Candice and I visited Grandma on 5/3/09, and here's the email I sent to the family: I had brought my baby book full of photos to show her about a week or so prior, but we didn't finish going through it then. So, we looked through it, and she giggled a few times, which was nice to hear. There was a photo of me and Candice in a tub together covered in foam soap. That made Grandma chuckle. She fell asleep for a few minutes and awoke saying, "Where are the pictures?" So, we continued. She really seemed to enjoy it. We talked a little about afterlife, and she said, "God will take care of it." Candice and I felt relieved that she doesn't seem fearful of passing. She believes she will see Grandpa in Heaven. She said, "Nobody really knows what's going to happen until you get there. I hope I was good enough to get in." Candice and I had to giggle and told her that we're SURE she was good enough. It was a cute moment. We said, "It's all about faith, right?" and she agreed. At one point, Candice raised her bed up and later back down and said she felt like Grandma was on a roller coaster, so I chimed in and asked if she'd ever been on one. She said she had and that she liked it. She said, "That was when I was young and foolish." How adorable is she! Grandma said she had a "good childhood." Her parents were born in Farmersville, TX. Her mom's mom, Grandma Smith, frighteningly caught fire and burned to death. Grandma's mother told her that she took her first train ride at 23 days old to go to Grandma Smith's funeral. Her mom's dad was an alcoholic, and they didn't see him. On a MUCH lighter note, one of her favorite foods is steak. She doesn't have a favorite season because she likes the change in weather. Her favorite vacations were to Hawaii and Alaska (cruise). She's actually been to ALL of the Hawaiian islands. I asked the best thing about having kids. She said, "They take good care of me when I'm old." We had to giggle. I said, "That's now. What about when you were younger?" She said, "Nothing takes the place of having kids." She said, "Ronny is the baby. I SURE don't know what I'd do without him now." It was a very tender moment that pulled at our heart strings. She added, "Jamee probably feels that way too." I told her that Grandpa once told me that the secret to a happy marriage is, "She's always right." I asked her opinion. She said, "We loved each other tremendously, and we let each other have their way." We expressed that we've always looked up to them and their happy 60 years of marriage. She said that she's "lived a long happy life." I asked her favorite thing about Grandpa, and she said, "He loved me."
