Super Hero Grandma

Four days before we left for Minnesota, my mom flew into town to stay with David while we were away. It was such a blessing to know that David was so well cared for while we were gone--and to hear the tales of their days together, I wondered if David was even missing his parents. Occasionally I got a picture from Grandma's ipad with a glimpse of what they were doing together. I know it wasn't easy for mom to be so far from everyone else, with no one but David to keep her company. I am so grateful for the peace of mind it gave us and the bonding time these two enjoyed for nearly two full weeks.

Grandma took David to gymnastics, the museum, on a walk through the woods (where they sang songs to alert the bears, once Grandma noticed everyone else had bear spray)--she did a great job of keeping David entertained for 10 days while it was just the two of them.

Grandma and David shared their breakfast smoothies together.

And she had him looking sharp for church.

Then Mom did one of the most brilliant things I've ever seen. She played in to David's love of super heroes, and helped him make 3 shirts--Obedient Super Hero, Kind Super Hero and Patient Super Hero. Mom put the words and drawing on the shirt in pencil, then David traced over them with marker. When he was wearing those shirts, he would strive to have super powers in that attribute. Have you ever seen a 4-year old that wants to exhibit super powers in his ability to obey quickly? That's what Mom brought out in David, and it worked! Here's David with one of his shirts on:

Mom was in Alaska a day shy of two weeks, then had to go home to Utah to prepare my youngest sister to enter the MTC. She stayed as long as she could to serve our family, but it still wasn't long enough to cuddle Alina. Grandmas who serve their grandchildren around the birth of a new baby are paid dividends by being allowed to cuddle and meet their newest grandbaby. But mom did all the service without that final gift. Oh, how I wanted to hurry home so my Mom could meet my daughter when she was so fresh from heaven--but that was not how it worked out. We'll look forward to the two making their acquaintance in the coming months.

Thank you for everything, Grandma! You are our newest super hero!