Grandma Dee Dee Cont...

Our wedding day, March 18, 1993 Grandma Emmy and Grandma Dee Dee are on the far right.

Gingerbread Cookies

Grandmother, Children’s Songbook pg 200

You give me a kiss. You give me a hug. You smile when you see me too.

You read me a book. You (play) me a song. You whisper you love me too.

I wish every child in the whole wide world had a grandmother just like you.

Grandma Dee Dee was a natural at being a grandmother. She never forgot a birthday—we could always expect a card with a little spending money inside. For Christmas she handed out marshmallow Santa’s attached to an envelope holding a crisp new dollar bill. During the holidays she made the very best gingerbread cookies ever! I looked forward to them every year. The thing I remember most was Grandma Dee Dee coming to all our special family gatherings—performances, baby blessings, baptisms, and Sunday dinners to name a few. I remember having Grandma Emmy and Grandma Dee Dee over for birthday and Sunday dinners at our house. After the meal Grandma Emmy and my Dad would sit at the table and talk politics while Grandma Dee Dee would sit in the living room and talk with us kids or play the piano while we sang along. I always felt so lucky to have an extra grandmother!

The Blessings of Service

Mosiah 2:17

And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

As Grandma Dee Dee entered her mid-80’s her eyes began to fail and she could no longer drive. I had the opportunity to take her grocery shopping once a week for about a year. I was happy to help but nervous about having to take a 1 and 3 year old during nap time. We went every Monday afternoon after I dropped off my oldest son to Kindergarten. It turned out to be a time the kids and I looked forward to every week. My two little ones loved seeing their Great-Grandma Dee Dee and I was pleasantly surprised that they handled missing their naps pretty well. I think Grandma enjoyed seeing them just as much as they enjoyed seeing her. I enjoyed getting to know Grandma better and appreciated our one-on-one time each week. Shortly after I began taking Grandma shopping, Kevin lost his job. Money was tight but we were blessed as I would take Grandma shopping I’d also shop for just the necessities for our family and somehow always had the money to cover what we needed. I am so grateful for that extra time I was given with Grandma Dee Dee each Monday. What a wonderful blessing it was.