Wednesday.

Wednesday morning we left for Storm Lake to say our final goodbyes to gramma Smith. It's been an incredibly rough and sad past six months. And even though we knew this day was coming it didn't make it a smidgen easier.

Explaining illness, dying, and heaven to Chloe and Cooper was difficult but they helped me through the process just as I was helping them understand. They helped me keep it simple. They helped me remember that we'll always have gramma Smith in our hearts. That we should focus on the memories we have with her. To think about the good times, the years and years we shared together the most instead of the last few months of pain and suffering that were so hard for all of us. To continue to tell stories of her. Talk about what made her special and how she made us feel special. To cry when you're sad. And to lean on our family when we need support.

After gramma passed away I took the kids and puppy to the lake. We went to the stairs, one of my favorite places to go as a kid, and listened to the waves, skipped rocks, and collected seashells for a couple hours. Gramma and God gave us the most incredible sunshine through the clouds and gorgeous sunset! It was beautiful. We felt some peace and was just what we needed after an incredibly emotional day.