mom. Here she is with all of her Granddaughters.

I could go on and on...

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of Mom's passing. She worked hard to fight her cancer, but even with her inner strength, the many prayers she received daily, and her determination to be there for us, she lived only about 2 years after her diagnosis. She died on February 22, 2009.

Mom was such a godly woman, someone I looked up to and love very much. One of the things I miss most about Mom is her prayers for us. She prayed for us every day. And she lived what she believed.

We miss Mom/Nanna so much, but we know that we will see her again. I know that she is with her Savior. The bible promises us that we "do not sorrow as those who have no hope." I know that "we will be with them for longer than we are without."

I can't wait.