I've been working on this post for almost a week now. I'll try and catch up to today. Bear with me as this will be a long one.

The funeral Friday afternoon (12/7) was a lovely service. Uncle Dusty gave a very touching eulogy as did a family friend. Great Nana will be missed but I'm glad she has been reunited with Great Papa. The funeral also brought the whole family together again. It was nice to reconnect with some people we don't get to see very often. Annika had a great time playing with her 1st cousins once removed as well.

Saturday was a big day for Annika and James! It was Santa Day! We drove to the Mall of America and caught the light rail train headed for downtown. It would have been faster and shorter to just drive downtown but Kris wanted to give Annika the treat of riding on the train. She was so excited too. When we boarded she sat down on her seat and just glowed. Her eyes lit up and when we started moving she was so giggly and bouncy. Each time a train passed by us on the other tracks she would exclaim "Mommy! A train!" And then she would count "That's 3 trains Mommy!" or "That's 4 trains Mommy!" When we arrived downtown we were only a couple blocks away from Macy's where we were meeting Nana, Papa, Auntie Carrie and Uncle Adam. After lunch and some shopping we headed to the 8th floor to see the Nutcracker display. And after that it was Santa time! I helped Annika up on Santa's lap where she immediately clammed up. That girl was not talking to him for anything! She was so shy! It was as if she couldn't believe he was really there! So, I sat down next to her and asked if she would like me to tell Santa what she wanted. She said yes and I did. Santa asked her a question and without looking at him she just shook her head yes. Then we took the picture quick and that was it! We did a bunch more shopping that afternoon both at Macy's and then the Mall of America. It was pretty cute when Annika pulled Papa all around the Nordstrom Rack looking for red shoes for herself. That's my girl! Into shoes already!

Then last week started out normally. Until Tuesday when Gramme called to say Great Grandpa had taken a turn for the worse and they didn't expect him to last much longer. I went over Tuesday night to visit with him and say my good-byes and Wednesday morning Gramme called to tell me he had passed away. I am so glad I was able to see him one last time.

Friday I had the day off so Kris and I and the kids spent most of the day out and about. We did a bunch of Christmas shopping and then headed down to Fariboult and purchased ourselves a big family Christmas present - a new dog!

Isn't he cute! He's a 2 year old boxer male. Kris and the kids are picking him up today after his vet appointment to be neutered. We are naming him Dagur, who is the Norse God for daytime/sun. We figured with all the sadness of the last few weeks and the happiness that Dagur will bring our family that daytime/sun is a perfect name for him.

Saturday was my grandfather's funeral. Just like Great Nana's funeral, this one was also a lovely service. There were many touching moments, like the presentation of the flag to my grandmother and the involvement of most of the grandchildren in the service. And the wake beforehand was a nice relaxed time to see all the family gathered and the pictures displayed too. My grandmother seemed to hold up pretty well throughout. I'm hoping today is not too hard for her. It's her first real day alone as yesterday more family gathered around her.

Yesterday was more shopping, both for Christmas and for Dagur. We got him a new dog bed, dog food, dog treats, dog leash, dog collar...yeah, we're pretty excited for him to come home!

I've been bad about taking pictures of the kids and posting here lately. I hope to do better starting today. It's time to make new habits! I don't want to lose the cute things the kids say and do as life speeds by.