my grandmother, cora gardner jensen, passed away thursday, october 15. she was 86 years old. fortunately, our family grew up not to far from her and my grandfather. we saw them quite regularly. she was a very talented lady. she loved (and i mean loved!) the dodgers, loved to play bridge, and loved to do needlepoint. she was amazing at needlepoint. she could crochet or knit anything. she made beautiful blankets and pillows for my children as well as for me and my siblings. she really had quite an interesting life. she didn't share many of her life experiences with us when we were younger. but about 8 years ago, she rode with me up to my sister in law's baby shower. the drive was long, so i took the opportunity to pick her brain and learn as much as i could about her and her family. she grew up in delta, utah. she talked about her experiences with the japanese internment camp. (i really wish i had a tape recorder going at this point.) she talked about how she met my grandfather, what his family was like, and what their life was like together. the stories were fascinating and i wish i had been able to write it all down rather than drive. i will always be grateful for that time i had with her. i really felt like i got to "know" her. i had a greater understanding of her struggles, and my respect for her grew immensely.
i wish i had pictures handy of her with me and my kids. i know i had some that were taken digitally, but i am having trouble accessing my external hard drive where they would be stored:( all other pictures are from film, and i don't have a scanner:(
here are a few pictures from the funeral. the first picture is of her children. the second is a picture of all her grandchildren. this is the first time i think that all 12 grand kids have been together. it was great to see all my cousins. i hope we can work on getting together more often.
the oldest grand kid is my brother chad at 39 and the youngest is mallory at 20.

hopefully, this post gives each of us a renewed desire to spend quality time with our family and friends, and to be the very best person that we can be:)