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No more nights.

No more not seeing eachother.

Now we are on to the hard part – rebuilding…

Nicks pre-school program.

Ready to trick-or-treat with my Mr. Incredible & Little Lion.

With our friends.

With Daddy.

Superheros!

I heard this song while I was on the way back from my cousins wedding… the group/guy is called Secondhand Serenade…and I told Brian this weekend that I absolutely love this song “Fall for You” because it is so ‘us’ right now!

In his lyrics, he sings…  “Tonight will be the night that I will fall for you, over again, don’t make me change my mind.  I won’t live to see another day, I swear it’s true, because a (girl) like you is impossible to find.”

And it just fits – we are together so rarely these past 45+ days that when we are…it does feel like I am falling all over again…and I guess when you look at it that way, that is a wonderful gift to fall in love all over with someone that knows you so completely.

I love you Brian…you know me so well.  You are my comfort, my constant…and I love falling in love with you.

(If you care to see the video, check it out here!)

2.  Brian was able to have this past Friday and Sat. night off – totally awesome!!  Friday we just hung out and then last night we went out to eat and to a comedy club w/ friends – such a good time.  This weekend overall was just wonderful to be able to have significant time together…

3.  Nathan is moreover a congenial boy these days…  We are definitely seeing an attempt to use more of his ‘words’ than to just yell/scream/cry for what he wants.  Love it!

4.  Nick has his school pictures tomorrow and is absolutely loving preschool!  It is amazing to see/hear both good and bad all of the new phrases he is starting to use!

5.  Nothing has changed for Brian – still working nights.

6.  Work is insanely busy for me right now, but I love it!

7.  October is looking at being a crazy busy month, so stay tuned!!!

After all of my cousins had left, my sister, brother and I got into a discussion about the pastors message at my Grandfathers funeral – my sister thinking it inappropriate and my brother and I disagreeing.

To no end, my sister and her husband left, my brother stepped out for a moment, and my sister in law Jillian and I continued talking.

We continued on with the conversation that had been taking place saying that neither one of us always felt like we were doing our best, or being our best Christian self.  We agreed that we were always second guessing ourselves and wondering if there was more we could do…more we could be.  Jillian stated that ‘maybe we just needed to remind each other with a word’ that would make us connect again with those feelings and the desire to be a better Christian and she said ‘Remember… that’s what we can say’ and I agreed that that was perfect.

Well, tonight, two of my closest friends, Tina & Heidi took me out…to get a break from my life, to reconnect with some girl time and just chat.

They surprised me with the following gift, and I had to do everything in my will to keep from crying…

It is a garden stone or a plaque that can be hung inside.

I was so amazed.  I was so touched.

I WILL REMEMBER!

I will remember how my Grandfather lived his life.

I will remember the conversation with Jillian and will remember to live my life as a better person, a better wife, a better mother, a better Christian.

and I will remember my two good friends – who mean so very much!!!

September 27, 2008

Although just two of the grandchildren are standing up here right now, rest assured that what is said now comes directly from the perspectives of all 22 of John VanSomeren’s grandchildren.

Each grandchild contributed to the eulogy today by writing down memories, stories, jokes, quotes and lessons.

This is a painful time for every one of us, each of us is a unique “VanSomeren” and we will handle the coming weeks and months in different ways. However, we have a special opportunity to be of a collective mind as we say goodbye.

An amazing thing happened when each of us were asked to write about our memories…all 22 of us invested our hearts and souls into to trying to narrow down our thoughts. It will be a long and precious document when all of it is compiled and it will be a gift to us as we grieve.

The overwhelming theme from each of the grandchildren was how he cherished each one of us.

This says a lot about a person who consistently and genuinely treats you like you are a treasure.  A person who treats you like there is all the time in the world to talk and that is completely “in the moment” when you are together makes a permanent impression on your soul.

Everyone jokingly claimed to be grampa’s favorite grandchild, and the truth is that his favorite grandchild was always the one that he was with…that was how he made each of us feel, he was invested in us, and he was stealthily teaching us how to treat each other …he was so good at it, he was so genuine, that when any fellow grandchild claimed “I’m the favorite”, we laughed on the inside, naively confident that we in fact had that title locked up.

Yes, his departure from our lives stings, this hurts and maybe all of this was beyond his wildest dream, but, look, here we all are, connected because of him. We have learned from him and his legacy lives on in our lives and in the lives of our children, his treasured greatgrandchildren…our lives and the way we continue his live out the principles he taught us, spreads out from Baldwin…across the entire world from Iowa to England, from Seattle to Boston, from Wisconsin to Florida, and even as far as Tokyo.

It may be hard to see right now, but in the midst of death and grief, there are blessings given to us. None of us will ever forget that all 22 grandchildren were together, for the first time in 13 years. Look at what grampa and gramma created! Contemplate the impact we make on the world every day, we carry his name with us, he was our leader, our teacher, the quintessential patriarch.

Dear Grampa,

Thank you for your sense of humor, showing us the power of a small gesture and for being selfless and kind.

Thank you for loving your role as a grandfather and great-grandfather, your drive and determination, and ensuring that we were all brought up in the church.

Thank you for your even-keel attitude, teaching us how to give a good hug, insisting that we learn that family comes first and for showing us the value of hard work.

Thank you for your humble and subtle way of showing your approval and pride and always making us feel welcome in your home.

Thank you for your unconditional love, and showing us in quiet and meaningful ways how to live a Christian life.

Thank you for the gift that through your passing we were able to be together to celebrate your life.

Love, your favorite grandchild,

Brian, Gretchen, Anna, Corey, Chris, Matt, JohnDavid, Kirk, Erin, Michelle, Kim, Nick, Robyn, Scott, Nate, Denise, Paul, Renee, Seth, Mark, Leah and Kelly.