Grandma Norr---10 Years

(I have always loved this picture although she didn't it reminds me of the "healthier" her that I miss so much)

Sunday marked the 10 year anniversary of my Grandma Norr passing away. I was realizing that I don't think I have ever blogged about her and I want to write down several of the memories I have with her so that generations to come will know what an amazing women she was. When my parents told my grandma they were pregnant one of the 1st things out of her mouth was that she was not the built in babysitter and wouldn't be expected to babysit every weekend. But when I was born that all changed and she quickly ate her words and couldn't get my parents to leave me or the rest of my siblings(as they came along) enough. I remember countless weekends spent at her house whether my parents were home or not. She would always get up early and make the most delicious scrambled eggs and toast that I still to this day can't replicate. Our stays with grandma also included board games, puzzles, and tea parties. My grandma's health was never great as long as I can remember but she always tried to be involved in our lives. My grandpa made her a board to put on her lap so she could play games or do puzzles with us. We would play monopoly and tiddly winks. She always had space on her lap for another kid to read the story to and to this day I treasure the stories I relieved when she passed away. I like to look at them some of them still smell like her house and it warms my heart to see her handwriting in them. They also had a small table and chairs that sat on their back covered patio where she would serve us tea and crackers aka caffeine free diet pepsi and saltine crackers and cheese or graham crackers and frosting. She had a nice glass tea set she let us use and never acted worried that we might brake something. Much like her tea set her jewelry drawers in the bathroom were free game as well we would dress ourselves in her silk nightgowns held up with hair elastics and covered in jewelry to prepare ourselves for our "wedding" in the backyard. Grandpa would drape a tarp over their bench swing  and we would use artificial flowers to decorate the space. Our cousins next door would come over and join the party it was a ton of fun. We would spend hours playing office at the role top desk complete with endless pens, paper, and a 10 key calculator. When we would go to stay in our bedroom was complete with rainbow sheets and a music box that lit up. The days my mom worked were always the days we got sick or not feeling well. We knew we could call grandma and her and grandpa would come get us. When they did it was always complete with grandma's purse that included a pill bottle full of water and some kind of snack usually grapes or a small sandwich made of crackers and bread. Every fall we would go up Black Smith Fork Canyon for the deer hunt. All of our distant cousins would come. We spent a lot of time around the fire, playing in the dirt, riding horses, hiking, reading stories and cooking in grandmas trailer. For Christmas I remember waking up and waiting patiently while we waited for grandma and grandpa to get there so we could open our presents. Grandma always brought breakfast...breakfast casserole that is. We stopped at their house every Sunday after church grandma would have dinner and grandpa always made home made bread for us to enjoy. She always took us shopping for dresses at a place called Mini World they had beautiful elaborate dresses that made you feel like a princess. For birthdays we all got gifts not just the birthday girl. I always felt like she went the extra mile to make us feel special and loved. I remember when her health was not at a point she could come to my high school graduation I was so sad. She sat down with me and explained that there would probably be many things in the future she would miss but I should always know that she would be thinking of me and with me in my heart watching over me. She explained that before I would have kids that she would be rocking, singing to, and loving on my babies. Saturday night Hallie asked if any of her great grandmas were alive. I explained that her great grandmas were grandma Sheryl's and Papa's moms. She thought it was so funny that grandma's need a mom. I did my best to explain to her that no matter how old you are you need your mom. I explained to her that she was named after grandma Norr  whose middle name was Mae. She thought that was really cool but then asked why we had named her after her. My mind wandered for a minute so many memories and good times to try to explain to her. So much goodness and love in one person that I can only hope that she finds in herself someday. I told her some funny and silly stories. She asked what we did for fun and if she would like her. I assured her that she would have loved her she was the best grandma ever. Im very proud to have named Hallie after my grandma Norr I have so many great memories of her and the person she was. I can't wait to someday introduce my kids to my grandma with out all of her worldly health problems. She always was more worried about others than herself. Even when she was so close to passing away she waited until everyone had fallen asleep before she finally went. She was so loving, caring, giving(sometimes almost to a fault), I never heard her talk badly about anyone, and always tried her best to be there and involved in our lives.  I truly feel her presence in my life and often go to pick up the phone to realize she is no longer there to talk to. I feel so blessed in my life to have known her and have spent the time I did with her.