Grandma Swoboda died early in the morning on December 3. Margaret Jean Swoboda was Ben's paternal grandmother, and a very special woman. Mattie Jean was named for her. She lived a good life and a good death. A few days before she died she was able to receive the sacraments, including Communion, and she had her children with her at the end. The last time she received Communion, she spoke to the priest as if she was speaking to Jesus and said, "I love you." That story gives us great joy and a tremendous example to live up to. We found out Friday evening that she had passed, so Saturday morning we hopped on a plane with the girls (their first airplane ride) for Cape Girardeau and the funeral.
The trip itself went pretty well. We drove to Hartford, flew to St. Louis, then drove to Cape. Mattie slept the whole time and Celia was infinitely entertained by the planes. While grandma's passing was sad, it was also a wonderful opportunity for the family to gather and for the Missouri family to meet Mattie.
When we arrived at Nanaw and Pawpaw's house, Celia headed straight to where her toys used to be. She settled in there as if we had never left, and Nanaw and Pawpaw reveled in their time with the girls. We had time to sit around and talk about memories of Granma Swoboda and good times in Cairo. Ben shared the story of the last visit he had with Granma in her house before she went into the home while he was on leave from the navy. Everyone had fond memories of her and the sweet person she was.
Everyone was generous, bringing food, and we spent good time with the family. The visitation was Monday night, and we trekked over to Cairo, IL for the viewing and rosary from 4-7. Celia was so good through it all, even though her schedule was in ruin. Mattie slept in the Moby wrap and complained when strangers held her. The funeral was Tuesday morning, and Hannah, Elliott, and Becky sang a song graveside. Afterwards, the community served a lunch and the family spent some time together. Celia handled it all like a champ, although Mattie had a harder time of it. We're discovering that Mattie is a child that dislikes change and strange people more than Celia.
The flights home went very well, but the drive home was hard. The girls were tired and tired of traveling. We stopped for a meal on the drive home, and Celia threw up in the McDonalds before we ordered. She wasn't sick otherwise or after, so it must have just been a slight upset. She even ate quite a bit. We made it, though. Ben had to take a trip the next day and left at 3 am after we got back somewhat late. He was exhausted, as were we all, but we managed to make it through the long weekend and get back into a routine. It was a great trip and a great opportunity to remember a wonderful woman.
Rest in peace, Granma Jean
Showing posts with label Missouri. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Missouri. Show all posts
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Friday, December 25, 2009
Christmas in Missouri
For Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year, we were in Missouri with the Swobodas. We were able to decorate the tree with Cecilia, which was great fun - although she had no clue what was going on. She really just wanted to eat the ornaments.
On Christmas Eve, we went and saw Ben's grandma and introduced her to Cecilia. She kept asking how old she was and what her name was, which was to be expected. However, near the end of the visit, she called her Cecilia, which was wonderful to hear. They got along just beautifully, and we had a happy visit together.
Later in the day we went to see Becky sing at Elliott and Becky's church. Cecilia was pretty god throughout and was adored by all - per usual. That evening we bravely took little Cecilia Jo to midnight mass. It was beautiful this year, and Cecilia slept through the whole thing. Poor baby was really tired, even with a late nap. She was a little fussy the next day from being tired. We're not sure if we'll take her (or another baby) to midnight mass again, but it turned out pretty well and we really enjoyed sharing that mass with her, even if she was sleeping. There's something special about the night-time masses, Midnight Mass and Easter Vigil. Maybe it's the sense of anticipation or maybe it's the quiet. Whatever it is, I love those masses, and hopefully we'll be able to continue to bring our children.
On Christmas morning, we got ourselves up and out of bed, and then Cecilia opened her presents with Mommy, Daddy, Na-naw, and Paw-paw. She really doesn't enjoy wrapping paper as much as we had hoped, but she does like bows. We also opened gifts that were sent from Nebraska. Afterward, we ate Christmas breakfast, Ben's favorite meal of the year. Here are the 6 videos from that morning :).
Later in the day, Uncle Elliott, Aunt Becky, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Ashley came over and we all opened presents together. After the baby was in bed, we hung out and played games (not to say the baby didn't wake up ...). It was a wonderful Christmas with Cecilia. We missed everyone who wasn't there, but we were grateful for the people we did have with us. As Tiny Tim says, "God bless us, everyone!"
On Christmas Eve, we went and saw Ben's grandma and introduced her to Cecilia. She kept asking how old she was and what her name was, which was to be expected. However, near the end of the visit, she called her Cecilia, which was wonderful to hear. They got along just beautifully, and we had a happy visit together.
Later in the day we went to see Becky sing at Elliott and Becky's church. Cecilia was pretty god throughout and was adored by all - per usual. That evening we bravely took little Cecilia Jo to midnight mass. It was beautiful this year, and Cecilia slept through the whole thing. Poor baby was really tired, even with a late nap. She was a little fussy the next day from being tired. We're not sure if we'll take her (or another baby) to midnight mass again, but it turned out pretty well and we really enjoyed sharing that mass with her, even if she was sleeping. There's something special about the night-time masses, Midnight Mass and Easter Vigil. Maybe it's the sense of anticipation or maybe it's the quiet. Whatever it is, I love those masses, and hopefully we'll be able to continue to bring our children.
On Christmas morning, we got ourselves up and out of bed, and then Cecilia opened her presents with Mommy, Daddy, Na-naw, and Paw-paw. She really doesn't enjoy wrapping paper as much as we had hoped, but she does like bows. We also opened gifts that were sent from Nebraska. Afterward, we ate Christmas breakfast, Ben's favorite meal of the year. Here are the 6 videos from that morning :).
Later in the day, Uncle Elliott, Aunt Becky, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Ashley came over and we all opened presents together. After the baby was in bed, we hung out and played games (not to say the baby didn't wake up ...). It was a wonderful Christmas with Cecilia. We missed everyone who wasn't there, but we were grateful for the people we did have with us. As Tiny Tim says, "God bless us, everyone!"
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