A princess with angel wings....

We are coming off of a highly emotional and exhausting week here in the Barr household.  Last weekend, we headed up North to Michael's family reunion.  It is an annual event, one which we have not been able to be at for the past several years.  We loaded up the girls, hit the road, and had a great time seeing all of the family we so rarely see.  Michael's grandmother had been in the hospital since the beginning of July but had finally been released to a nursing home to do rehab...gaining strength back to walk and do all of the other daily things that so many weeks laying in a bed had left her struggling to do as she once had.  We went and visited her Saturday along with several other family members...so many of us were in from out of town.  We decided to go back Sunday morning before the reunion to have her to ourselves for awhile.  Bless her heart, she was full of questions on the house updates we are doing, on how the baby was doing, on how Michael was liking his job, how Gracie was liking 1st grade, and how Michaela was enjoying preschool and speech school.  It was a precious time of catching up.  We went to the reunion and decided last minute to stop back by on our way out of town to give her one more hug.  Thank God that we did.  She was looking great and acted as though she was feeling just fine.  After one more hug and a promise that we would send her pictures of the house updates we headed toward Springfield.

In Clinton we stopped at McDonald's to eat where we received a phone call that she had collapsed and passed away....just like that.  It was nothing short of a sucker punch.  We had the girls with us so we headed on home for the night, turned back around and headed back the next morning.

Glenda Kay was one of the most special ladies I have ever known....so very kind and generous, and genuinely interested in what was going on in the lives of those she loved.  She and Grandpa Bill have always made an effort to make the road trip to visit us several times a year, and oh my goodness, how she loved the girls.

This has been Gracie and Michaela's first experience with death of a loved one that they were really old enough to understand so our week has been full of showing them how we "do not grieve like those without hope."  Rather, we have grieved, knowing Glenda Kay is now with Jesus, and "better is one day in His courts, than thousands elsewhere."  When we went to the funeral home the morning of the visitation to have the viewing I wasn't sure how the girls would react.  As everyone cried, both of my girls wanted to go to another room so we sat in the hall for awhile.  They did eventually go up to look at her; although, we told them the choice was completely up to them.  Michaela said she looked like a Disney princess, and Gracie wanted to know where her wings were.  :)  So sweet.  Many tears have been shed, but we are so blessed and thankful to know where she is and that we will see her again someday.