Thanksgiving of Change

Thanksgiving this year can definitely be summed up in a great big bittersweet weekend.  Bob and I took the girls out to Chicago to spend the time with Gramma Jill and Grampa Steve and the entire Iowa Family.  We had a wonderful opportunity to spend a few precious hours with Bob's Aunt Debbie and Uncle John right when we arrived.  Lily and Aunt Debbie made a little rocking horse ornament and we had a wonderful time catching up and letting them meet little Evie!

Now that Grandpa Vern is gone, things across the Mississippi are beginning to look a little bit different and the winds of change could be felt strongly.

Grandma Joyce has decided to move out and on from the farmhouse on top of the Farmersbug hill and into a smaller more manageable condo in the next town over.  It is a perfect space for her and this new chapter of her life, but it was all too clear that this year was going to mark the last time that we were going to have Thanksgiving on the farm.  It was ever clear when we arrived at the farmhouse to find it emptied of all but a few left over items and a few beds.  My did it look different.  Even to me who has only known it for 10 years.  Life has changed.  There were tears shed and a few sorrowful moments spent in the reality that this really was going to be a time of goodbye.  Grandma and Grandpa raised 5 kids there, saw their grandkids grow up inside of the walls and got to see their great grandbabies cross over its hearth.  The house, the space, the coziness will be missed.

We were able to fully enjoy our time inside of its walls and relished the opportunity to have one final Thanksgiving at its table.  I was able to make Grandma Fran's famous Dutch Apple Pie and we all thoroughly enjoyed eating and snuggling babies!

While it was hard to say our goodbyes, it was awesome to say hello to Grandma's new space.  What a FANTASTIC place for her.  I walked through her new front door and instantly felt that I was home.

I think its because Grandma Joyce carries all the love of a Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandma wherever she goes that it felt so cozy and warm.  Between running through our new stomping grounds in Monona and enjoying the much needed downtime (I read and entire book cover to cover!) we had a wonderful trip.   Starting a new chapter in life can be hard and scary, but as we headed down Grandpas bumpy road for the last time I truly could feel nothing less than hopeful.  God is good and the future out here in Iowa?  .....its very bright.