2 wonderful klassens.

on thursday next week it will be one year since life without grandma

i miss her so incredibly much

this year has been without her, physically

but she has left such an impact on my life

and I think on the lives of everyone in our family

we had a klassen birthday party last weekend

and we talked about grandma, and grandpa

my auntie had brought some old photo albums to give to everyone

and this was one of the pictures in my album

which made me think of both of them all that much more

we were showing the pictures to everett

pointing people out and telling him who they were

he seemed quite confused when we showed him a picture of daddy & auntie.. where we were both little kids. he said "auntie??" and "daddy??" looking at us like, really??

but the thing that stood out for me was that without any prompting

Ev kept pointing at my grandpa saying "poppa!" (what he calls my dad)

it made me smile because Ev never knew grandpa, yet he knows grandpas character

through my dad

just like my grandpa, my dad is a hard worker. with a gracious spirit

quiet strength and a LOT of patience

just like my dad, my grandpa could do anything

and always encouraged us that we can be anything

before grandpa died he asked us to do 2 things as a family

1. take care of grandma

2. stay united as a family

so much to learn from grandpa

this weekend the klassen boys are going on their annual "klassen canoe trip" although, they won't be canoeing much this weekend, since it's so cold. but they will be camping together, spending time, united, as a family. i think grandpa would be so proud

grandma has been very present in my life this year

in showing me how to live graciously

and to be a hard worker, servant hearted

and to know how to laugh easily.

i miss so much about her.

i am so thankful that they are both happy & strong in heaven

cancer free!

but I still wish they were here.